A very solid conclusion to what was something of an epic two-parter. I didn't like this episode quite as much as the last one, but it was still one of the better episodes of the 9 we've had so far, imo.
I also think this episode did
loads of good for the characters of Tohru, Minchi, and Ohana. Tohru, in particular, shined in this episode, I felt. He handled the whole situation
incredibly well, with not the slightest degree of annoyance or lack of professionalism.
I did like the touch near the end where the mystery guests were
not who Jiromaru thought they were, and how perhaps they only ended up being pleased due to Ohana's actions and philosophy of treating all customers the same. It was a nice reinforcement of Ohana's approach, and a good personal success moment for her, I felt.
Now, like acejem, I see some similarities between this and True Tears, but in a somewhat different way...
Quote:
Originally Posted by acejem
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Spoiler for True Tears, and how it relates to Hanasaku Iroha:
First of all, that diagram is
not entirely accurate, and as a proud supporter of Shinichro/Noe I take exception to it. Shinichiro did
not always see Noe as "just a friend" (in fact, the two were officially dating for awhile), and nor did Aiko see Shinichiro as "just a friend", for that matter. I mean, Aiko passionately kissed the guy on the lips, for crying out loud!
So this diagram does a considerable disservice to the very real and sincere romantic conflicts of True Tears.
That being said... Ko is totally being set-up to be a male Noe. After this episode, I'm 90% sure that Ko will end up being to Ohana what Noe was to Shinichiro.
Which is good news for Tohru/Ohana shippers, but is probably very bad news for Ko and Minchi.
Ohana found Ko very helpful in a "personal growth" way in this episode... just like how Shinichiro found Noe in True Tears.
However, at least Ko might have a different viable romance option, unlike what was the case with Noe...