I think it’s safe to say that Hachi and Haru completely stole the show this episode. The second I saw a picture of Hachi I knew he’d be related to Haru and I’m so glad I was right because this is a wonderful development. It’s a nicely-timed revelation, too; I feel like the last few episodes have been focusing a lot on Subaru and his problems. Which has been great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to see Haru get an episode that really feels like hers, even during Subaru’s segment. Especially since Subaru was starting to overtake her in the cuteness department. But with this episode, Hachi and Haru have cemented their statuses as the two cutest creatures in the series. Just look at them.
No human could even attempt to compete with this. It’s just not possible.
This is a pretty good effort, though.
Also how is it that Haru pulls off iconic facial expressions with such alarming consistency? She may just be the most naturally talented model of our times.
I guess it’s in her genes because Hachi is no slouch either.
In other news, pet shop-chan has a name (Nana Okami) and possibly a boyfriend? He could just be her slightly overprotective roommate, I guess. It’s interesting if he really is her boyfriend, though. I wonder how they’ll play him. Will he be an ass who sets the stage for Subaru to jump in and sweep Nana off her feet, or will he be a good guy who becomes part of Subaru’s ever-expanding circle of friends? To be honest, I’d be fine with either option. I was a little unsure about the series setting up Nana as a potential Subaru love interest from the start because there’s a danger of her seeming more like a “reward” for Subaru than an actual human being with opinions and agency, and in a way her being a friend is probably enough for Subaru, who has most likely never in his life had anything approaching a sexual thought. But at the same time they’re incredibly sweet together and I kind of ship them? So whether she stays a friend or becomes more, I guess it’s all alright with me.
And on that note, I’m done talking about humans for the rest of the review, back to Hachi and Haru. And Roku, who looks to be getting a proper introduction next episode but I already love him for being a giant cuddly old man cat. Something else I love about this show is that the animal cast seems to be growing almost as rapidly as the human cast, which I guess is to be expected considering the split perspective format.
Hachi and Haru’s reunion was a great plot point that I wasn’t expecting until more or less right before it actually happened. I think it adds a great extra dimension to Haru’s character arc, but also raises a few questions. I wasn’t entirely clear on whether Hachi is the brother who Haru found “dead” before the start of the series, or if that was her other sibling. But it looks like we might find out more about Haru’s backstory now that Hachi’s on the scene, so I suspect all will be revealed fairly soon. I think it would be a mild cop-out story-wise for the whole family to be alive after all, but I would still accept it wholeheartedly because I just want Haru to be happy. And the more animals are introduced the better, to be honest. All I’m here for is cute fluffy antics with cute fluffy cats (and a cute fluffy mystery writer).
So yes, good episode again. Almost all my screenshots are of Hachi and Haru though because they were by far the best things to look at for most of the episode. Also the preview has me super excited again because it looks like Haru, Hachi and Roku are going on an adventure and there’s no way I’m not going to love it. Maybe they’ll even meet based neighbour dog. I bet they’re going to meet based neighbour dog. This is gonna be great.