Another 12 [Finale]: The Other Eye

The mansion has turned into a virtual scene of destruction as fire consumes its very foundations. The terrified students, many of them injured, including Mikami-sensei (who apparently didn't die), try to make it out of there before they are trapped but danger has many faces. Four students are crushed by the falling chandelier while another falls at the hands of an unknown assailant. The crazed manager's wife continue to pursue Teshigawara and Mochizuki but are soon rescued by their adviser, who has returned in the nick of time. Meanwhile, Kouichi searches for Mei only to meet the assailant, who turns out to be none other than Kazumi, the boy that Teshigawara mistakenly attacked. Kazumi has been randomly killing his classmates in a vain attempt to stop the calamity and save himself. He believes that the real extra is Kouichi and begins to attack him. But Akazawa hits him in the head with a metal rod, incapacitating him. Akazawa then prepares to finish the job but the adviser stops her, prompting Akazawa to accuse him of running away from the problem years ago. The students who make it out gather around the adviser's car but Mei is nowhere to be found. Kouichi thus braves the fires inside the mansion once more to look for her. He finds her face to face with a vengeful Akazawa. As the two girls grapple each other and Kouichi attempts to intervene, lightning strikes a nearby tree, shattering the windows and sending shards of glass and wood towards them. The screen darkens and Akazawa suddenly remembers her meeting with Kouichi a year and a half ago. After the flashback, Akazawa is revealed to have been impaled on the wall, her wounds fatal. As Kouichi helps her down, she asks him whether he remembers that meeting but he shakes his head he doesn't. Akazawa smiles, accusing him of being terrible because he's supposed to say yes. After Akazawa passes on, Kouichi looks for Mei, who is missing again. He later finds her in the backyard, looking down at someone who is trapped under some fallen trees. Mei identifies this person as the extra, saying that she's known it for some time but doesn't want to tell Kouichi. Looking down, Kouichi is shocked to find that the person is none other than Mikami-sensei -- Reiko, his mother's sister. Mei explains that they are the only class with an assistant adviser. She adds that she saw Mikami-sensei get attacked by an unknown assailant a year and a half ago and watched her fall into the dam. Things finally click into place for Kouichi as he remembers his grandparents talking about too many funerals in their household, how he can't remember ever coming to Yomiyama and meeting Akazawa a year and a half ago. As Mei prepares to kill the extra, Kouichi steps in front of her and asks to do the deed. With tears in his eyes, Kouichi brings down the weapon, saying goodbye not just to Reiko-san but also to his mother. Some days later, Mei lights incense at Reiko and Ritsuko's graves and meets up with Kouichi and the adviser while there. There were nine deaths in total, including the manager and his wife, who turn out to be Takabayashi's maternal grandparents. Shortly afterwards, Kouichi and Mei walk home together and Kouichi asks why Mei hasn't answered his call. She says that she threw her cellphone into the river as she's never liked the thing. But she adds that her mother will probably just buy her a new one. Kouichi then asks if he could call her sometimes once she gets the new one. Mei says yes. They look at the class picture taken in the beginning of the retreat. They note that none of their classmates can see Mikami-sensei in the photograph. Kouichi wonders if they too will soon forget about the whole incident. As they continue on their way, Kouichi asks if the tragedy is now over. Mei looks at him and gives a cryptic smile.

After the ending credits, Teshigawara and Mochizuki record another tape, explaining what the next class 9-3 should do to stop the calamity with some warning to discuss seriously with their classmates what to do so that they will have no regrets.

COMMENTS:Oh, so the spoilers were correct. It's Mikami-sensei, a.k.a. Reiko. Of course, Mei couldn't tell Kouichi about her being an extra. First of all, this was because they even knew what to do with the extra if they find him or her out. Second, Kouichi is obviously very close to Reiko. In hindsight, Mei's reluctance to reveal Reiko's true nature is actually hinted at in a previous episode when she comments how Reiko looks so much like Ritsuko. And, of course, in that photo, Ritsuko looks like the Mikami-sensei that we know. So there.
Mei is so kawaii~ in this episode. I guess she and Kouichi will eventually hook up. Let the fanfics begin.

more screencaps from episode 12: