Shiina’s made her decision and it’s going to cause quite a problem.

What They Say:
Mahiro knows she is the reason for Sakura hall closing, as she prepares to leave school to protect those she loves. The residents search desperately to find her.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series gets closer to its end point, we’ve had a somewhat predictable storyline running, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We’ve gotten a good look into the pasts of a few characters and the way that the Sakura Hall kids came together through Sorata’s arrival there. But with the reveal that Shiina’s presence, through no fault of her own, is what’s going to cause it close ahead of time, you can see how certain things are going to play out. Particularly on the emotional side as Sorata has had a really bad run of problems as of late when it comes to his dreams and goals, made worse once again by the way that Shiina’s work and efforts continually seem to pay off for her.

Since Shiina knows this, her leaving in the middle of the night is something that surprises everyone, especially as they had at least expected some kind of conversation about it after all they’ve been through. But as their resident advisor points out, Shiina had no connection to them when she first came there and for her to do something like this says a lot about her as she’s trying to save Sakura Hall in the only way that she can. When the gang finds out what she’s done, it turns into a pretty intense race to find her and stop her from leaving entirely. Not surprisingly, Sorata is the most intense about this due to the underlying relationship the pair have had, but it’s something that really impacts Nanami as it goes along and she realizes that she has no real chance with him at this point, understanding that his feelings are devoted towards Shiina.

Naturally, her reveal seemingly comes at the worst time, but she uses her feelings to spur him on to realize his own and to advance towards Shiina in the way that both of them deserve. Most of the time is spent running around searching, but we get a few character moments that are welcome as it helps to nudge them in various directions. It all comes down to Sorata and Shiina though and with him finding her as she gets closer to getting away, it’s a decently emotional piece coming from a girl who has been largely a blank slate for many reasons of the seasons. Her view of things has made her go this distance and it’s one of the few times that she really feels human in a way, as her views on how others view her and her feelings come to light. While it’s all very lovey-dovey in the end and predictable, I have to admit that the way it plays out works well with these characters and the presentation overall with the quality of the animation and music.

In Summary:
Episodes like this in a series like this is obviously predictable in a lot of ways and I was not expecting any surprises. The highlight for me was seeing Nanami’s way of dealing with what she sees coming from Sorata and the way the trio all worked things out in some form towards the end. Shiina’s emotional outburst was really nicely done as well as it makes her come across just a bit more complicated than she has been and that’s definitely helpful. While there’s nothing particularly shocking here, I definitely like the reinforced bonds of the group and the way it all comes together, even if there’s an unrealism about it in a way, at least in terms of how American kids would handle such things.

Grade: B+

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.