Most seasons there’s a dichotomy that develops. There are shows which I think are “good” or “great” – hopefully both. But sometimes there’s also a show I love to a degree that exceeds my objective estimation of it (though there’s overlap). Sometimes it’s the “that niche” series, though that’s a tendency and not a hard and fast rule. Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo (which certainly is in that category) and Champignon no Majo are two recent examples. There’s no question that for summer it’s been Reiwa no Dara-san. It’s not that niche, but it is that series this season.

Seriously, I just love this thing. It has a magically endearing quality to it and manages to be kinky and innocent at the same time, which is always a trick. It’s neither here for there but I just read today that mangaka Tomotsuka Haruomi suffered a stroke several years ago, and the right side of his body was paralyzed. Through a long rehabilitation process he recovered to the point where he could draw again. And eventuallywrote  Reiwa no Dara-san which was not only serialized, but adapted to anime (by the same studio and director as Super no Ura, airing on the same day). None of that is the reason I’m so fond of it, but it is just one more reason to feel glad that that it exists.

There was some reason to suspect this episode was going to get very plotty and action-driven, which often happens with finales of this sort of series (though in this case consistent with the manga timeline). But in fact it reverted to form relatively quickly. Tsubaki taking over Koharu’s body was certainly a major problem, and Kaoru and Hinata were facing the greatest danger they’d faced so far. But Dara-san was only down, not out. She managed to port her soul into Kaoru’s hug doll and gave him a staff made of her hair. Tsubaki didn’t seem to impressed by this as a long-term strategy but it was the first sign she was never really in control.

The key turning point was Hinata telling Dara to take over her body instead. Dara-san is hesitant, obviously. But Hinata frames the argument in a way that really hits home – she’s only doing the duty of an older sister. Kaoru is in trouble and that requires action. Tsubaki no doubt doesn’t realize this is a major own on her, but Dara certainly does. And the fact is, she loves these two nutters as much as any human aunt or big sister could by now. This is a chance to end the threat of Tsubaki once and for all – though one wonders if the mercy Dara-san shows at the end of the struggle might mean that’s not the case.

If Dara-san has protected the siblings, she’s certainly gotten something out of the deal too. She may be effectively a deity at this point, but before Hinata and Kaoru she never got the chance to experience what a normal, loving family was like. She’s more human now than she ever was as a human, and it’s because of them. They even taught her that it was OK to act based on what you want and don’t want, and that it was OK to do things because they made you happy (or conversely, not do them if they don’t).

Juurota is the other aspect of this. And what a hero he is, seriously. He always acted to do the right thing. He gave up so much to protect the villages even after what they did. He never got to experience the happiness with Koharu that he wanted and deserved, but he knew he’d done everything he could to help her soul find peace. And in the end his bloodline was carried on through everyone connected to the mountain, and certainly to Kaoru and Hinata. So Dara-san in a sense gets to be a mother to Juurota’s children, which is the happy ending she deserved.

And with that, the crisis is effectively over – for now at least. And Reiwa no Dara-san is free to finish out its run as basically the show it was for the duration of it. Hinata gets a little physical boost out of the possession experience (which will come in useful at the pool) and Dara-san loses a bit off the end of her tail. Kaoru drags “Yamada” to the park for a card game, where “Magnum” – which is what the kids call Masatsugu because he was an ace at such games in his day – shows up. He assesses a high-end card set that Tomita-san brings along and advises her to treat it with the respect it’s target auction prices deserve.

The siblings drag Dara to the municipal pool, where even in disguised form her figure draws quite a bit of attention.But once she’s spilled the beans about the pond on the eastern side of the mountain’s forbidden ground, that’s all Hinata and Kaoru are interested in. And since she never says no to them in the end, that’s where they’ll be doing their next round of swimming. It’s a perfect way to end, much more so than a climactic battle with Tsubaki would have been. It’s much more consistent with the series’ personality.

As opposed to its dance partner, I think it pretty unlikely Reiwa no Dara-san is going to get another season. I don’t see any reason to believe it’s massively popular or anything, though of course it did generate enough income to justify an anime in the first place. The anime used about half the existing manga chapters so if the will was there it could certainly be done in the next year or two, and it would be a very pleasant surprise. But this is the sort of show I’m not exceedingly depressed about being a one-and-done, should it end that way. it came out of nowhere, got little buzz (except from my preview), and didn’t generate a whole lot of attention. It’s kind of a miracle that it exists at all, and that makes one feel a lot more grateful for a short adaptation.