Wagnaria!!3

Episode 11

Hire a marching band and clear the streets for a parade, because someone in Wagnaria!!3 finally managed to establish a romantic relationship. Sometimes it seemed like this day would never come, like we'd be stuck in an endless cycle of botched confessions and humorous miscommunications forever. If you're one of the few who still held out hope in the face of constant but hilarious setbacks, go ahead and take a victory lap. This episode is for you.

It takes the support and meddling of just about everyone else in the restaurant, but Satou finally manages to tell Todoroki that he loves her this week. If that's not enough excitement to make your heart explode, Todoroki even says that she loves Satou as well. The good news is almost too much for Satou to take, and he ends up skipping two weeks of work with horrible stomach pains. Thankfully, his new girlfriend stops by to help take care of him. With one couple now officially paired off, all eyes fall on Takanashi and Inami. Kyoko lifts the ban on dating between employees, and the ever-nosy Souma unleashes his persistent pestering on Takanashi. As the pressure to make a decision mounts, Takanashi tries to figure his feelings out by resurrecting his cross-dressing alter ego. To each his own, I suppose.

Considering how long we've been waiting for Satou to make a move, it's nice to see the love confession handled this well. We still get the usual runaround of misheard comments and runaway waitresses, but the all-important conversation is as low-key as Satou himself. There's no melodrama or overabundance of cheesy emotions, just an honest statement of the facts coupled with the acknowledgement that this has taken entirely too long to happen. A small part of me would have liked to see the scene approached with more energy, but the subtle presentation certainly works.

From what little we've seen thus far, it looks like Satou and Todoroki are as entertaining as a couple as they were before the confession. Satou's complete mental breakdown at the sudden change in circumstances is worth a laugh and seems appropriate for a guy who's spent four years trying to convey his feelings. I enjoyed the long-winded tale of Todoroki's attempts to find his house, and their conversation over dinner is delightfully awkward. The two of them have spent so long not being a couple that their attempts at figuring out what to do next should add plenty of new material for the last few episodes of the series.

Only one loose end remains: the unstable duo of Takanashi and Inami. They know that they like each other, everyone else knows that they like each other, and they know that everyone else won't give them a moment of peace until they admit it. There's so much narrative momentum here that I can't imagine this storyline lasting longer than another episode. That inevitable wave carries a strange sense of finality; will there be anything left to do once Takanashi and Inami are paired up?

As the end of the season draws ever closer, it's beginning to look like this really might be the end for the series as a whole. If that is the case, then it's at least poised to go out on its own terms. Both Yamada's family woes and the relationship between Satou and Todoroki have been presented with a minimal amount of fanfare, fitting comfortably into the overall style and tone of the show. Considering all the outlandish personalities at play, it's interesting to see these big developments presented in a modest, low-key fashion.

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.