Oregairu was a long and arduous journey that encapsulated exactly what it meant to seek the “real” thing. In the span of 3 seasons, various generations of high schoolers alike came to this show to relate to the characters — to insert themselves into the show’s situations. From the first season airing 7 years ago to the most current one, many changes have happened not just within the character relationships and foundations, but even within the show’s content itself. We’ve experienced studio shift, a 5 year wait, and most importantly, broken hearts. While the first season showcased Hikigaya Hachiman’s martyrdom, and the second his realization of his true feelings, this season aims to tell a story about transparency among friends… but who would’ve thought that it would hurt this much?
Continuing off of the second season, Oregairu Kan seeks to resolve itself in a bittersweet note. From the continuation of Yui’s wish to the misinterpretation between the two girls’ wishes, the third season truly deserves the name “climax”. While the story’s overall events are less climatic than the previous seasons, focusing more on a singular prom, the level of detail and character interactions are what give this season its name. As a whole, a good majority of the show’s most glaring problems are with the lack of communication between the Service Club members, although this unique chemistry is what brought them together in the first place.
The art from this season is much more polished, aiming to clear up character art when they’re not in the main focus, which was slightly noticeable in the second season. However, although animations feel smoother and the intricate details feel much more stylized, I can’t help but notice that the shading in this season feels different from season 2. While certain stills of Yui from this season show that she has been given more color than the last, a quick look at Haruno reveals that she has a darker color scheme in this current season. Overall, though, this is such a minor change when considering that the art’s quality has improved from the previous season. Characters look sharper in contrast to their season 2 counterparts. The main focus with artstyle definitely went towards the characters, as for this season, I’m less drawn in by the backgrounds and more towards the characters.
As per usual, I love the music in Oregairu. From the piano versions of the previous OPs/EDs being utilized as character themes to the actual openings themselves, the music is pretty easy to get stuck in your head. Episode 8 turned the upbeat opening into a slow piano ballade with extreme emotional contrast, and the previous songs such as Replica and Yui no Ketsui are prevalent throughout the show too. On the original OP/ED for this season, they definitely grow on you. At first, I didn’t know if I liked the S3 opening over the S1, but the chord structures seemed to stick with me even more than the first season’s. Even if you don’t analyze the music, the actual song used for the opening is another great song by Yanagi Nagi, and I’m glad that they’ve kept using her throughout all 3 seasons.
While there certainly were less characters in this season, we got a much greater look between the relationships between the group members and Haruno. This season left a lot of room for interpretation, especially for Haruno’s true character. While we see Hachiman struggle to decide between what he wants versus what is best for the group, we also see the miscommunication between Yukino and Yui. All of this is further strained due to Haruno’s push for change, and Hiratsuka’s wishes for Hachiman to take time to figure out what the best course of action should be. In other words, the situation can be described as a clusterfuck, but this season handles it skillfully. While it is still hard to fully agree with Hachiman’s version of problem solving, the character progression seen within him is very transparent in this season. He goes from social-suicide to a tactic of planned failure. Rather than destroy all links he has, Hachiman has shown considerable changes in his mindset to the point that he would choose to maintain the respect of the opponent while also getting his goal. However, although Hachiman does show character development, the dynamics between Yukino and Yui can get annoying while watching the show. Everything that is going on is due to a misunderstanding, but rather than the two attempting to reconcile, the situation always requires a third party to get any progress done. While this social dynamic is realistic in how it represents the awkwardness of adolescence, it also insinuates everything that makes it painful. While this is in fact an accurate representation between a strained friendship, the fact that it happens over 10+ episodes makes it repetitive to watch.
Despite some story elements that made me feel slightly peeved at the characters (I'm looking at you, Yukino and Yui), the tension created within this season was the series at its best. While the first season provided the comedy, and the second provided the drama, this season focused was finally able to provide the rom part of the title that we so desired. For those who've stuck around since the beginning, this season has been the longest year finally coming to an end. For others such as me, this season feels like a proper sendoff to the Oregairu series.
