Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘Good Night World’ is a science-fiction drama series directed by Katsuya Kikuchi. It is based on Mangaka Uru Okabe’s manga series of the same name that ran for five volumes. The anime series revolves around four members of a dysfunctional family who unknowingly form a happy family unit in an immersive VR game. However, when the existence of a deadly virus threatens the virtual and real world, the family is forced to confront their true feelings for each other and band together to save the day. If you are wondering whether the family succeeds in stopping the virus and reconciles in the process, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Good Night World.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Good Night World Plot Synopsis
‘Good Night World’ follows Taichiro Arima, who is fascinated with the virtual reality game PLANET. In the game, Taichiro’s avatar is known as Ichi, and he is a member of the Akabane family, a guild of four players that ranks among the strongest in the game. The Akabane family consists of Ichi, Shiro, AAAAA, and May, and the group loves spending time together in the virtual reality game. In real life, Taichiro is emotionally distant from his own family. However, unbeknownst to the Arima family, they are actually the ones behind the Akabane family.
AAAAA is Taichiro’s overachieving younger brother, Asuma. Shiro is his good-for-nothing father, Kojiro, and May is his estranged mother, Meyabi. When a guild known as the Pirates declares war on the Akabane family, it sparks a race to find the elusive “Black Bird of Happiness,” an end-game content finding that will reward the players with $300,000 in real cash. The Akabane family encounters the Black Bird after a fight with the Pirates, resulting in Shiro forcing his members to log out while AAAAA gets injured.
Eventually, it is revealed that Kojiro created PLANET, and the Black Bird is a dangerous cyber spirit akin to a virus trying to infect the virtual reality world. In the real world, Taichiro finds Asuma has suffered a stroke and transfers him to the hospital. He logs into the game by hacking and meets Pico, the Pirates captain, who her commander, Shigatera, betrays. As Ichi fights Shigatera, Pico tries to disarm him, only to run into Shiro, who reveals Pico is a mere artificial intelligence he had created that powers the Black Bird.
In the real world, Kojiro has been working with his assistant, Kamuro, to deactivate and erase all the power sources to stop the Black Bird from infecting the players. Meanwhile, Asuma and Taichiro grow close in the real world and realize they have been playing the game together all along. However, when Kamuro reveals that Asuma is infected by the Black Bird and trapped in an alternate cyberspace, “Birdcage,” Taichiro agrees to sacrifice himself to save his brother. Kamuro creates an AI version of Taichiro’s avatar, Ichi, and they free Asuma’s mind from the Birdcage.
Meanwhile, Leon, the leader of the Granada guild, reveals he can summon the Black Bird. The Black Bird is none other than his right hand, Sasumata, an artificial intelligence Leon encountered in the game. The AI lacked identity, and its despair led it to power up by preying on other AI’s emotions. Sasumata absorbs the players in Granada, fusing the Birdcage with PLANET and infecting people in the real world. As a result, humans are forced to log into virtual reality.
The ensuing chaos reunites the Arima family, who are devastated to learn about Kojiro’s involvement in the crisis. Taichiro explains how Kojiro’s hunger for fear led to his younger sister, Aya’s death and Meyami’s mental instability. Moreover, Taichiro cannot forgive his father and blames him for destroying their family. At the same time, Taichiro also learns that Kojiro depowered Pico, adding to his resentment toward his father. The emotional rift shatters the Arima family, as they are stranded in the world controlled by the Black Bird and must work together to find a way out.
Good Night World Ending: Does Kojiro Stop the Black Bird?
In the finale, Asuma and Meyabi seek comfort in being together while Taichiro returns to his shell after learning the devastating truth about Pico. He refuses to speak with Kojiro, who has quietly been working on finding a way to stop the Black Bird. Asuma meets Kojiro, and the latter gives him a device for Taichiro to use when the time is right. After spending some time with Asuma, Kojiro departs to confront the Black Bird, a creation of his own self-righteous arrogance and ego.
At the Granada Castle, Kojiro confronts Sasumata, and they engage in a deadly battle with Kojiro accessing his powers as Shiro using cheat codes. However, Kojiro traps himself and the Black Bird in a pocket reality using the “Goodnight World” code, where they are both stripped of their powers. Elsewhere, Asuma gives Taichiro the device and realizes that Kojiro has become a computer virus himself to defeat the Black Bird. Kojiro left the device for Taichiro so that his son could finally use his resentment and hatred for his father to uninstall him from the virtual reality and save humanity from the Black Bird. However, Taichiro refuses to give his father a hero’s ending and races to the battle scene to stop him from sacrificing himself.
Inside the pocket dimension, the Black Bird asks Kojiro about its true identity, and the latter reveals it was created after Aya’s death. Taichiro arrives on the scene and breaks into the pocket dimension, where he tries to pull out Kojiro. Taichiro and Kojiro are surprised to see the Black Bird take on Aya’s form, having finally claimed its true identity. Kojiro apologizes to Taichiro, who cannot allow his father to die. However, Kojiro chooses to unite with his deceased daughter and sacrifices himself to save his family, finally redeeming himself for his years of misdoings and ill-treatment of his family.
What Happens to PLANET?
In the aftermath of Kojiro’s sacrifice, the world is returned to normal as players awaken in the real world. PLANET is shut down for good, but Gleam Corp, the company behind the game, blames the virus on rogue employees and escapes legal consequences. Sometime later, the Arima family has reconciled, and Taichiro no longer seeks comfort in virtual reality but finds solace in the real world despite his hardships. His AI version unites with Pico in what remains of the Birdcage, finally fulfilling Pico’s wish of meeting Ichi in what she perceives to be reality.
On the other hand, Asuma has made a successful career for himself. On the anniversary of PLANET being shut down, players visit real-life locations that inspired their favorite in-game landscapes to honor its legacy. Thus, it is implied that humanity no longer relies on virtual reality to escape the harsh truths of real life. Asuma and Taichiro visit Hokkaido, where they find a place resembling Twilight Hill, the Akabane family’s home in the game. The brothers decide to build a house on the hill, signifying a transformation from a dysfunctional, resentful, and emotionally distant to a happy, loving, and fulfilling family just like the one they unknowingly formed in the game.
Did the Arima Family Escape the Virtual Reality?
In the finale’s closing moments, Asuma and Taichiro watch the scenery on the hill as they decide to build a home there. However, as the brothers walk away, a flying red dragon resembling the one Taichiro fought at the very start of the series catches Taichiro’s eye. Taichiro turns back to confirm whether what he saw was real, but we cut to credits before getting confirmation. The dragon’s presence implies that the Arima family did not escape the virtual reality. Instead, virtual reality, where the Black Bird trapped them, has grown to resemble reality. As a result, despite real news being displayed in this world, there is still a possibility that the Arimas never escaped the virtual world.
Ultimately, whether the Arima family escaped the virtual reality and whether Taichiro really saw the dragon does not matter. The family sought escapism in the virtual world because of their tragic circumstances and broken interpersonal dynamics. In the end, Asuma and Taichiro find peace in the world and reconcile with their past, including the tragedy of losing their sister. Thus, the Arimas are in their ideal version of “reality,” and the rest is just an afterthought of a horrifying nightmare-like scenario they experienced in the virtual world. The series ends with the Arima family healing from their past traumas, and the red dragon can also be seen as a sign of the same.
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