[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

In a way, "to be or not to be" between Kazuha and Haru is the main conflict of her arc, while for Akira it lies elsewhere - as evident from this episode, the focus is going to be on her own missing mother, the situation with Kazuha's mother, and the missing pendant. That is a lot of stuff to handle in 2 episodes. On the other hand, there is less to throw a wrench at the romance side. While the romance buildup suffers because of this, it can't really be helped and i understand why they made the choices they did - there is a lot to be done, and by largely "getting it over with" on the romance side gives them more time to do it. And adds an additional motivation boost for Haru to get involved on Akira's behalf.

So ... yeah. Suffice to say, a lot needs to be sacrificed in order to cram it all in to 2 episodes, and Akira's arc may well be the least suited for such treatment. 2 episodes is what they have though, so nothing to be done there. It is a shame the relationship development gets to suffer because of it, but some sacrifices needed to be made if they actually want to cover everything they should in terms of plot, and it just so happens the romance aspect in this case is the easiest to "trim down", so to speak. That is not to say i am satisfied with the whole deal being crammed in such a small timeframe (goes for the anime as a whole), but i think the director is doing a credible job within the constraints he is forced to work with.

Hmm, if the romance between Haru and Akira plays such a "minor" part in her arc, maybe they should have fused Akira and Kazuha's arc? Going by what you're saying and what I've seen in the anime, I think it could have worked better this way.