Chio's School Road

Episode 12

It may be the season finale, but Chio's still going to school like she always does. When Chiharu shows up at her front door looking for help with a school assignment, Chio sees the situation as an opportunity to finally get a leg up on the pint-sized menace. She comes up with what should be a plausible solution to Chiharu's problem, but the harsh realities of recycling soon crush Chio's hopes. In the second half, Yuki's total lack of concern regarding her wardrobe (or lack thereof) comes back into play, and she somehow drags Manana into an impromptu plan to go to school without underwear. Chio is initially relieved to be left out of this particular scheme, but as Yuki and Manana enjoy their suddenly breezy commute, she can't help but feel like she's being left behind. The episode ends by offering us brief glimpses of some stories that didn't make the cut before Chio's School Road closes the curtain on the season.

The first half of this episode does a competent, if unremarkable, job of setting up a “reluctant allies” dynamic between Chio and Chiharu. It's clear that the two of them still can't stand one another, but Chiharu needs help figuring out a business proposal that her teacher will actually accept and Chio can't turn down a chance to act smart for once. As the two of them employ some unusual and underhanded methods of collecting empty cans, we see faint glimpses of a grudging respect forming between the two of them. That's all par for the course in a storyline like this, but Chio's School Road manages to impress with a late twist on the situation. By debunking all the advice Chio previously gave Chiharu, the show turns that bonding experience into the setup for a fall from grace, and Chio does a fine job of casting aside all the dignity she'd built up along the way. Manana's late appearance sets the storyline up for a good ending, as she unwittingly makes Chio's can-collecting plan look even lamer. If you've enjoyed watching Chio be her own worst enemy at other points in this season, this segment should be right up your alley.

Yuki ends up stealing the show in the second half, especially early on as she throws Chio off balance with her casual admission that she rarely wears clothes when she's at home. This sparks another battle of wills between Chio and Manana, with Chio mustering the resolve to tell Yuki the hard truth while Manana tries to stir the pot even further. That brings us to Yuki's best moment in the entire episode as she reveals an intimidating side of her personality and totally calls Manana's bluff. It's such a departure from her normally sunny disposition that it makes the whole interaction naturally funny. From there, the story settles into a comfortable groove as Chio tries to figure out how to react to her two companions going commando. None of the ensuing jokes are uproariously funny, but the episode is consistently entertaining from here to the end. Kushitori's sudden appearance is handled well enough, and Yuki's reaction the possibility of being fined for public exposure makes for an amusing final twist.

After that, Chio's School Road openly admits that it's just filling time until the end of the episode. It does so by running through key scenes from untold stories, which I assume are pieces of the original manga that didn't make it into the anime. If that is the case, then this is a nice way to let fans see some of these moments without having to bank on the possibility of a second season. The scenes themselves are amusing despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of context, and at this point the audience knows the characters well enough to guess what's going on in most of these situations. Even more so than the previews, I really like the fictional outtakes that run alongside the ending credits, which work off the premise that the show is actually being “filmed” by an animated cast and crew. This isn't the first time an anime comedy has played with the idea of its characters being actors on a fictional set, but it's still a fun way to revisit some of the show's more memorable scenes while adding a little extra humor to the mix.

This episode is a mild step up from last week, and that improvement is certainly welcome since it allows the series to go out on a positive note. Neither of its main storylines do much to revolutionize the show's basic formula, and the extra previews do feel like a bit of an afterthought, but the episode is entertaining from start to finish. The one thing that surprises me here is the relative lack of escalation in this finale; I kind of expected Chio's School Road to throw its full ensemble cast into one final, completely bonkers morning commute. Instead, we get two competent but thoroughly ordinary comedy routines. It's not exactly going out with guns blazing, but considering how much Chio claims to hate standing out, perhaps an average ending is the most appropriate way to conclude the season.

Looking back on the series as a whole, I liked the majority of Chio's School Road but never really found a reason to love it. While the show featured a handful of clever jokes and some genuinely inspired moments, it spent too much of its time coasting through “good enough” territory. If it had done a better job of refining its comedic delivery or committed more thoroughly to letting its stories descend into humorous chaos, I think it would have been a more memorable show. As it stands, Chio's School Road is an enjoyable piece of entertainment that I imagine most viewers will watch once and promptly forget. Neither memorably bad nor astoundingly good, it's a serviceable genre title with just enough material to sustain itself across a full season.

Rating: B

Chio's School Road is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.