WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Talentless Nana Episode 13, "Revival," now streaming on Funimation.
The Japanese title of Talentless Nana is Munou no Nana, and the word “munou” can be translated in different ways. Of course, it directly points to Nana’s lack of power among a group of super-powered individuals. But the word can also mean helpless, and this series finale fully demonstrates Nana’s helplessness in the face of true evil and genuine love.
Throughout the season, Nana slowly changed her attitude towards her mission and classmates, especially Michiru. Nana hasn't killed anyone since the invisible blade arc because of how she cares for Michiru. Nana hoped to resist this change, but she finally let go of all her defenses as Michiru worked to relieve her guilt over the death of her parents.
As shown in Episode 10, Nana blames herself for the death of her parents because she snuck out of her room and forgot to close her bedroom window the night they died, which is supposedly how her parents’ murderer entered their house. However, Michiru reminded her that it is more likely that her parents cleaned up her room and closed her bedroom window after she fell asleep that night. Michiru manages to convince Nana that ultimately, she is blameless in her parents’ murder because she did not kill them. With this realization, Nana is able to move past her guilt and truly embraces her friendship with Michiru.
The identity of the mysterious new killer is still left unsolved, while Kyoya feels he is closing in on the real killer, he cannot figure out the killer's motivations, so he doesn’t know who they will target next. Nana is preoccupied with her newfound feelings, so she neglected to watch for more signs of the killer. Luckily, Jin has been keeping an eye on things and warns Nana that Michiru has left the dorm to meet with someone by the beach in the middle of the night.
Nana runs after Michiru but is slowed down by a phone call from her mentor Tsuruoka. He reminds her that he still controls a lot of her weaknesses, including funds that Nana set up for other orphans and her adopted family, which hints at Nana’s kind nature deep down. This short scene conveys a lot about Nana’s relationship with Tsuruoka, Nana is extremely respectful, even fearful of Tsuruoka, her posture changes as soon as she hears Tsuruoka’s voice, she even bows to him on the phone. Tsuruoka is incredibly manipulative and merciless, perfectly fitting for someone who had trained Nana.
It's finally revealed the real killer is one of Maguo’s henchmen Rentarou Tsurumigawa, the one who can astral project. His power allows his spirit to leave his body and interact with the world, which means he can touch physical objects but others cannot touch him. He can only be stopped by attacking his physical body. Rentarou is obsessed with destroying beautiful and innocent things. He started with Ryuuji, then the animals in the forest and now Michiru.
Just as Rentarou is about to stab Michiru, Nana dives in front of her friend and takes the stab for her. Nana deduced that Rentarou was likely the killer because his powers allow his body to stay in Maguo’s room while his spirit commits the murder next door. He opens the window in Ryuuji’s room so he can hear Maguo’s voice and can let his spirit go back if he needs to converse. He also sat up all the evidence to frame Fuuko.
Nana takes several more stabs in order to stall Rentarou and let Michiru get away. Nana’s plan is for her to go save Michiru while Kyoya finds Rentarou’s physical body. Ideally, it would be the other way around since Kyoya is immortal and Rentarou’s body is unconscious, but Nana convinces him that finding the physical body is the more dangerous path. Nana doesn't trust anyone to save Michiru but herself.
Kyoya finally apprehends Rentarou, but it's too late. Nana is bleeding out and ready to face death in peace. But Nana is gradually brought back by Michiru’s powers, and she is too weak to stop Michiru’s sacrifice. Michiru’s revival power was set up in Episode 6 when she tried to revive Tsunekichi, but she did not succeed and was significantly weakened afterward. This time, Michiru trades her own life for Nana’s and successfully saves her.
Though it's been built up for some time, Michiru's death scene is still one of the more heartbreaking moments in recent anime. Michiru calls upon her dead friend Hitomi for strength because she's scared to face death alone. Nana feels undeserving of Michiru’s sacrifice but is incapable of stopping her. Michiru dies with a content smile on her face while a devastated Nana embraces her lifeless body. Just when Nana is beginning to see some light in her life, Michiru’s death once again leaves her completely alone.
This is an extremely sad but fitting ending for Talentless Nana. Nana deserves punishment for her crimes, but she also deserves to be loved. In the end, she got both from Michiru. However, there are still many plot threads that are not resolved, so let’s hope for a Season 2.
