And with this, Na Nare Hana Nare has come to an end.
First, let's talk about this episode. I feel like this episode can be divided in 2 distinct halves. The 1st half, in my opinion, was quite good, with the exploration of Mari's feelings that we can see weren't fully resolved, which is a first in this anime honestly. The cabbage dinner was also really funny though, and I didn't know the plant actually produced a flower too. The way they used cheer to bring confidence to Mari was also entertaining to watch.
Then we have the mess that the 2nd half was. Basically, this 2nd half was a complete rush to the finish, trying to end everything as quick as possible, because we were reaching the end. The whole segment where Kanata and Mari, suddenly, were able to fly again was just underwhelming due to how rushed it was. Also, out of nowhere, Suzuha wants to be an idol, and look, the group disbands. The end.
Honestly, this episode didn't live up to the hype the last few episodes were able to make, with how little the anime had to offer after those more boring 5 first episodes. Overall, this episode felt rushed, and it was certainly the weaker one since, I would say, episode 7.
With the episode review done, now I'll say what I think about the anime in general.
As I have been saying throughout these discussion threads, the first 5 episodes were boring honestly. There wasn't anything going on, the plot was plain, the cheerleading parts were lacking, and the characters were bland. Nothing stood out, and it was almost a task watching the episode.
After episode 6, the anime shifted its focus, and the episodes started getting more interesting with them actually doing a bit more with their cheerleading, alongside with actual character development. After that, the episodes started to build up some drama and character development, that actually made the anime more enjoyable to watch.
But even so, the plot of this anime had a lot of unexplored potential. Most of the characters were barely explored in the anime, with the example of Shion, with her biggest exploration happening back in episode 2, and ever since then, the only thing that happened was the supposed romantic vibes with Suzuha in episode 6, that, as expected, didn't result in anything (another big loss in my opinion). And even with characters like Kanata, I feel like she wasn't that well explored really, we only got to know last episode that she actually wasn't able to fly again after what happened in episode 3, that, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't told, or even hinted, in the anime at all. The anime also had a lot of scenes that at the end, you would just be like "so, with this we got nothing", which can be fine if they are entertaining and the anime has time to develop the story, but this clearly wasn't the case, first because they could get a bit boring, and also because the anime ended with so many aspects unexplored.
Another big problem with this anime, is that, for a cheerleading anime, we saw little to no real cheerleading, it was mostly them cheering them up, then episodes like episode 7, where we got to see more of a professional side to it. We barely saw any choregraphys from them, we had one in episode 3, another in episode 5, partially in episode 7, and then one final one in this episode. And I must say that the animation in these dances with the cgi was off-putting to say the least. It's funny how the better episodes barely had any cheerleading in fact. This could have been branded as a school drama anime more than anything honestly.
And I can't stress enough the lack oh characterization of the main group, and how in 12 episodes they weren't able to do anything with it. We literally get to know that Suzuha wants to be an idol in the last few minutes of the anime. It's just so disappointing for an anime that needed good characters to work better.
Also, I wasn't a big fan of the ending either, after episode 9/10, I already knew the anime would end up with the disbandment of PomPoms, with the girls each pursuing their own dreams and surprassing their inner problems, and it would have a message that the right group of people, in the right time, can help you become a stronger self, and I honestly I would love that conclusion, but the ending was so rushed that this was half done. I thought that they would come to a consensus about the disbandment, because they all had things to do, but no, literally only Suzuha had to leave, and they said "oh, alright, let's disband the group then" and that was it, no sad feelings for finishing an important chapter for all of them. And then most of them just straight out had a sudden change, like Suzuha, than can freely be an idol. And then we got a final montage with the girls doing what the majority of the time were already doing before. Like, Anna was literally working at a cafe, like, what was her big change? She now has to work? This ending felt weak, cheap and unremarkable. The thing I will always remember this anime for, is the beautiful scene with Megumi standing up, to cheer for Kanata, and actually making a jump, and that is for sure the highlight of the anime.
I feel like the anime should have taken another direction during the early episodes, episode 6 should have happened right in episode 3, and this Mari drama should have been sooner too. Really, the anime had some potential, it was just completely unexplored. It's unfortunate that P.A. Works, a studio that I love, failed us with this one, and didn't deliever a remarkable anime like they used to do, but they have done worst in the past, so I won't complain that much (looking at you Fairy Gone).
With all that rant made, I still had a good time with the anime, at least with these last episodes, and the artwork and atmosphere of the anime was really cute and confortable, which made all of the watching experience enjoyable!
So, even with so many flaws, I really can't score this anime any less than a 6/10, because episodes 8 and 9 showed how the show could actually be quite good, and how attached you actually become with PomPoms, even with all of the problems with their development.
Also, quite sad that we didn't get to hear the opening in this last episode, since I was getting used to it, and now from time to time it gets stuck in my head!
Still going to be excited for P.A. Works next project anyways! |