Sakura’s time is limited and she’s going to make the most of it.
What They Say:
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The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the previous episode having pivoted into full on story material for a bit, it had some potential to set things up for the final couple of episodes but instead ended up feeling a bit flat. With some of it layered in metaphor of sorts with a look at the past through a story that was told to Sakura, we got some interesting exposition done in this way but it just kind of felt like it didn’t really captivate or excite. It had some nice notes to it but it wasn’t something that worked towards an interesting story. I found myself just wanting more of the Kiyotaka and Ricca storyline to be explored, or even more fallout from the other characters finding out about what happened more than anything else.
Where the show does follow up here is how everyone ends up coming together at the same time as Sakura appears and they opt to give her a day of fun and excitement that will last them a lifetime in a way. It’s a full on girls day out with Kiyotaka in tow watching along, though not smiling all that much as he knows some of what’s to come with her. But Sakura knows how to keep him involved as well and there are some good, tender moments between the two in addition to the overall enjoyment of what they do here throughout. There are a lot of familiar elements to the first half of the episode as they play in arcades and even the beach for a bit, sans swimsuits, but we also get the all too expected vocal song montage that allows the girls to just have fun, laugh a lot and reflect on wonderful memories being made.
When the episode shifts its focus more towards the time that Sakura and Kiyotaka spend together, we get a lot of very atmopsheric and moody scenes as they walk around together and talk with each other. It’s beautifully animated and the set design is just spot on in what it’s trying to evoke as it wants to be blunt and very direct with it. But the episode also, finally, draws things in with who Sakura really is and how she arrived here in this time and place to interact with him and the others in the school. It’s a bit too child-like in some ways, but the core of it is there in that she’s definitely appreciative of what they’ve done for her, even if they may not have realized just what it was they did in some ways. With just the right hooks, it brings this particular part of the story together in a pretty good way with the two characters that it needed to be done with.
In Summary:
Though this episode admittedly isn’t my cup of tea all that much with what it wants to do, it was something that I knew was inevitable. And it was well done. The visual quality of it definitely hits all the right notes, making this a must-see in HD on a big screen, but it also does it right just in general tone and structure. There’s a lot of predictability to things, which is natural for a show like this, but the fact that it can overcome that and still make you care even after all of that just says that they’re doing things right. For me, Sakura was the weak link in the series that always felt out of place and still does in a lot of ways. But I’m glad to see her arc dealt with here in a pretty clear and clean way that brings some closure for her and for Kiyotaka.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.