There’s nothing I can think up for this little pre-review paragraph that doesn’t absolutely spoil what occurs at the end of this episode (excluding any potential post-credits scene). So…I think I’m just gonna ditch that formality for this review and just jump into the review…or just include this little thought as that paragraph so that I can still keep that formality at least somewhat intact.
The episode begins a few days before New Year’s Day, with Yoshiaki and Kaede helping Grandpa and Grandma prepare for New Year’s. Yoshiaki realizes that he’s getting older, as he’s struggling to do a task. He eventually caves to having Grandpa do the task, with Grandma helping him out, impressing Kaede. I like how this was just a fun little way to re-emphasize that even in Grandpa and Grandma’s older forms, they’re still as fit as a fiddle!
Then, Mino arrives over to the area, where she sees a big snowman that Grandpa built. The next day, she comes over and sees a snow Haramaki Bear, with the revelation that Grandpa goes all-out for the grandkids. He then asks Mino about a character that Kousuke likes, and Mino shows him a photo. Kousuke and his family drive by, and Kousuke notices the snow dragon, loving it…but little does he know, it’s just a pile of snow on a tree that was cleared away enough to have the tree parts look like dragon bits, and the face decorated. This part was cute, and I love how far Grandpa’s willing to go to have the kiddos be happy.
And as it turns out, nobody in the family is being left out, as Grandma’s sister is here as well! Kousuke also asks Shiori to play a game with him, which she accepts. Shiori acts as the one reading the cards, while Kousuke and Mino play and Grandma’s sister watches. During the game, Grandma’s sister moves to sit down on the ground, which makes the others feel like she wants to play, with Mino swapping out. Shiori then reads out a card…for Grandma’s sister to hit some of the cards fast before looking off where there’s nobody and asking for her Mom to tell her she did a good job. Of course, they go to tell Grandpa and Grandma…but they don’t believe ’em. This was a fun little segment, and I think it accurately shows how some things never get forgotten, no matter how much time passes, which I think is a perfect thing to show in a show like this.
We then get to see more of the New Year’s celebrations, including the consumption of New Year’s food. Kousuke begins massaging folks’ shoulders, likely trying to get his gift early. After Shiori gets her gift, Kousuke asks for his…and gets money which he’s told to spend some of it on books. Needless to say, he’s not happy. And I dunno if it’s just me, but I wanted to chastise Kousuke, and remind him that he should be thankful that he’s even receiving a gift at all.
…okay, maybe that’d be a bit harsh, considering he’s the youngest and also still a kid. But still…I just didn’t like his actions. I personally felt this was one of the lower points of the episode, but that’s probably just because Kousuke was a bit more of a central focus than usual. But for me, it only gets better from here.
The next section shows what they usually do during New Year’s: the kids play video games, the men get drunk, and the ladies talk. When Shiori’s mom talks about her talks with Shiori, Grandma provides advice…cueing Kaede to ask for advice and receive it. We get to see a (presumably) drunk Grandpa walk in, and see the ladies admiring Grandma as if she’s a saint. I think this was a nice segment, and it helped to develop more of a bond between the characters.
We also get to see Grandpa and Grandma work at New Year’s cards, with Shiori being confused as to why there’s so many. Grandpa and Grandma chalk it up to it being their form of social media, except not as instant. Besides, at this age, the cards are more so proof that they’re alive rather than actually wishing a happy new year. Shiori also notices two of the cards that Grandpa and Grandma received, with one of them also technically classifying as fan mail…and the other being from Shouta’s grandpa, asking when he was gonna have great-grandkids. Grandpa and Grandma also showed off what they did for their New Year’s cards…which based off of the little animation between this segment and the next one, I can only guess spawned numerous questions that these folks wanted to vocally hear the answers to. This segment was humorous, and I actually enjoyed seeing it.
…oh yeah, almost forgot THIS NEXT segment exists. Another low of the episode for me, but only because Kousuke is the focus. Kousuke is throwing a fit because he doesn’t want to leave Grandpa and Grandma, and won’t accept leaving just because his father looks like Grandpa. To get him to calm down, he gets a Haramaki Bear which Grandma CLAIMS that she and Grandpa will always be able to hear him through. Though we all know how adults like to lie about things to their kids to make things seem magical, so maybe that was just a little lie. After Kousuke and his family leave, Grandpa begins crying. Let’s just get into the next segment.
The next day, Grandpa and Grandma have breakfast and head out in the orchard with Mino and Shouta, with Shouta learning how to prune branches. Shouta learns fast, and he and Mino keep doing work while Grandpa sits with Grandma, and the two talk about their plans for the future. After those talks, Grandpa asks what Grandma would wish for if she had one, and she says that it already came true. Grandpa agrees with that answer, and we see the hourglass has run out of sand, meaning that when the two close their eyes, they’ve passed on.
…no, I’m not feeling emotionally vulnerable because events that occurred earlier with me struck a similar chord with these events! I’m not sad! …it’s just that someone’s cutting onions somewhere! Yeah! I’m only crying because of onions! Nothing more, nothing less! (I say, meanwhile you can’t even see my face to know how I actually feel.)
Mino does try to get the two to eat lunch with them, but is all like “you’re gonna catch a cold if you sleep out here!”. Like, Mino…they’re DEAD. (I say, knowing full well that Mino can’t hear because I’m on the other side of the screen.)
There is a sweet post-credits scene that occurs 50 years later, where the apple tree that Mino and Shouta planted grows up and ends up sprouting a golden apple which the two eat…thus starting the cycle all over again!
This episode was an emotional roller coaster in the best way possible. I normally advocate for the shows I finish to have an additional season, but this is probably going to be one of the few times where I advocate that this is where the series stops. I feel like any additional episodes are going to either rehash topics that were covered in the show, or just absolutely ruin the beauty that was the ending of this episode. This show was expertly crafted, and I’m glad that I both decided to watch this show while it was simulcasting AND reviewed it for this blog to let you guys hear my thoughts about each episode! Even if the first couple of episodes made me feel uncertain about my decision to watch it, I’m glad I stuck through it to the end!
Additional posts about Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again:
Sara Talks Anime 
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