Can a person change? If so, what motivates someone to change? The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 3 explores those questions from Rintaro’s perspective and sets things in motion for the rest of the characters.
The anime adaptation manages to structure the story in a way that every episode can be analyzed both individually and as part of a larger narrative. For this review, I want to focus on the defining moments that will help us understand better our protagonists.
Rintaro’s kindness and the ability to grow
Since this is a romance anime, it can be expected that Kaoruko is a catalyst for Rintaro’s changes. What is not so common to see in this genre is the focus on friendship, or at least not to this degree.
I appreciate the balance between love and friendship, which is reflected in the library conversation between Rintaro and Kaoruko. Rintaro had two reasons to request Kaoruko to teach him: he didn’t want to fail this time, and he didn’t want to get used to giving up.
The anime was clear in Rintaro’s first reason: he is thinking of his friends. Throughout the episode, they have been telling us that despite his apparent “indifference”, he values sharing experiences with his friends, which includes the coming sports festival. I love how this is portrayed in subtle and explicit manners.
For his second reason, the episode had already established Rintaro’s insecurity about his grades. Yes, our best boy is not exactly the top of the class, but meeting Kaoruko and seeing how she made an incredible effort keeps inspiring him. This is what I call a positive influence.
At his own pace, Rintaro is changing, and all the people around him can tell.
Natsusawa-sensei can bite
One of my favorite characters from the manga, Saku Natsusawa, showed new angles of himself. In a similar fashion to Rintaro, he’s a quiet but dependable guy, always ready to come to the aid of his friends.
We got more insight regarding his teaching capabilities. And when we thought his character would focus more on background support, he confronts Subaru. It’s shocking to see this facet of him, capable of such aggressiveness.
If you think about it, in this aspect, he’s the total opposite of Rintaro: Saku may look inoffensive, but if provoked, he can deliver heavy blows.
Yet it is clearly stated that he will only do so to protect his friends. I consider his confrontation with Subaru the highlight of the episode, since it shows how much both of them are capable of doing on behalf of their loved ones.
Subaru Hoshina, the silver queen
And it’s time to talk about our silver-haired gal, Subaru Hoshina! Sadly, we didn’t see much of her, though the principal points were stated: she’ll go to any length for Kaoruko, and she doesn’t like boys.
Definitely, the anime understood the importance of showing her strong will in her first appearance. I could feel the tension when she confronted Rintaro and Shouhei—and I was scared myself!
However, the mentioned confrontation scene with Saku demonstrated that our icy queen is not that invulnerable. I hope future episodes explore this dimension of her further, since it adds to the complexity of the character.
The episode ends with Subaru looking at a childhood photo of her and Kaoruko, as if saying to us: be prepared for what is to come.
Bonus: Kyouko is cooking
Rintaro’s mom is working behind the scenes, and I couldn’t be happier. As mentioned in my previous review, I value animes in which the parents are involved in their children’s lives. It adds realism to the whole story.
Conclusion
Subaru’s first appearance is a relevant turning point for the story. Finally, we major players are on scene, and in three chapters, we received a glimpse of their personalities. The Fragrant Flower reveals how kind-hearted people aren’t immune to struggle, tension, or emotional conflict.
Do you have a favorite already? Better wait for the next episodes before choosing, you may be surprised!
The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is streaming on Netflix, where all the images are from.
© Saka Mikami / Kodansha / The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Production Committee
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