Score: A

There are just some things in this world that are certain to make me happy. Another season, episode, or ova for “Is the Order a Rabbit?” is just one of those things. This ova was certainly shorter than the last one, but it didn’t need to be any longer than this. This was effectively just a glorious extra episode and I enjoyed every minute of it. It is a perfectly great way to remember why this franchise is so good while waiting for S3 to come out next year. I had a lot of fun watching the show focus a bit on Chino. This was all about her past, and her present. We got to see more of her mother and got to see Chino tackle her fears and sing for an audience.

It is absolutely fair to say the real main character in this show is Chino herself. Cocoa is a catalyst for this group coming together. But Chino is the character that grows the most and has people gravitate to her in order to support her. Of course the show does allow the various characters to grow and pair off to tell different stories. It isn’t all about Chino. But it is fair to say she is the central character overall and that’s definitely fair to say about this particular ova. This really was all about Chino. From the moment we opened up with her as a young child to the ending where she remembered those moments with a smile.

Definitely an episode that picked up in a hurry. The moment Maya and Megu hauled in a collapsed Chino the story was on the move. What I did love is Chino’s decision to actually take on the part, ask for help, and dedicate herself to Rize’s training. She has come such a long way from someone who was afraid of Rize or didn’t want to stretch herself out that far. And it fits when you consider her character arc to this point. Chino has constantly been stepping outside her comfort zones with events; going out camping, taking on ballet, inviting friends for a sleepover, going to a fireworks festival, etc. This is just one more step for her. Instead of backing out of something that made her nervous, Chino took a step forward.

This was a wacky episode with the main characters just being themselves. Nothing quite captured that like Syaro being doped up on caffeine and going on an idol performance. It was honestly such a good performance that I think she should consider going for it in reality. Sure, it would require using her caffeine high often, but she really does have a gift. Besides that though I had a blast with Chiya’s enka style performance and how much of a loving grandmother Chiya has. She may act strict at times, but you can really see how much she loves and supports her wacky granddaughter. That of course should be obvious I suppose since she accepts Chiya’s weird naming schemes.

One of my favorite moments was honestly the one with Chino and her father. It was both touching and reminded me that they deserve more moments together. I get the show is about the girls. You will never get me turning down good sister moments with Chino and Cocoa. But, Chino’s father has been a great support character for much of the show. It was really nice for him to have a chance to talk to Chino about her mother and really be a great Dad. He really is a low key, but great character. Even showing up in that silly getup like the rest of the main cast in order to support Chino. No doubt he’s had some painful times in losing his wife. But he’s carried on to keep the family going and supporting his daughter in whatever ways he could.

It is funny how I could easily see Cocoa as one of Saki’s daughters. You can certainly see the brightness and energy that is shared between both characters. I’m sure that similarity was part of why Takahiro was in support of bringing Cocoa in under that home-stay program. That kind of almost silly energy was something that Chino lacked in her life since her mother passed away. What I’m really happy about though is that we got to see more from Saki. We got some lines, her singing, and stories about her. I’m sure the show doesn’t want to dwell too much on a dead character, but I liked learning more about her. I can imagine that bar time at Rabbit House was pretty awesome with her singing as a big draw. And I like the episode ending with Chino thinking about her. No doubt her mother is proud.

Really, this episode was just a lot of fun. We had purely silly stuff, a wonderful singing performance from Chino, and good character moments. The unsaid words about how Cocoa is one of the people Chino is happy to sing for could be seen on her face. I loved Syaro, Cocoa, and Chiya secretly working together to get decked up in idol fan gear before the performance. There were so many moments that brought a smile to my face or got me laughing. Even the silly song Cocoa made up for the Rabbit House theme song was great. This show is always so darn fun.

Of course it will be tough to wait on S3 for this show. Another 12 episodes or so of greatness isn’t easy to wait on. But this ova helped a lot. I had a great time watching it, talking about it, and I’ll probably rewatch it a few more times. This is just a really strong franchise and I’m glad they made these ova episodes.