Since being able to see ghosts isn't due to I See Dead People, but is rather due to expecting to see the ghost, couldn't Momoe be made to see Yuuko, simply by being given details about her? Like showing Momoe that photo of from when Yuuko was still alive?
In one chapter, Kirie tries to describe what Yuuko looks like to Momoe, but Momoe is so caught up in her idea of what a girl ghost of that age should be that it doesn't work.
This may sound a little cold, but why did they bring Yuuko back after she disappeared? I understand that it was incredibly depressing, but it was incredibly depressing the way, say, pretty much anything by Key is: heartbreaking, but incredibly moving as well. If they had left it the way it was, it was not only an excellently written ending (albeit a heartbreaking one), with very moving speeches, but also provides an excellent example of an Aesop about moving on after losing a loved one, and how you can't let your memories of them and the grief of their passing cloud your future. But instead of an excellent and moving ending like that that, they had what was in my opinion one of the most blatant and irritating copouts in the history of Anime, not to mention completely destroys the Aesop, because Niiya doesn't have to move on at all. In fact, one might even say the Aesop was: "Don't worry about your loved ones deaths, because if they die content, and you accept their dying wish to move on, they'll be back the next day, good as new!".
Yes, it is cold. That is a fact. That aside, there are some people who really CANNOT move on and REFUSE to move on irregardless of what others tell them to. Good and Evil. Hot and Cold. Good and Bad. Heavy and Light. Light and Darkness. Always and Never. Some things that can be solved or settled, some things that can never will be. That's human nature which people HAVE to accept irregardless of how they feel. That aside, it's also implied that Niiya was dragged to the afterlife by Yuuko. But wait. Everyone else can see him just fine. It may be Wild Mass Guessing but it is possible that Niiya, despite being a spirit, can be seen by EVERYONE, unlike Yuuko whom only a certain few can see her. Irregardless of what really happened, the point of people who cannot move on and refuse to do so still stands.
How come Yuuko is so abusive in the anime's backstory? In the manga she slaps Yukariko once, and it's clearly serious business, to show how scared she really is, but in the anime she 'hands' them out like candy! I understand why they changed the sacrificial scenario the way they did, but this was just unnecessary.
Is Teiichi dead or alive? The "first ending" implied that he was Dead All Along and part of the Seven Mysteries himself - that's at least what I thought what with his expression and actions after the kids started talking about him. Then the "second ending" also implied that he was dead in the end, "let's go to heaven together." This is generally something you would not say to a living person. Or is this all Lost in Translation?
It may have a double meaning. The first one is that Yuuko will stay with Niiya and when his lifespan is up, they will go to Heaven together. The second one is... assuming that Niiya was really dragged into the afterlife by Yuuko, it's possible that Niiya can still be seen and touched by everyone despite being a spirit unlike Yuuko whom only a certain few can see her which makes Niiya a much more special kind of spirit and he can go to Heaven anytime with Yuuko if he has nothing else to do on Earth. Regardless of his decisions, Yuuko will remain with Niiya forever.
How come no one ever notices Yuuko's footprints during snowy days? She clearly leaves footprints behind as per the anime.
