The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 3 Review: Rintaro Secures A Study-Date

The 3rd episode of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is here, and it was a nice overall watch. Let’s discover how this episode plays out.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 2 Recap

The episode kicks off with Rintaro taken aback after learning that Waguri attends Kikyo High, the school directly across from his own, Chidori. Given the long-standing hostility between students of the two schools, Rintaro assumes Waguri will now begin to distance herself from him. His friends share similar sentiments, expressing clear dislike for Kikyo students based on their past encounters.

The situation takes an unexpected turn when Rintaro spots Waguri waiting for him outside Chidori High’s gates. This act causes a stir, as it’s unheard of for anyone from Kikyo to show up at Chidori in such a public way. Tensions rise even further when two Kikyo girls mistreat one of Rintaro’s friends without provocation.

Fortunately, things begin to smooth over when Waguri visits Rintaro’s dessert shop. There, the two share a heartfelt conversation, during which Waguri expresses her sincere interest in getting to know him. Rintaro, unfamiliar with such openness, is clearly overwhelmed. His belief that Waguri has no reason to pursue a connection with him speaks more to his own doubts than to her intentions. It becomes apparent that he’s projecting his insecurities onto her, rather than allowing her the space to make her own choices.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 3 Review

This episode starts with bad news for Usami and Rintaro. They are told that they will not be able to participate in the sports festival because they’re bound to fail their midterm exams. Though the midterm exams are yet to start, the teacher already knows what their results can be. Now, they must pass their exams to qualify for the sports day. However, it is not as simple because both Rintaro and Usami are not the brightest of the bunch. Over this, Usami even fights with Saku, their only hope for passing the exam.

While studying at the library, Rintaro manages to come face to face with Waguri, who is supposed to be busy the entire month. Apparently, she’s also preparing for her exams, and here, we get to know a bit about her family. Contrary to popular belief, Waguri is not from a rich family, and she must keep her grades up so that she can get scholarships. However, their happy time gets interrupted when a new character from Kikyo High School, Subaru, comes to blame Rintaro for bothering Waguri.

This time, Rintaro was not alone, as even his friends came to back him up, and a heated exchange took place between the two parties. Thankfully, towards the end of it all, Waguri finally clears the misconception that Rintaro is the one who is bothering her.

This interaction resulted in some important developments where we see Rintaro becoming closer to his friends than he was before. Apart from that, Rintaro also secures a study date with Waguri, something that he is very excited to attend. Nevertheless, the ongoing problems between the two schools are sure to become bothersome for our protagonists.

Verdict

I like today’s episode, but again, I feel that this story is a bit too cliche. There are many stories with a similar kind of theme where the love interests come from opposing families or schools. But what could set this anime apart is how deeply it chooses to explore its characters.

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