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This was one heck of an episode. Suppose keyword for this and the entire arc is "expectations."
Suppose this is part of what Houtarou meant about Chitanda not letting him do what he wanted. In the end had to use some blackmail to get the copies sold. Doesn't exactly line up with Chitanda's expectations for him.
In the end Satoshi sees what he thought was impossible actually happen. Houtarou being able to narrow down the suspects from the massive amount of people at the festival down to one person. Clearly Satoshi's issues haven't even come close to being resolved yet and he showed a lot more of his weakness to Mayaka. Though in the end he managed to dip back into that cheerful persona things can't possibly end like this.
Probably for the best that Chitanda is going to give up on that persuasion, it really isn't suited for her. All she needs really is hypno eyes! She just can't manipulate people in that way to create the feeling of expectations. Think trying to act in a way that was contrary to her just added to the drag Chitanda felt this arc.
In some ways thought Mayaka's resolution wasn't as good as I hoped. Since in the end that club is still full of a ton of jerks and that side of it was never resolved. Great that she came to an understanding with the sempai, but that was about it.
A lot of people just hurting after this story was over. Kouchi couldn't face the reality and that's understandable. Someone without interest just pops in and writes something amazing when she couldn't keep up. It was an arc full of that really. Tanabe felt inferior to Kugayama who had excellent talent, but no interest in drawing again. Kouchi had that feeling towards Haruna who made an amazing manga on her first shot. It wasn't that Kouchi's was bad, but it was just a level below Haruna's and that gap had to be agonizing. Can also wrap Satoshi into this. He thought this was a case that Houtarou wouldn't be able to come up with an answer to and he could catch the suspect, but in the end Houtarou still managed to crack it (though with help, especially from his sister). He ends this in frustration as well. It just builds and builds for these characters.
I have to say this arc was done really well. There were fun times and much more serious moments. Glad at the end to get a few laughs from Chitanda being relieved and going right after Houtarou in "I'm curious" mode. Also fun to see Chitanda and Mayaka excited about a celebratory dinner regarding finally selling out XD.
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