[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

For one thing, I almost feel like this was a natural lead up from episodes 1 and 2, except we were missing episodes in between that and episode 10. This Ohana is the same Ohana who we knew in episodes 1 and 2. The Ohana in episodes 3-9 is a far different, more evolved Ohana (A more boring one I must say as well).

Now it's not that I have a problem with this sort of Ohana, and if she stayed this way for the rest of the series, I'd be more than satisfied. It's just that again this show expresses a freaking IDENTITY CRISIS.

No really. This is the Ohana we came to knew in episodes 1 and 2. The same sort of paranoid, insecure Ohana that frankly is a little emotionally frustrated inside, despite the cheerful appearance on the outside. The Ohana in episodes 3-9 was more of a bullheaded girl who charged into situations no matter how silly, and was trying to be everyone's helper girl. She wasn't very emotionally complex at all. Really, while such characters are not necessarily bad, I much prefer this other Ohana. This Ohana has more depth.

The problem is trying to connect the two. The world in episodes 3-9 is usually far more zany (At times WAY TOO zany such as 3 and 7). Ohana's personality shifted to match these contrasting sides of the story, but this makes the story feel very unnatural. I mean, there was no good build up from the previous episodes that Ohana was this insecure about her worth to the Inn. It comes off as overwrought, especially considering how useful she was in the last couple episodes where as Guardian Enzo pointed out, she was truly indispensable.

I'm going to keep saying it despite people not wanting me to, but really, this show needs to stick with one style or this series will continue to be disorienting, slapping many viewers with jarring shifts in tone, direction, narrative, and characterization.

In all honesty, I think you are wrong.

Look back to how Ohana was characterized thus far, from episode one to nine. It's not like she has suddenly changed from one personality to the other, she was always this girl who tries to do her best to help others, despite her own insecurities, and rushes into things without thinking them through.

In the very first episode, when she got to Kissuiso, how the first thing she had done was take out what she thought was weed from the garden. It was a very silly thing to do, especially when she should have logically went inside to introduce herself first, but she still done it. Or how she took Minchi's blanket and hung it outside the Inn's window, or how she asked to be punished as well when Minchi was slapped. Or even when she tried to defend her when Tooru was scolding her.

Ohana was always bullheaded, from the very start. She just didn't show it much at the beginning because she was new at Kissuiso, and had no idea how to act with this group of people she was going to be living with. The longer she stayed there, the more confidante she grew with her headstrong attitude and forcing her way and view.

This started in the second episode. Throughout it, she was frustrated that no matter what she does, she gets nothing but problems. She tries to take her frustration on trimming the grass, she is told not to be haughty. She tries to clean one of the rooms, she gets accused that she lost something. She tries to lie to protect Nako, Nako goes and continues to ignore her. At that point she says screw it and decided to face the two of them head on and make them agree to not avoid her.

So instead of Ohana shifting her personality, I see it as something that she gradually developed and became more apparent the more and more she stayed with the rest of the staff. I honestly think you are getting too hung up on the change in the tone of the story that you think that the characters themselves are changing, when they are developing all the same.

Now the point about Ohana questioning her worth to Kissuiso not having much build up, I agree. Ohana these past episodes had been always over confidante and let nothing stop her that we didn't really get a good feel for her expressing any doubts on being that essential to the Inn, but I disagree on saying it was overwrought, at least the way it was presented in this episode.

The way Ohana came to the fear that she wasn't useful was due to how everyone assured her that everyone was handling everything fine without her. Being sick, she felt that despite the hard work she put in, waking up early, and trying her best, nothing would be lost if she was gone. So she was very conflicted in what to feel, she was clearly happy that nothing wrong happened due to her illness, but at the same time she felt disappointed that she wasn't needed (we can also say that her fever made her more emotional as well, so she wasn't really thinking clearly).

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

I actually her insecurities about this, largely because it tapped into something I've been wondering: does Kissuiso really have the customer base to support such a large staff? The inn was running fine without her, the circumstances behind her "big damn hero" moment are highly unusual.

The way I see it, this episode sort of answers this question. The Inn can run without her the same as it did back then, but there would be a loss of a morale among the staff.

I think that the biggest change Ohana had brought was make the entire staff feel more like a family more than anything, so while it's not necessarily a major change to the Inn, it's certainly a positive one.

Am I the only one who is reminded by ARIA?

No I also thought this episode was very Aria like as well. That being said I don't think we are going into low fantasy with this series (or at least, we aren't going to see anything concrete about the supernatural here.)