That yakisoba man is a genius. Not only did he read the mood correctly, but he also delivered the food at the perfect moment. That's just one of many things I loved about this episode.
So the big festival that the series has been hyping for almost its entire run only took up the first third of the episode, but it was a nice payoff nevertheless. Easily the best moments were when Ohana finally confessed to Ko and when Madam Manager saw that Ohana's wish was to be like her. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see everyone's wish and that the random fox god/goddess (I'm not sure which) who showed up in Ohana's fever dream was never explained, but I guess that I have to let both of those things go. Overall, it was a nice scene that finally tied up the romance subplot as well as a chance to see all of the characters interact in a fun setting. It was a nice way to lead into the scene showing that the inn was going to close down after all, but not for good. The show put to use the character development that was sorely lacking in the previous episode and brought everything to a nice close, with everyone heading towards the future and their collective dream: to see Kissuiso opened again.
Final Thoughts: Now that the show has come to a close and I can look back on it as a whole, I have to say that while Hanasaku Iroha was enjoyable, it's not without its missteps. There are a few episodes and character arcs that feel entirely disposable, some attempts at humor and fanservice fall flat and feel shoehorned in to make a specific audience happy, and there's a stretch towards the middle where I had no clue where the plot was going (even for a slice-of-life show, there should be some direction). Also, the show has a habit of making a point about how a character has changed at the end of an arc only to go into the next episode and have that character act exactly the same. But even with these problems, with this final episode I think the show delivered what it promised: a coming-of-age story. At the beginning of this show, Ohana was directionless, content with complaining about her mother and ignoring Ko's feelings without trying to find something to strive for. At the end of the show, she's found her dream and has expanded her world a lot more than she would have if she'd stayed in Tokyo. One of the final shots has her standing in the middle of a train crossing, watching a butterfly go off into the distance. Its a given that she'll return to the inn someday, even if we don't see that part. Even with its missteps, the show does do a good job of portraying the journey to discovering a dream.
Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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