Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Amaama to Inazuma Episode 12 Review + Final Thoughts

Sayonara, Tsumugi
(This review contains spoilers!)

          I’m not sure what I expected with this episode, but it sure was a lot more than we really got. Overall, this just felt like a regular episode of Amaama to Inazuma, with very little to distinguish it as the season finale. Worst of all, it’s not even that good of a regular episode.

          The plot is one that we’ve seen before from this show. Tsumugi is upset because her father scolded her, but through the cooking segment, she cheers up. Honestly, last week’s would’ve made for a better finale. I guess because they’re following the manga, this was what came next, but it’s so clearly not meant to be a finale episode.

          The character interactions are as good as ever. Tsumugi’s relationship with her father is just as believable as ever, and I still really enjoy Shinobu and Kotori. I feel like I must object to Yagi again, however. He feels even more out of place than usual this episode. Kotori’s mother also returns after a lengthy absence, but they only give her a few lines to work with, making her pretty superfluous. Same thing goes with Shinobu and Yagi this week. For 75% of the episode, they’re in a different room, not interacting with the main trio. Why have them there at all?

          So, yeah, not a great way to end off the show for now. From what I’ve heard, Amaama to Inazuma has been a pretty big hit in Japan, so I suspect we’ll be seeing a Season 2 before too long.

          Overall, if I could describe Amaama to Inazuma, I’d use the same two words I opened up my first review with: sweet and harmless. At its best, the show can be really delightful to watch. Tsumugi and her father are fantastic characters that are fun to spend time with, and while the rest of the cast aren’t nearly as good, they all hold their own certain charm.

          The thing that makes it really hard to recommend this show is unfortunately just how uneven the quality of the episodes are. Some episodes knock it out of the park, yet others, like this finale, are pretty uninteresting. I really feel like you have to be a certain kind of person in a certain mood to really enjoy every episode. Even then, the extremely slow pace of certain episodes can make it hard to get through the whole thing. I myself even considered stopping at the halfway point.

          But still, I enjoyed my time with Tsumugi and company, and if that potential Season 2 ever rolls around, I’ll be sure to watch it.

          Now as I sign off, let’s listen to the shark song one more time.

FINAL SCORE (Episode 12)
4/10

Mediocre

FINAL SCORE (Overall)
6/10

Okay

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