Episode 22 –
This episode was rather quiet in some ways, with the marriage ceremony between Enishi and Takako finishing up without any major issues or drama. What I’m really seeing here, though, is a buildup episode leading into the final few episodes. The series is starting to bring some closure to the rather large cast of characters, with Enishi and Takako being the first of the side characters getting a solid conclusion. The Minko x Tohru drama is wrapped up this episode, and there are even subtle little hints at Tomoe getting together with Renji. Of course, this entire episode did lead into the surprise announcement by the manager, which in itself speaks volumes about what to expect from here on.
As I already mentioned, this episode has started to bring about some closure to all the relationships in this series. The most obvious bit of closure would be for Enishi and Takako, but this also surprisingly wraps up the entire Ohana x Tohru x Minko love triangle. There was no real excessive drama involved in wrapping up the love triangle, but rather, a simple and short bit of conversation to wrap up any dangling issues. It’s not exactly how I expected the love triangle to wrap up, but kudos to PA works for keeping things more down to earth. This episode also brought to a close the involvement of Beanman and the maybe the manager, and I felt that it was done in a very fitting manner.
As for what was actually important in this episode, it would be the clues at Ohana’s return to Tokyo. Based on the OP theme, I had always suspected that Ohana would be eventually returning to Tokyo, but I never quite anticipated that the manager was going to shut down Kissuiso for good. Unless I’m misinterpreting her message, the manager seems to feel that it’s time for everybody to move on from the inn. It was quite the bombshell of an announcement, but I had suspected something big would happen to Kissuiso after that cliffhanger from last week. Now, I can’t imagine Ohana letting Kissuiso close without a fight, but I highly doubt she’d be able to stop the closure.
With that being said, the reintroduction of Kou-chan and Satsuki into the story here makes perfect sense; now that Kissuiso is coming to a close, Ohana would obviously be returning to Tokyo. Back when we last saw Kou-chan, Ohana still hadn’t fully sorted out her feelings. Now that she seems to have more resolve, maybe we’ll finally see some closure to the Ohana x Kou relationship.I do have doubts on how “one sided” Ohana’s love is for Kou-chan (I mean, he did confess to her in the first episode… =_=), but maybe Ohana is just that dense when it comes to love. The series is definitely drawing to a close, and it seems that PA works has started to shift gears and prepare for the final arc or two. I do have a feeling the finale might not be a “happily ever after” ending, but I do sincerely hope there will be some proper closure for Kou-chan and Ohana.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5
P.S. Yuina and Nako this episode were pretty fun to watch, though it looks like we might not see much more of them in the next few episodes. 😦
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
The recent developments have caused me to drop this show for a while. I cannot believe that Ohana realized that she liked Ko…after all this time.
Haha, I actually totally expected you to rage out at the stuff in this episode. Ohana really is a blockhead though, so I did find the turn of events a bit believable. But man, she must be seriously dense o_o;
What bothers me in this episode was Sui’s declaration. Does this mean that she’s planning on ending Kissuiso’s future in order to pave way for the new generation to establish their own inn or does she have something else in mind? because I don’t think that Sui plans on abandoning the employees who came to love their work. If anything, this may be a rite of passage, symbolic after the events of the festival.
Well, she seems to believe that the future is something that the newer generations should seek out themselves, so I guess she feels she’d be interfering if she forced someone to inherit Kissuiso. But the closing of Kissuiso is something that I feel might actually be very fitting for the end of this series. It would bring some proper closure to Sui and her story, as well as the long history of Kissuiso itself. Actually, a rite of passage sounds like the perfect description.