Wagnaria!!3

Episode 13

Anyone who's had to sit through an overly sappy graduation speech will be familiar with the sentiment that all endings are also beginnings. While it's not always as true as your high school principal would like it to be, it certainly applies in the case of Wagnaria!!3. This episode marks the end of the series, but it's also the beginning of something else. Specifically, this is the start of an indefinite period of waiting for a one-hour special that will hopefully bring the story to a conclusion. At least this temporary farewell is a pleasant one.

With his feelings for Inami finally sorted out, Takanashi returns to the restaurant dressed in his usual attire. The two of them meet up for their date, but the plan is put on hold by the arrival of Inami's father. Given that he's only seen Takanashi dressed as a girl, there's a generous amount of explaining to be done. Inami finally resolves the situation by communicating with her fists, but it's too late to salvage the date. Back at the restaurant, Todoroki charges Yamada with the difficult task of getting a picture of Souma for her photo album. Yamada manages to accomplish her mission by making her brother take a group picture of the restaurant staff, after Todoroki announces her imminent retirement. Just as everyone is settling into a sentimental season finale mood, Takanashi's mother appears out of nowhere and spirits him away into the night.

The attempted date is cute, and it benefits from the excellent chemistry that Takanashi and Inami have built up over three seasons. Both characters talk circles around their feelings as usual, but there's a sense that they've finally made peace with their mutual attraction. It's been quite a while since we've seen Inami's father, so it helps that he's not a terribly complex character. Inami has a satisfying exchange of ideas with her dad, capped off by a lovely slow-motion shot of him sailing through the air after a decisive punch to the face. Takanashi hits the nail on the head when he admits that he can't tell if the moment is sweet or simply absurd. While we don't get any definitive conclusion for this relationship, the scene as a whole is polished and enjoyable.

Todoroki's big announcement and the group photo scene take a page out of the slice-of-life playbook by prompting the audience to reflect on poignant moments from the series. It's not as uproariously funny as you'd expect from Wagnaria!!3, but humor isn't the priority here. What we get is a final snapshot of the restaurant as we know it before Todoroki leaves and passes the torch to Taneshima. This isn't to say that the episode is devoid of jokes; Yamada has some amusing criteria for determining that Takanashi isn't his usual self, and it's hard not to chuckle at the irony of Souma being camera-shy. The balance between comedy and emotion is a good one, and it'd be a fitting send-off for the franchise if it weren't for the elephant in the room.

The optimist in me is excited about the prospect of an extended finale. Avoiding the schedule constraints of the regular season could elevate the show's already solid production values into genuinely impressive territory, and the extra running time should let the script provide a thoroughly satisfying ending. On the other hand, I'm vexed by the prospect of having to wait around because the creative staff couldn't find a way to wrap up the series in thirteen episodes. Between the delayed finale of Blood Blockade Battlefront and this apparently deliberate special, we'd better not be seeing a trend of shows postponing their conclusions out of the blue. My inner pessimist also dreads the possibility that the special won't make it to US streaming for one reason or another. I'm eager to be proven wrong on that front, but I'll be damned if I've watched three seasons just to be left hanging at the last minute.

In the absence of any official release plans for the special, it's difficult to give a final grade to this episode. It's not much of an ending, but it does a respectable job of capping off the season and setting the stage for the eventual last act. No matter what happens, there's no denying that this series has put out an enjoyable thirteen episodes. Wagnaria!!3 has maintained and refined its trademark humor while putting its characters through some compelling personal drama. From both a creative and a technical standpoint, it's hard to find fault with this show. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it does everything it needs to in order to maintain that identity. If you're searching for a benchmark for workplace comedies, look no further.

Rating: B

Wagnaria!!3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Viewster.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.