As the Bonburi Festival, and the closing date for the Kissuiso, approaches, the inn becomes busy thanks to a sudden positive review from a magazine. The increased business creates an opening for Enishi to try to convince his mother to keep the inn open, but Sui remains obdurate. What They Say: “Sui Shijima, the Final Boss”Changes are coming to the Kissuiso, and everyone is making plans. The Madam Manager takes Ohana away to her Grandfather’s grave, while Tohru and Minko learn of a disturbing secret. Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
We get the reunion between Ohana and Kouichi. There are tears, there is melodramatic tension. Ko is on the verge of expressing his feelings for Ohana, but Ohana stops him, because she wants to be the one to say them. She doesn’t quite spit it out however, but she does ask Ko to come to the Bonburi Festival.
Back at the Kissuiso, things are passing rather slowly for Tomoe and Nako, though the kitchen is a little more active. Minko, who’s finally starting to open up just a touch more is getting rather emotional about the impending departure of Mr. Ren and Tohru, though part of it stems from the fact that it’s unlikely they would be able to take her along to their new place of employment, which puts a serious speedbump on her path to becoming a chef. Tohru tries to encourage her with a line from some cliched cooking manga, Teppei, the Wandering Chef. To Tohru’s complete surprise, Minko seems to know all about the manga, even though it seems to be a bit old. As they look at some old copies that Minko has, Jiromaru comes along and utterly shocks the pair as he reveals himself to be the author of the manga.
But they won’t have much time to absorb their shock. Enishi suddenly comes along and says there’s a crisis. While before, the inn was as quiet as an empty field, the phones are now ringing off the hook with people booking rooms. The reason is revealed as Takako returns bearing a magazine which has a featured, positive review of Kissuiso. Enishi takes this opportunity to broach the subject of keeping Kissuiso open, as the new business will put them back on a sound economic footing. Sui, however, is adamant that the decision to close Kissuiso is final. Even though the staff, despite offers from other businesses, expresses their preference to stay at the inn, Sui is implacable.
With a major crisis occurring, it must be time for a dramatic gathering around a table to discuss strategy. Enishi and the senior staff huddle together to hatch a plan to convince Sui. Well, that’s what Nako imagines anyway as she, Ohana and Minko take a bath. Yes, it’s bath time. Nako suddenly becomes forceful Nako, bolding stating that she will confront the Madam Manager. Of course, that must be the cue for Sui to enter the bath, sending Nako back to her wallflower self. Nako tries to find her confidence again, but she’s too slow. Apparently, Sui washes and bathes extremely quickly and efficiently. She is in and out of the bathroom before Nako can stumble out a sentence. Ohana then tries to follow her grandmother into the changing room, but by the time she opens the door, Sui is already dressed. The girls were slightly stunned, as Sui also cleaned up the bathroom and stacked the stools in the brief moment she was in there, so perhaps Ohana had a slightly delayed reaction before getting out of the bath. Sui, already dressed, tells Ohana not to be busy the next day.
The next day, Sui takes Ohana on a short trip. They go to visit her husband’s (Ohana’s grandfather) grave. There, she speaks as much to her late husband as to Ohana. Sui is not being entirely selfish in her idea of closing the Kissuiso. It is, after all, her dream and that of her late husband. The others should be free to do as they please, to start over from scratch, as she and her late husband started the inn from nothing. Ohana, however, counters her strongly, tearing up and saying that Kissuiso is no longer just Sui and her late husband’s dream. It is now a dream shared by everyone who works there. This seems to hit Sui, making her faint.
Back at the inn, we get a short, but meaningful conversation between Enishi and Satsuki. Enishi already knows that it was his sister who was behind the positive review for Kissuiso. It would not be hard for anyone watching this show to figure it out. Satsuki admits responsibility, but rejects Enishi’s assertion that it was out of pity. She was just stating what she felt. Enishi doesn’t really care too much, as he plans to use this opportunity as much as he can to keep the inn open.
Returning to Sui, lying down at a place nearby the cemetery, she and Ohana have a talk about things. Sui reveals her reasons for closing down the inn: Enishi and Satsuki are, in her view, prisoners of her selfishness. The “inn to make Sui happy” ended up driving Satsuki away. Enishi chose to become the successor, but Sui feels that he is not up to the task of running the inn. Rather than have him and the staff suffer, she prefers to set them free. Ohana does not understand everything Sui is telling her. Perhaps, she says, it’s because Sui is old, and Ohana cannot understand what an old person is saying. This leads Sui to laugh, while Ohana tells her that no matter what, Ohana is going to “fest it up” until the Bonburi
Festival.
Returning to the inn, Ohana and Sui see the staff of Kissuiso facing off against the other inn owners, as they are complaining that no one from Kissuiso has come to help with the Bonburi Festival preparations. Enishi retorts that they are too busy, which elicits a jealous remark from another owner that this is what happens when a positive magazine review comes out. Sui comes in as they are speaking and apologizes to the other owners. She orders someone to help out with the festival, but Enishi and the staff as one refuse to budge. Ohana volunteers to help, but Nako tries to signal to her to refuse. Sui is determined however, and Ohana goes. What we are left with, however, is a clearly drawn battle line between Sui and Enishi, who has suddenly found some courage. While the title of this episode makes it sound like a final installment, this is only the beginning of the end.
A generational battle is shaping up at Kissuiso. While Sui is not being completely selfish, from her own perspective, in wishing to close the inn, she does not seem to grasp that she is also, at the same time, being selfish to the extent that she believes she knows best what will make everyone happy. It may be that Enishi is not cut out to run the inn. It could be that the staff would suffer after her retirement. But Sui is trying to determine their futures for them, not allowing them a truly free choice in the matter. For all of them clearly want to stay. It remains to be seen who will win the battle. Ohana, interestingly, seems to be pushed to the sidelines in the battle, odd considering that she is the main character of the show.
In Summary:
The situation with Ko appears to have been settled, or at least put onto the path of final resolution. As Ohana returns to the Kissuiso, however, a new battle emerges. Led by Enishi, who has suddenly discovered some resolve and courage, the staff is not on board with the idea of closing the inn. Sui, however, is unmoved by their appeals. She has determined that the inn will close, though she feels that she is acting in their best interests by doing so, freeing them of the dream that she and her late husband had. That dream is over, and so it is time to let everyone pursue their own dreams. But the others do not want to leave this dream. Ohana gets a full explanation from her grandmother about her thinking, but Ohana does not understand it. Regardless, Ohana has decided to “fest it up” until the very end.