Huge Spoiler for Mahoromatic
Well, if you think about the last episode in a certain way, it isn't so bad... let me give you my theory.
At the heart of Mahoromatic is the theme "Enjoy the time you have with the people you love, because someday it will end." No matter how cheerful and lighthearted the episode, there is always that reminder at the end: "Mahoro stops functioning in X days."
In the next to last episode, she loses her life.
However, there is another theme to Mahoromatic, "Everyone deserves a second chance.
Mahoro, who was created to be a combat android, gets a second chance at a peaceful life.
Suguru, who has lived most of his life alone, gets a second chance to have a family.
Minawa gets a second chance at being a human being and having a soul.
Ryuga gets a second chance at being someone's friend.
They establish in the last episode that Mahoro was actually a part of Mashu, mother of Saint. When Saint decides to leave, Mashu decides to leave part of herself behind, that part that was Mahoro. Now, she reappears to the older, dying Suguru, but then we are immediately shown a "dream sequence" of them back together when he was still a child. It has been established that Mashu has immense power, and time travel capabilities may be part of that. If that is the case, Mashu could have returned both Suguru and Mahoro to their past, where they can grow up together.
Ah, but you say the very end shows the old Suguru walking away with Mahoro. Yes, this is true, but that doesn't mean it is literal. You can view that scene as the final episode's version of "Mahoro stops functioning in X days."
It is a way of saying "Cherish the moments, because this is what could have been."
A stretch, I know, but it at least makes the last episode palatable for me.
Larry
12-Mar-2005