Score: A-

Another good show has now finished. Kobayashi was a really enjoyable show from start to finish. All things considered it would have been a win just for this show to be made. I definitely appreciate though that this second season turned out to be so good. In terms of last episodes this was a pretty nice way to wrap things up. A lot of focus understandably went back to the title character as she thought about things and continued taking Tohru more seriously. We’ve passed the point where Tohru just kept trying to feed her tail. Things are a lot closer to Kobayashi being able to honestly reciprocate Tohru’s feelings. Not quite there yet, but she’s definitely a lot closer to that point. If the show ever does get a third season, then who knows. We might just see Kobayashi be able to honestly respond to Tohru’s “I love you.”

Saikawa herself is supernatural

Most of the characters didn’t get as much focus for the final episode. Just about everyone got something to do whether it was taking part in arm wrestling or small little scenes. With them trying to fit both a summer festival and flower viewing into the same episode that makes sense. At least there was a fair amount of cute little moments. I did like the little nods towards potential drama with Kanna and Saikawa. Again, you have Saikawa talking about the future and that’s an awkward topic even for Kanna. There’s no doubt she realizes that her own childhood probably won’t even end by the time Saikawa grows old and dies. Not unless we’re talking about getting that immortality potion for her…While that isn’t something I see Kobayashi taking, I do think that might be an option for Saikawa.

This girl is definitely cute

Ilulu wasn’t as big a focus here after her introduction episodes ended. But at least she did get a few moments in this episode to stand out. She absolutely snapped Takiya’s wrist. Although I suppose it is fair to say that she could have detached his hand from his arm if she really tried so that turned out ok. Presumably someone healed that wrist later XD.

While she isn’t revealing the truth to Take yet either, it was a nice moment they could share at the festival. Certainly, the offer to trick Ilulu as well to let her be a kid as much as she wants means quite a bit for her. Again, he’ll still be second to Kobayashi but it still means a lot to have him supporting her. The nice thing is that she’s aware enough to be able to tease and mess with him. There’s more back and forth available with these two than when she’s dealing with Kobayashi.

She had a good time this season

It is good to see Kobayashi really processing the situation with Tohru and her own feelings here. She’s just learned so much that she can’t laugh off Tohru’s powerful affection. Tohru is a crazy powerful being that has been able to really integrate herself into human society here. Kobayashi can appreciate all the things that make Tohru such a treasure. But that also brings a heavy bit of self-reflection on whether she is worthy of the affection of someone like that. Her own self-worth isn’t so high that she can easily wrap her head around it. But in the end, she’s doing alright and things are progressing pretty well. Tohru can at least have a lot more hope for her future romance after this episode.

RIP Takiya’s wrist

Tohru wouldn’t be Tohru though if she wasn’t a big dumb at the same time. Her trying to turn the flower viewing into a wedding ceremony was amusing. It seemed like she was getting pretty close to having things actually play out the way she wanted. Kind of sweet really that she tried to follow more human steps of having a wedding ceremony and wanted credit for being so considerate. In terms of a way to end a season that is a nice funny little moment to go out on.

Final Thoughts

Tohru was fun

I’m really happy that KyoAni was able to make this show and keep it as high a quality as the original was. The visuals were still excellent throughout the show. Some of the fights were particularly awesome and surpassed a lot of the action focused series of this season. Whether it was Ilulu vs Tohru or Tohru vs Elma we got some real spectacles to appreciate this time around. There was a lot less of the girls as dragons in this season, but thankfully Kanna’s episode and the flashbacks helped out in that respect. The technical side of the show was something I couldn’t complain about. It was exactly the level of quality you’d hope for from this series.

She made the show even better

As far as new characters go, Ilulu was outstanding. She made her entrance with dramatic flair considering how ‘chaos dragon’ she was acting at that point. Her arc was really nice with allowing herself to be tricked and start embracing her childish side again. Staying in that world allowed her to break away from the conflict and the direction she had been pushed into since her parents passed away. All of that lining up nicely with her taking up that job at the candy store and building up a pretty nice friendship with Take. Even if she didn’t have as much to do in the second half of the show, she was definitely one of the best characters of the series.

Fingers crossed for S3

This show will be missed. Wednesday was made into the best day of the season for me thanks in part to Kobayashi being so darn good. But shows always have to end. Thankfully this one ended on a positive note with there always being hope for more down the road. As always, I appreciate everyone taking their time reading and hope the Fall season treats everyone well.