SPOILERS BEWARE The Hanasaku Iroha movie felt like a sequel however that isnt quite true since its set during a period of time that the Kissuiso is yet to close unless this is set after its been reopened with Enishi now running it although I dont think thats quite the case here. This movie was sublime as it handed exactly what this series does best. The character development and exploration here was simply gorgeous. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/975356731695714334/unknown.png Dedicating quite a decent amount of time to Satsukis backstory and exploring her childhood past was very enlightening. She also wanted to sparkle at one point in her life which hits quite close to home as to how Ohana felt at the start of the anime. Satsuki also chased her dream and finally found a goal she wanted to pursue she wanted to be a journalist which was likely inspired by the photographer she fell in love with. He showed Satsuki that she was already sparking from the photos he took which is something Satsuki was oblivious to. She wanted to sparkle so much yet didnt realise that she already was sparking. Too bad we dont get to find out too much about Ohanas dad as he certainly seemed like an interesting character. We dont find out what happened to him either which keeps me in the dark making me only speculate. For as long as Satsuki can remember shes been trying to fill the void left by the passing of her lover with various different men but neither could do that since in the anime its portrayed that none of her partners stick around for too long. This shows that the photographer truly was the love of her life which is something shes been unbale to fill for quite a number of years. Some of the photographs that were shown near the end of the movie of Satsukis childhood were splendid and I was wondering if these were going to get shown to Ohana but that sadly didnt happen. I really wondered what her reaction would be to seeing her mother sparkle. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/975356233911504916/unknown.png Another aspect this movie offered was another glance at Nakos character. In the words of Ohana herself Nako had also been festing it up for a while so when her mother wasnt able to take Mana for the school trip after earlier promising to do so she reached her limit and almost broke. The things Nako told her mum over the phone where exactly the same that Ohana had already experienced firsthand in her childhood. The reunion scene on the roof of the building was beautiful it actually made me tearyeyed since kids in anime are terrifying... 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/975355464156086282/unknown.png To conclude this movie adds some very nice development for Satsuki and Ohana in a sense. Getting another look into Nakos character is also always welcome. This series is such a realistic portrayal of hardships in life. It defines this tough topic extremely well. This is also Hanasauka Iroha at its absolute finest character development is when it shines brightest. Even the romance in this movie was conveyed well since it was direct. I think this movie was a splendid addition to this series that I already cherished very much from watching the anime before. This is PA Works in their finest hour once more. 800https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/635602177833959439/974745431743557692/unknown.png Anime Reviewhttps://anilist.co/review/16662