Then it ends. And it's quiet. All that lifeless space is filled with the new recognition of just how silent this lonely world is. When I talk about that, it's easy for it to become an all consuming thought, but that's not really what the manga is about. To me, anyway. I'm a selfish reader, and regardless of author intent like to find my own meaning. Like I was saying before about the liminality of the art, this piece of the story feels more like a supporting piece of the structure than the whole pie, because what I found really most encapsulates the feelings I'm walking away with when it comes to this work are the two main characters, Chito and Yuuri.

Yuuri, as opposed to Chito, doesn't really change all that much. Rather it feels like she's what most keeps Chito from completely falling into her own brain. She's the one who listens to Chito's musings, asks the questions, and really drags her back from ever going too deep into her own thoughts. Without Yuuri, I don't think Chito could really make it. Yuuri also seems to be the driving force behind what my favorite piece of development for Chito is, coming from the second to last chapter. At this point, the vehicle they've used for traveling through the city to reach the top has broken down and become unusable, forcing them to carry what they can the rest of the way. As they do, they're forced to burn what they can to make food and keep warm and keep going.

Eventually, this includes the books Chito has been collecting throughout their journey. Then it was the diaries that Chito has been keeping of their journey together. Everything they've done together is collected in those. What really makes burning these feel so important is it feels almost like acceptance of what's really important, something Chito notes when she mentions that in the face of keeping warm, that is much more important than something like these journals. Giving up a record of all their memories of before so they can keep going to make more. It's something that felt really impactful, but, that's not my favorite scene in this chapter.

On the final staircase leading them up to the top of the city, the lamp they've been using goes out. In the darkness, both Chito and Yuuri remove their gloves and hold hands, walking through the darkness together. As they do, Chito realize just...how much they've lost at this point. The vehicle that brought them this far, their gun, their supplies, the journals that held all their memories, and now those memories themselves feel distant, their footsteps taking on a sense of pure monotony in this blinding darkness. Yet, despite that, Chito can feel Yuuri's hand. In that blindness of her most important sense, everything starts to feel as if it's becoming one. In that darkness, both of them are connected.

The final chapter of Girl's Last Tour didn't make my heart float as much as that scene did, but it does feel like the perfect send off. In a place void of pretty much everything but them and their few remaining rations, Chito wonders if they should have turned back, or gone somewhere else entirely. Yuuri, in response, throws a snowball in her face. While she doesn't say anything dramatic like I'm saying, it feels like whether it was worth it or not isn't really the point. In a world where effectively they two are the only ones alive, none of that matters. Memories or regrets or better alternatives, what really meant something was that they could be happy in those moments they shared together, and, I think, if they end up spending their last days together up above that decaying city, then the mere fact they have each other is enough reason to say it was worth it, and that's what I feel like this manga is about.

It's about being happy no matter how awful the world may be.