Himouto! Umaru-Chan R Episode 12

By: EyeSpyeAlex While I was busy preparing for Christmas, Umaru and the gang were doing the same thing! The season finale of Himouto! Umaru-Chan R has our title gal and her friends celebrating Christmas and the New Year! Wanna catch up? Check out my previous review here.The season finale really shows us how much Umaru has changed since the start of the show. When presented with the idea of buying a present for Taihei, a perplexed Umaru learns giving is as fun as receiving. Both she and Ebina give each other hats, while the pair gift Taihei some new cooking gear. The two then join Kirie and Sylphin in celebrating the new year by playing some traditional games at Sylphin’s house. All in all, Umaru has an enviable holiday break.Taihei manages to empower Umaru in her cooking ability and curb some of her impulsive behavior. When Umaru insists on having pizza for dinner, Taihei invites Alex and Bomba over for some Japanese pizza, aka okonomiyaki. Initially disappointed, Umaru soon decides what kind of okonomiyaki they’ll dine on first. In a redemptive moment, she successfully flips the okonomiyaki, impressing Taihei and the rest of them.All of this personal growth is thrown out the window at the end of the episode. Initially planning on saving her New Year’s allowance, Umaru accidentally ends up spending it all. When Taihei sees how upset she is, he donates some money to her piggy bank. This donation causes the old Umaru to rear her ugly head, and she immediately hits Taihei up for more cash.For potentially the last episode of Umaru ever, I wasn’t that impressed with the finale of Himouto! Umaru-Chan R. There are so many loose ends that need tying up. The parallels between Kanau and Taihei with Umaru and Hikari being one. The budding relationship between Ebina and Taihei is another thing I need answers on. I also don’t understand the point of having Umaru understand being giving and selfless only to have her throw it away at the last moment. I’m hoping we do have a third season so we can get some answers to these questions.The entire season of Himouto! Umaru-Chan R is available for viewing exclusively on Anime Strike.