[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Grey

Heh, but I would also admit the story could also spin Ohana's lack of worry about Jiromaru's creepiness as interest in him.

Another part of this episode that I liked, was how Ohana did come across as a bit perturbed and baffled by Jiromaru. That was lacking to an eyebrow-raising degree in Episode 3.

I was just saying: stories can spin tons of earlier events in new ways. That doesn't mean the stuff is real evidence for anything at the time.

It's just a literary tactic. You spin an old event in a new way, so you can start a new development that doesn't look like it comes out of nowhere. The point here is that it would be new, because Ohana doesn't show any real interest in him yet.

I think it's too early to declare that she has a "total lack of interest" in him, though.

My point is that Okada has given more than enough suggestive hints here that it should not take anybody by surprise if she decides to go down an Ohana/Tohru route.

And usually a cigar is just a cigar. If it's not a cigar, they show a scene early on where the cigar has an evil cape and top hat on.

Truth be told, I used to be more of your perspective: Wondering how some people could read so much into such small hints. But then, far more often than not, those people would end up being right about those subtle romance hints leading to something more concrete down the line. If there's a scene in anime that can in any way, shape, or form be construed as having some romantic underpinnings to it, that's more often than not the route the anime will take.

Simply put, it's rare when you have a lot of coincidental smoke, and no fire whatsoever. That's my experience with anime, anyway.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I don't see a lack of a romantic pairing at the end as any kind of a cop-out on Okada's part, RRR - I just don't think this is a romance series.

Well, this is where you and I disagree somewhat. Even if this isn't primarily a romance series, romance is starting to seem like a very prominent subcategory for this anime. That's how it seems to me, anyway.

This is three episodes in a row now in which Hanasaku Iroha has very clearly played around with romantic hints, suggestions, and conflicts.

I question having all those hints unless there's a plan to have them actually go somewhere eventually.

This isn't True Tears.

I see significant similarities between this and True Tears.

As long as she gives us a resolution where Ohana grows as a person, I don't think she owes the shippers anything.

I simply disagree. I think it would be a horrible dodge on Okada's part to avoid the question of Ko's romantic confession entirely. At some point, Ohana should respond concretely to that, in my view.

Sure, there are hints of romance here - the protagonist is a teenager and it's a two-cour series.

That alone doesn't mean you have such hints of romance, and of potential romantic conflict, in three straight episodes, imo.

Again, what's telling to me, is the frequency of these hints. It's not that Ohana personally chased down Tohru once (which I myself could easily dismiss), it's that she did it twice and we're not even half-way through this anime yet. I will say that I agree with your "peaking too early" concern for much the same reason, in fact.

But most of the frenzy is coming from overzealous viewers, not the writer.

If TT had ended without a pairing, I'd have felt gypped. Not so here.

I'll feel gypped here if Ko's romantic confession isn't address, and if Tohru's obvious feelings for Ohana don't result in some serious resolution at some point.