The anime adaptation of Saka Mikami’s The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity manga finally comes to Netflix with an English dub, and episode 1 was worth the wait in my eyes. Episode 1 delves into the entertaining first encounter between protagonists Rintaro Tsumugi and Kaoroko Waguri, and to get straight to the point, it left a great first impression on all fronts.
Note: there will be spoilers for the first episode of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity.
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity presents an intriguing dichotomy right after Rintaro comes to Shōhei Usami’s rescue at the start of the show. Rintaro is a student at Chidori High, an all-boys school that picks up delinquents with the lowest grades, and many are frightened by him, except for his closest friends. Despite that, he’s actually quite a caring and genuine guy, and he helps his family by working at his family’s cafe. Not only does episode 1 present some inner turmoil within Rintaro, but it builds up toward exploring another dichotomy between Chidori High and Kikyo Girls’ High in future episodes, thanks to Kaoruko’s well-timed arrival at the cafe.
The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Episode 1 Really Kicks Off Over A Slice of Cake or Three
The episode really begins when Rintaro reports to his mom for the night shift and encounters Kaoruko, who was just finishing up her last bite of cake. In typical rom-com fashion, the two lock eyes for a few seconds before Kaoruko becomes flustered, but the scene was still really great. It’s a simple boy-meets-girl scene, but it conveys the fact that Rintaro is socially awkward, since many people are scared of him or think outwardly negative about him. I think this scene introduces Kaoruko quite well. She initially appears to be a shy girl, but she does open up rather quickly and doesn’t shy away from sharing her feelings.
By the midway point of the episode, I definitely knew that the English dub of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity was going to be really great and consistent. I seriously enjoy Robbie Daymond’s performance as Rintaro, and Kaoruko is seriously cute and memorable (the rest of the English voice cast was not announced at the time of this writing). Rintaro’s mom also serves as comic relief for the episode, and I look forward to seeing her potentially bring Rintaro and Kaoruko closer together as a medium of sorts, too.
The second half of the episode brought the most development, with Kaoruko’s second visit to the cafe and the events afterward taking the spotlight. Past the initial awkward moments, it’s clear that the two characters have chemistry, and as the old saying goes, opposites attract. To make up for running out of the cafe the previous day, Kaoruko treats Rintaro to some cake, but her sweet tooth and cravings do get the better of her, so Rintaro decides to give her his slice of cake.
The Seeds of Romance are Planted
Kaoruko admits that she’s keep her eyes on him for quite some time at the cafe during his shifts. This causes Rintaro to internally ruminate and reflect on treatment from his peers over the years, since she’s the first girl to approach him positively without fear or resentment. Rintaro’s character development in the first episode is already making substantial progress, as he’s admitting to himself that this newfound companionship is something he has always wanted. He won’t admit it in person yet, but Kaoruko is more than willing to share her own thoughts with him, so it makes for quite a budding relationship here already.
After their second encounter, the episode heads toward its conclusion as Kaoruko leaves the cafe. However, Rintaro’s mom gets his attention, as Kaoruko’s boxed cakes were found on the ground close to the cafe. Rintaro begins his search and discovers that the same goons from the beginning of the episode have her cornered. Before he intervenes, he catches Kaoruko defending him verbally, saying that she wants more people to actually get a chance to know Rintaro before judging him.
Rintaro puts his arms around Kaoruko to protect her and scares off the goons, all while slamming his head against the shutters behind her. Like a professional wrestler, Rintaro has busted his forehead open. Although the self-inflicted injury was unnecessary from Rintaro, it actually shows just how much he is willing to do in order to protect Kaoruko. Later in the episode, Rintaro and Kaoruko say their goodbyes for the day after he walks her to the station, and the two agree to have some cake again soon. When Kaoruko is all alone, she begins to think to herself about Rintaro’s protective embrace, planting more obvious seeds of a budding romance to advance the plot.
Episode 1 is a Great Introduction for Rintaro and Kaoruko
The episode ends with Rintaro and Kaoruko meeting glances from across the school buildings, as Rintaro realizes that the two will likely be seeing each other a lot more frequently than he initially thought. I was deeply immersed in the episode from start to finish, and there was plenty of meaningful screentime to develop the anime’s lead characters. At the same time, the first episode sets up a lot of avenues to explore, such as Kikyo, the girls’ resentment toward the boys’ school, and Rintaro’s past.
The animation is on point throughout the episode, especially when viewers see Kaoruko from Rintaro’s perspective as she looks toward him with curious admiration. In short, it’s a really vivid and engaging production. It’s a near-perfect episode, with my only gripes being that the release was not adjacent with the Japanese premiere and the lack of on-screen time with Rintaro’s friend group. Day-and-date releases with Japan will always be ideal, after all. Nonetheless, the first episode is an exciting start for The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity.
The English dub of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity premieres on September 7 on Netflix with episodes 1 and 2 dropping simultaneously.
