With Mari’s sudden disappearance, which she mentioned to Megumi, Kanata gets worried. Eventually, Izawa had to come clean with what happened with Mari.
Mari disappeared for the last time after Kanata regained her ability to fly for real in the previous episode. It’s pretty shocking, given that Mari helped Kanata to achieve this. Thus, she would have basically forgiven Kanata for the comment she made. From what Mari said to Megumi, Mari wants Kanata to forget about her. This upsets Anna as she thinks Mari has the nerve to disappear after making that comment.
Eventually, Kanata’s worry about Mari gets Hana’s attention. While it’s funny to see Kanata undress, although she has her gym clothes underneath, it’s weird that Hana has to stop her. In short, Mari being absent and rumors of her quitting school get everyone upset. Hana even mentions that Izawa changed after winning nationals as she tries to go check on Mari. Kanata goes, too.
Eventually, they arrived where Mari lived, but she was not there for a while. They wonder where her parents live until Izawa changes her heart and goes to check on her. Yep, she has a moped as she takes Kanata there. It’s funny how Hana and her friend try to go there by bike, but it will take a long time.
Izawa and Kanata eventually found Mari in a cabbage field. Yep, she even has a Shiba Inu dog named Benkei, which is cute. Sure, Mari wanted to disappear, so she decided to help her family harvest cabbages. Of course, Izawa returned Mari’s resignation letter, saying she is not convinced that Mari doesn’t deserve to do cheer despite breaking the rules. Kanata doesn’t believe she deserves things as Mari supports her. I find her saying that cheer is like cabbage quite funny.
In the end, Kanata and Izawa stay at Mari’s house as they have cabbage meals. Of course, Hana and her friend arrived hours later, which is unsurprising. Still, It’s good that Izawa eventually admitted that she was too demanding and sacrificed Kanata and Mari. While Mari doesn’t think so, it’s evident that she didn’t want to quit. But Mari is suffering the same thing that Kanata eventually got over.
With that, Kanata wants to return to PoMPoMs to cheer on Hawk Wings. Besides Hana and Izawa helping with the music, Mari insists on doing the 2-1-2 toss that Kanata and Mari did, which led to an accident the other time. Ultimately, they managed to pull it off, which is nice. Along with that nice moment with Hana, they got excited after she and Kanata realized they had pulled it off.
After the cheer, Shizuha finally reveals something that is subtlety obvious. She tried out for an idol audition as she was in the finals. She shows that being an idol is her dream, but she is unsure if she can do it, given her inability to smile. That is until she realizes that she doesn’t need to force a smile. Then again, it’s unsurprising that she wants to be an idol, given that T-shirt during the hot springs episode and her interest in seeing Shion sing and make music. While it’s the end of PoMPoMs, it achieves its mission of friendship and trust and, of course, giving support with some cheer.
Final Impressions
Na Nare Hana Nare is an exciting show. Sure, it doesn’t focus too much on cheer, although the performances seem friendly. Still, it’s obviously the usual stuff with supporting people with cheer. Of course, with a teamwork sport like cheer, the power of friendship and trust will be a central theme here.
Sure, there are strong moments with Anna trying to save the record shop, Megumi doing that cheer, and, of course, that baseball game cheering. Sure, the last arc with Mari gives me mixed feelings, but seeing her situation as Kanata is understandable. She cannot fly given the same condition that Kanata has, and she vented her frustration. Thanks to Kanata, she was given a second chance after she helped her by providing the support she needed. That said, the music and the animation are excellent, as expected, but overall, it is an enjoyable watch.
The ending disappointed me because things were just getting started. PoMPoMs’ last challenge was an interesting one for those who paid attention and it had a nice resolution.
The cheerleading and cast of cuties and hotties were great. The best part was undeniably the three main couples established from the start and seeing how their relationships continued to blossom. Again I wish we got more but what was shown was pretty good. It’s just that I was reminded of the yearning for more I felt at the end of Healer Girl and the agony of never getting more. I felt the same at the end of this show.