‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ Episode 3 Review
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“When did I become someone who treats others the way I hated being treated?”
It seems the more Rintaro Tsumugi (voiced by Yoshinori Nakayama) talks to Kaoruku Waguri (voiced by Honoka Inoue), the less right his assumptions about her personality turn out to be in ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’.
Also Read: ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ Episode 2 Review
Titled “A Kind Person,” episode 3 starts off with Rintaro and his friend Shohei worrying about their upcoming exams, so the two of them head to the library to study together. There, Rintaro unexpectedly runs into Kaoruku. This episode focuses on the slowly developing friendship between its teen protagonists against the backdrop of exam stress, school rivalry, and their own complicated feelings.
One of the most entertaining, and low-key hilarious, moments in this episode of ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ (seriously, they should’ve gone with a shorter title) is when Rintaro and Kaoruku’s friends nearly come to blows. Or at least, it looks like a comedic showdown is about to unfold after Kaoruku’s friend from Kikyo, the elite all-girls school, assumes Rintaro is heckling her, simply because he’s from Chidori, the public boys’ school that Kikyo girls seem to consider a school for losers. The timing couldn’t be worse, because just then Rintaro’s friends appear at the spot and gear up to confront the girls.
While we’ve already been introduced to several of Rintaro’s friends, a fun group of high school boys who enjoy karaoke and sports, this episode is the first time the anime properly introduces one of Kaoruku’s friends. Subaru, a new student from Kikyo with silver hair, looks like she belongs to an action-packed anime. She cuts a tall, cold, and imposing figure next to the short, cute, princess-like Kaoruku, who she is instinctively protective of.
Except for the overtly high-pitched voice acting by Honoka Inoue, I love everything about Kaoruku Waguri: she is cute, optimistic, straightforward, and, as we learn in this episode, also a hard-working student at the top of her class. And the desserts she so joyously devours at Rintaro’s family-run bakery? Kaoruku pays for them with the money from her part-time job, not pocket money handed out by her parents. Yoshinori Nakayama’s calm voice as Rintaro thankfully offers a pleasant contrast.
Given that it’s only episode 3 of ‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’, the romantic moments are yet to kick in, but the awkward bond between the protagonists is very cute. Towards the climactic moments of this episode, Rintaro gets a call from Kaoruku, and the boy practically gets butterflies in his stomach. One can easily imagine a live-action adaptation of this high school series, which so far is proving to be a cozy weekend watch.
‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ is on Netflix.
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