The 12th and final episode of Maria The Virgin Witch, titled “Love Conquers All,” is currently streaming on FUNimation and Hulu for paid subscribers. Free subscribers can watch the same episode six days from now on April 5th.
Maria finally discovers love let alone with Joseph, which helps wrap up the series.
She comes to the revelation that happiness is subjective, which meant that ending war in general would not necessarily make everybody happy. It becomes apparent that she finally understands that each person has to find their own happiness, which is true.
It makes me thing of the American motto of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.”
But happiness is very subjective and many try to force feed their version of the “American Dream” down the throats of other people, which causes problems.
Archangel Michael is a bit moved, but plans to execute Maria regardless.
Viv shows up at the last minute to finish her battle with Michael, which left her critically wounded and near death a few episodes ago.
I was shocked that the rest of the witches pop up to take Maria’s side in the fight against Michael.
I laughed when Viv continued mouthing off at Michael even though he skewered her recently. It shows that Viv remains a bad@$$ and willing to flip Heaven the finger if she has to. Viv is by far one of my favorite characters because she is willing to face the consequences for her actions.
I laughed when Viv accused Michael of being a “tool.”
That becomes ironic because Brother Bernard ends up saying the same thing to Brother Gilbert, which is apparent that the two of them have a difference in views. I was surprised that Bernard’s tune “changed quickly” after his theological debate with Maria, when she was imprisoned at the time.
Ezekiel even musters up enough courage to stand up to Michael, where she still shows fear.
Michael decides to hold off killing Maria to ask what people think about her. It is obvious that all the incredibly selfish people call her a demon, where Guillaume is one example. I found him to be a scumbag only caring for wealth and status.
It wasn’t surprising that Guillaume called Maria a demon.
This becomes apparent that there are people undeserving of happiness because it means that they have to hurt other people and take their happiness away. That is why I stressed that the concept of happiness is subjective.
Galfa is unhappy because his chance of attaining wealth and glory was taken away from him, but getting both requires him to kill and plunder.
Bernard executes one of the “oh f—k” moments when he openly confronts Michael. I was shocked that Bernard was willing to speak against Michael. He proves to be the one unpredictable character in Maria The Virgin Witch.
Ezekiel’s fate shocked me because it is similar to the birth of Jesus Christ. Michael tells Ezekiel that she can no longer serve Heaven because of her independent mind, but is granted mercy and permission to live on Earth.
There is a catch, Ezekiel has to start from scratch: being born into this world.
Michael even allows Ezekiel to pick her own birth mother.
I busted out laughing when Maria thought it was going to be Artemis, but learned that she was chosen by Ezekiel. Maria does have a point because she hasn’t even made it to first base yet. It is way too early for Maria to be thinking about having a family.
I think Ezekiel needs to rethink that choice since Maria’s not even 18.
Maria is ultimately accepted by most people, but not everybody. I was surprised that Maria and Joseph decided to move to Anne’s village. It was surprising to see Maria wear normal clothes compared to the scantily clad outfit she usually wears.
The series ends on a pleasant note and I feel that a continuation isn’t necessary.
I didn’t know what to make of Maria The Virgin Witch, but I’m glad that I gave the series a chance because it made me think. This series is a prime example on the stark contrasts between Japanese anime and American cartoons.
The former is for everybody and the latter is usually geared towards children. Even though there are American cartoons geared towards adults, they are designed solely for entertainment value. That isn’t the case with anime let alone Maria The Virgin Witch.
As a Buddhist, we are taught to question things because it’s a nontheistic religion. That is different from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism because they are monotheistic religions. Buddhism is also different from Shinto and Hinduism because they are polytheistic religions.
I can say that being raised a Buddhist was one of the reasons I enjoyed watching Maria The Virgin Witch.
Rhetorically asking, what is the “Will of Heaven?”
We certainly don’t know and should be skeptical about people claiming to have seen Heaven. The story about the boy claiming to have come back from Heaven was confirmed to be false. It was a story that inspired books and a movie.
But Burpo stands by his story.
Maria The Virgin Witch tastefully attacks religious hypocrisy as seen through the episodes. It is ultimately a commentary on how Christianity is used to spark wars, but this applies organized religion in general.
Killing in the religion isn’t a new concept and this happens every day. We can look at the Gaza conflict between Israel and Palestine as an example. Islam is a prime example because of the Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the ISIS.
Exploiting religion isn’t new either.
Let’s take a look at slavery and oppression in the United States, where blacks were taken as slaves and Native Americans were driven from their lands.
Preaching intolerance isn’t new either, which is shown in Maria The Virgin Witch.
Let’s take a look at the Westboro Baptist Church, where it is intolerant of virtually everything. It started out as being anti-LGBT, but extended to other topics. The group even picketed outside of San Diego Comic Con one time, where they preached that the attendees turned their backs on Gods and worshiped false idols.
We should also examine Indiana’s new “religious freedom” law, which has many concerned.
Apple CEO Tim Cook condemned the bill as legally discriminating against consumers on the basis of “religious freedom.”
I also notice that Maria The Virgin Witch also accurately portrays the role of women during that time, where the first episode got my attention when Maria made a reference to how Joan of Arc was treated before being burned at the stake.
Maria The Virgin Witch shows the world as one big gray moral mass and it shows that the Christian Church isn’t necessarily “black and white” as one may believe. I give Maria The Virgin Witch the grade of A++.
