Akagami no Shirayukihime:Episode 12

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Goodbye to the Beginning
Kanji	始まりのさようなら
Romaji	Hajimari no Sayounara
Theme Songs
Anime Chronology
Previous	Episode 11
Next	Episode 13
Dubbed	January 22, 2016

Episode 12 was originally released on September 21, 2015 in Japan. Funimation made an official subtitled version of it available on their official site as well as other popular viewing sites such as Hulu, Crunchyroll, and AnimeLab.

An English dub was released by Funimation on January 22, 2016.

Episode 12 covers events from Chapter 17 & 27 of the manga, and was the final episode of the first season.

Summary[]

It's Open Castle Day at Wistal Palace. During the festivities, Zen, Shirayuki, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi spend time together and reflect on their future together.

Plot[]

Waking in her room, Shirayuki recalls the moment she and Zen shared when he confessed his certainty that they would make it through anything. Remembering his words and his same good-bye, Shirayuki feels certain that everything will be alright.

As she is walking through the castle, Shirayuki is amazed at how many people are attending Open Castle Day; an event held every few years where part of the castle is open to the public and festivities are held. As Shirayuki is about to head down a heavily crowded area, a disguised Zen leads her down a different path. Finding an area to be alone for a while, Zen confesses that he's dressed as a guard to check on staff and to see the citizens. However, his biggest reason was that he wanted to spent time alone with Shirayuki. However, his plans are quickly foiled when Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi appear.

After being warned to still be careful of where is goes, Zen decides that the group should spend some time together. Seeing how busy it's getting, Obi notices Shirayuki pull on a hood and she explains it's so that she doesn't draw so much attention because of her hair. When Mitsuhide and Kiki escort Shirayuki to see a clown act, Obi asks Zen if Shirayuki's hair has gotten bad attention before. Seeing Zen's serious expression, Obi understands what he means and does not fault Shirayuki for wanting to avoid attention during a time like this. As the act completes, Mitsuhide informs Shirayuki that Zen had confided in them that he has chosen the path that will allow him to stay with her and Shirayuki confirms that she wants the same.

A while later, the group meets back up but notice that Obi is missing. They find him competing in a fighting competition under his alias Nanaki and win the grand prize. He meets back with the four where Zen chastises him for running off but Mitsuhide accepts a challenge to fight against him one day. Kiki points out to Zen that he needs to move on and Zen promises to meet with them afterwards. Obi tells Shirayuki that Zen needs to greet the crowd with his brother and asks if she wants to watch. Shirayuki agrees and Obi presents a hairpin to her that was part of his prize. They head off to join the crowd and hear the people praise their prince's and how Zen has become a more dignified prince. As they greet the crowd, Izana questions Zen if he has given further thought about the future with Shirayuki. While Zen thinks the timing of the conversation is poor, Izana feels otherwise. He listens as Zen admits that he has thought a great deal about his future with Shirayuki.

After the greeting is done, Zen notices Ryuu running about trying to find Shirayuki as a performer has just been injured. After locating Shirayuki, the group head to the theater where an actresses is looked at by Ryuu and Shirayuki backstage. The actress has tripped on stage but pleads with Shirayuki to give her something for the pain as she wants to go back on stage. Ryuu confirms that her ankle is broken and she will not be able to continue her performance. Distressed, the actress confesses that this was her moment to shine and have one of the prince's fall in love with her as well as becoming famous and wanting to wear beautiful clothing. When Shirayuki lowers her hood to tie her back to help Ryuu dress the woman's ankle, the stage manager becomes entranced with Shirayuki's hair and asks her to fill in for the actress.

After Shirayuki agrees and changes into the costume of the princess, Obi teases Zen about blushing at her appearance. Before she heads out, Shirayuki is informed of what is currently taking place on stage and what her role will be once she goes out. When Shirayuki covers her hair so it will not be seen, the manager feels that her hair should be seen and comes up with a plan to make it happen with one of the other actor's so that the entire crew will start to get more attention.

Watching from the crowd, Kiki and Mitsuhide notice that Shirayuki is filling in for the injured actress. Although Shirayuki nervously delivered her line, the actress backstage is pleased with her performance and reveals that she only has one part left; to be kissed on the back of her hand. Obi notices Zen become jealous at the thought and Zen confesses that he won't allow it to take place since Shirayuki is not an actress. Zen spots the stage manager with a sinister look on his face as the actress notices that the actor playing the prince is speaking different lines. The stage manager is confronted about what he is up to and admits that he wanted to reveal Shirayuki's hair as it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to help boost the success of his play and crew. Zen decides to switch places with the actor playing the knight and hurry to the stage as Obi confronts the manager about what is about to take place.

Zen hurries out to the stage and easily falls into the role of the knight. As the fight draws the attention of the crowd, Shirayuki hurries backstage. The actress apologizes for what happened and that she had nothing to do with the managers plan. Obi explains that Zen became jealous when he learned the plan to reveal Shirayuki's hair and that her hand would be kissed by someone else.

That evening, Zen and Shirayuki admire how it felt to be on stage and play roles they're not use to. Zen notices the hairpin Obi gave her and, despite his annoyance, admits that it looks nice on her. Zen then asks Shirayuki if she had ever kept her hair hidden when she lived in Tanbarun. She answers that she didn't and never covered it when she came to Clarines. He then asks her if her hair has ever caused her problems besides Raji. She admits that it has but that she learned how to deal with it along with help from her grandparent's. From them, Shirayuki learned how to always think ahead and how to fend for herself for when it seemed like she could only count on herself. Despite Zen acknowledging her independence, Shirayuki admits that she does rely on him even if she does not always show it and feels that he brings out the best in her.

As they go to watch the closing ceremony, Mitsuhide is angrily waiting for Zen and promptly scolds him for not listening about being cautious in public. Obi explains that Mitsuhide's sudden anger is from having seen the play and spotting Zen as the knight. Obi teases how Mitsuhide acts like a father toward Zen and Kiki reveals how Mitsuhide had once gone on a hunger strike to get Zen to speak to him after the two argued and Zen didn't speak to him for a short time; all of which lasted a single day.

After Zen says how he hopes each of them will be a part of his future, the group watch as the lanterns start flying into the sky. As they watch, Shirayuki knows that there will be difficult times ahead of them but still feels that there will also be great joy.