The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

Episode 13

The finale of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity gives us something that we didn't strictly need, but it's wonderful to have anyway. That is Kaoruko's point of view. Most of the story has been from either Rintaro's or Subaru's perspective, and that makes sense. Both of them have a lot to work through, and Kaoruko's unstinting support is what makes a lot of the plot possible. Without Kaoruko, Subaru never would have had the courage to get to know the Chidori boys. Without Kaoruko, Rintaro wouldn't have felt that he could be friends with someone as wonderful as her – or possibly with anyone at all, since he even kept his guy friends at a bit of a distance. She's been both the backbone and the catalyst for all of the plot's actions.

But that doesn't make her an empty shell of a plot device, rather than a person with her own thoughts and feelings. Much of that could be inferred from her facial expressions and body language (not to mention her words), but to actually see and hear her side of things fully humanizes her. Her flyaway curls don't just occur naturally. Her adorable outfits aren't something she just throws on before she leaves the house. And her repeated visits to the Tsumugi family bakery aren't just about the cake. Kaoruko has been intentionally pursuing Rintaro since even before he remembers as an active part of her own story.

It makes sense that Rintaro wouldn't have noticed that. For one thing, he's all about downplaying his appearance or being aware that it makes others uncomfortable, so it wouldn't occur to him that she was intentionally trying to look beautiful for him – he doesn't think he's worthy of such attention even without his personal style coming into it. He's also keenly aware that he goes to Chidori while she goes to Kikyo, and social conditioning has further taught him that she's unlikely to want a romantic relationship with him; he spends the first half of the series trying to wrap his head around the idea that she'd even want to be friends. She is, as far as he's concerned, out of his reach, and he's not prepared to see anything that contradicts that unless it's thrown in his face. Poor Kaoruko didn't need to worry about showing up in a sweatshirt with flat hair.

One of the best moments of this episode, and possibly of the season, is when Kaoruko says that they aren't a Chidori student and a Kikyo student: they're Kaoruko and Rintaro. That's it. High school isn't forever, and at some point, no one will even care where you went to college or what your major and GPA were. But the person you are is what really matters, and the person called Kaoruko Waguri loves the person called Rintaro Tsumugi. That's all that's important.

For a romance with minimal touching, no official dating, and no kissing, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity is incredibly romantic. Freed from the trappings and tropes of the romance genre, it is instead able to focus on the emotional component. It follows the characters' growth not just romantically, but also as they discover their own dignity and learn how to at least respect themselves, and those allow them to fall in love. Rintaro supports Kaoruko just as much as she does him, even if he doesn't realize it. (That throwaway line about Kaoruko having stayed at the hospital too late indicates that her life isn't all rainbows and kittens.) The storytelling allows us to fall in love with the characters as they fall for each other, and that's not something every romance can pull off.

I wish this entire cast nothing but the best. All of them deserve to be happy and loved.

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The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity is currently streaming on Netflix.