This page contains unmarked spoilers. You Have Been Warned!
Thank you so much for being born, Kiri-kun!
While Maria no Danzai is a heartbreaking story of a mother throwing her old life away to take care of her beloved son's bullies, there are scenes that are warming and refreshing.
In General
- The Nagare Family was a happy family of unconditional love.
- Mari cherished her son Kiritaka so much that she takes time to make his bento less "bland" in fear that other kids may make fun of him, and admitted to him later that she abandoned her dream to become a nurse despite having the qualifications in order to become a full-time mom to him. And she doesn't regret it. Although her revenge eats away at her mental state, it's because of this maternal love that she started the revenge. Plus, she still harbors feelings for her (ex-)husband Taiichiro, despite burying them, and genuinely doesn't want him to be a potential obstacle to her plan.
- Kiritaka appreciated his mother's love and wanted her to be happy, which is why he didn't want to tell her about his unfortunate school life. While his fate sadly resulted in his death and his parents breaking apart, his last act was jumping off a cliff, so that the bullies wouldn't spread a fake sex video of his mother to protect her reputation. He also wanted to be in the law force like his father by becoming a detective, as he wanted to help as many people as he could.
- Taiichiro, while negligent, did love his son and was just as devastated as his wife when he died, blaming himself for not paying attention to his "suicidal urges." Now a divorced man, he still loves his family and keeps an old photo of them and a picture of baby Kiritaka in his house.
- The birth of Kiritaka in the extra content. Taiichiro and Mari were very happy for the birth of their son. The extra content in later volumes has a picture of a toddler Kiritaka too. He's so adorable!"Today is the most blissful day of my life."
Maria no Danzai Chapters
Chapter 2: SAINT MARIA IN THE INFIRMARY
- Maria takes time out of her work schedule and her revenge plot to answer anonymous emails from the students. One such email comes from a girl whose boyfriend wants to have sex without protection; Maria doesn't advise her to either break up or to stay together, but instead tells her why his attitude is wrong and gives her advice on what to do if she still wants to stay with him.
Chapter 10: THE PRICE OF CONDEMNATION
- When Atsuki declares that he's sober and the principal cows him into having a drink anyway, Maria distracts him while switching Atsuki's glass with regular water. She had nothing to gain from this, and even got groped for her trouble; she simply did it out of kindness.
Chapter 14: NAGARE TAIICHIRO
- Taiichiro's partner still stays by his side despite the detective being condemned as an abusive father regardless of the lack of proof. He understands the man better than the rest of the police department to know how much he loves his family and tries to give him words of encouragement.
Chapter 15: OUR SUMMER VACATION
- We see an image panel of Yashima a month after Kowase's disappearance; she's shown going to a café with one of her friends during the summer holidays, with a serene smile on her face. It's great to know that after all her suffering with that monster Kowase, she is recovering and happy while Kowase got what he deserved. It is better that Yashima has a genuine happy ending because Maria steps in and helps her while getting rid of her tormentor. It's nice to see one character in this story get a happy ending.
Chapter 20: CULPRIT
- Maria comforts Yashima after the latter confesses to her that she was with Kowase when he disappeared (which the nurse knows anyway). The girl didn't tell the police in fear of being a suspect and because, understandably, she doesn't want him to be found. Maria pats her head and says that what happened to Kowase is a secret between them, making Yashima realize that the nurse knew about her relationship with that monster. It shows the positive impact Maria has on her and how much Yashima trusts her for her compassion.
Chapter 21: TRAITOR
- Even after Shikimi socially isolated him from the rest of the students, Kiritaka still had one friend left in Yuda, the boy he saved when he first became Okaya's target. Yuda was so grateful to Kiri for saving his life that the two would often study together at his place, with Yuda often becoming concerned for Kiri's health upon noticing his bruises.
