To celebrate their school and to officially say their goodbye to it, the school decides to hold a closing school festival for it and the students, alumni, and just in general the people of the town. A cute heartwarming episode, with a little bittersweet moment in the end.
Not much discussion this time. It really was just an episode where the students worked together, and had fun, wore cute outfits, sang, etc. I will point out the You moment this episode because this is the only You moment we’ve gotten this entire season. I thought it was cute that she got up on the box and reenacted the scene from the very first episode when they were both looking for girls to join their school idol group. It was a moment that was special specifically to them both because Riko hadn’t gotten in the picture yet. It’s where it all started, with Chika vehemently seeking out others while You was mostly there to support her best friend before ultimately joining because she wanted to. It was a very important memory that was tied with the school, but this moment also showed just how much time has passed and how things have changed so much, where now it’s nine of them and not just two. It ties in with the passage of time theme in this episode, which the girls talked about in their monologues near the end. Time really passes when they’re having fun, lots of memories were made, etc. I think it was great to make You create this moment because….well, again, You has been ignored…but it also shows how important that memory was for her too.
Lots of funny and cute moments of Mari stamping peoples’ foreheads, cute maid outfits, Dia and Ruby actually creating like a funny-man duo with a school idol trivia show, You and Kanan dressed up as Uchichi (however its spelled) and putting on a show for the kids, and Yoshiko’s failed fortune telling booth. But, it was sweet that Hanamaru and Riko went far to help Yoshiko achieve her dream. The balloon scene was especially nice, looking very pretty as they floated up into the sky. Oh, and lots of shipping moments near the end that will be great for shippers, which is not me. So go crazy, you guys.
Even though in the end it got a little sad with Mari apologizing (T_T) everyone chanted Aqours and finished the festival by singing together, giving their school a proper goodbye. Mari’s great, she’s had a lot of great moments this season. A lot of responsibility was put on her shoulders and she always felt guilty about the school closing. She may be loud and meme material, but she has a much softer and kinder side that we’ve seen a lot that more people need to appreciate. Two more episodes left, and the preview makes it out to be a Kanan episode, and while I wanted a Kanan episode earlier, getting one this late might be a bad idea because we need to get back into the plot of Love Live. More Love Live!
