Finally…

...Its been a long time, Taka.

Summary

Kodaka has another dream about his past, realizing that he cannot remember the nickname of his childhood friend. In the clubroom, the Rinjinbu decide to visit a nearby festival, where they eat takoyaki and Yozora and Sena have another one of their contests. While lighting fireworks, Yozora gets too close and accidentally singes her hair, forcing her to cut most of it off. Back at school, Yozora arrives late, and as she walks to her seat, Kodaka finally remembers the name of his long-lost friend.

Impression

sobs TEN TIMES BETTER THAN IN THE LIGHT NOVEL. I’VE WAITED FOR THAT SCENE FOR…10 WEEKS NOW. And it was JUST AS AMAZING as I remembered it to be blows nose

Kodaka finally realizes that Yozora knew he was Taka all along, but it took a drastic appearance change for Kodaka to even recognize Sora, who now looks like an extremely pretty bishounen. Here have another picture

Oh god that scene was so heartwarmingly awesome <3 This was the “big revelation” I was talking about, by the way. At this point I do remember what happens next in the novels, but seeing as next week is the last episode I wouldn’t mind an anime-original ending if it turns out very differently (for the better). Either way, Yozora now has a massive claim on Kodaka compared to any of the other girls, so this is the pairing I’ll be rooting for! Sena has a pretty big crush on him too, and I bet her father will easily approve. Remember that “take care of my daughter” thing he told Kodaka? In reality, these two are the only realistic pairings, since Kodaka x Maria/Kobato would be just weird, and Yukimura is happy being his underling o.O Starting a family with Rika will result in the most perverted kid ever seen in the history of anime, no joke.

In terms of the festival, the girls did indeed look cute in yukatas, apart from Sora who refused to wear one as it would assert her feminine-ness, which is probably why she never told Taka she was a girl. Whatever floats her boat I guess. In particular, Rika looked amazing in a yukata, and Kobato was adorable as well xD

Not surprisingly, Yozora and Sena had another round of their never-ending contests, resulting in them getting blacklisted from nearly all the stalls they visited. I don’t remember goldfish scooping being that hard when I was a kid, but the stall owner shouldn’t have a problem with Sena getting one fish using 10 scoops at the same time xD He’s getting the money after all. As for Rika and her epicness with a shooting range, I’d go to as many festivals as I could if Xbox 360’s were listed as a prize.

Awesome fireworks are awesome xD I can’t remember the last time I lit off some sparklers, the ones here were all pretty and I really have to thank the “last boss” for putting Yozora’s hair on fire (just like Shana) and leading to Kodaka finally realizing who she is. I absolutely can’t wait for next week’s finale!

PS. You may think you’re clever AIC, but I didn’t miss the Oreimo cameo AT ALL xD Well played, well played.

OMG its Kirino and friends!