Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus Ep.12 - A story and a show. Great idea!

Episode 12 of Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus plays out pretty much as expected, with Nanami's troupe opting for a pure technical skill approach, while Mizuka's troupe goes for a more collaborative style that might be commonplace nowadays, but was certainly novel within the story's setting.

Involving the audience in the performance is a staple of these shows, and the girls did a great job with a loose adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, making sure the spectators felt like part of the show. If you can't match their technical skill, just change the battlefield altogether! Some of the cutest screenshots of the entire series came from this episode.

Watching Mizuka cry after all the pressure was pretty sad. Girl just arrived and has all the weight of the world on her.

As I said lots of adorable screenshots, the studio did a good job even if they were mostly static images combined on top.

As for the main plot, it turns out Maria is at the venue to see the performances of both teams before traveling for her operation. Nanami is obviously worried because Maria was supposed to be traveling already, and her condition looks quite poor, given that she is unable to walk. Hopefully, we don't get anything too tragic.

As usual, the closeness between Mizuka and Ouka continues to develop; this time, they got into the bath together and brainstormed how to achieve the best results for the upcoming show. I know they won't go the full yuri route, but it's still nice to get these scenes.

I was a bit worried when Nanami's underling started snooping around the performance, but it turns out she wasn't planning any sort of underhanded tactic to close the gap between the two groups. I'm sure Nanami would've been strongly against that anyway, as she takes pride in her craft. Plus, it wouldn't really fit the tone of the series.

The next episode is the grand finale. While we know that Maria will be fine and the Himawari troupe will survive, I wonder what kind of changes will happen in the relationships between the characters. Will Mizuka remain the troupe leader? What role will Maria take in all this? What about Rin?

Run away, the wolf is here, she's dangerous. I'll stop her! *jumps toward the wolf*

Watching Mizuka actually smiling on stage is nice, she has a contagious smile that's for sure.

My only worry is whether one episode will be enough time to show the conclusion while also showing how all the various sub-relationships in the troupe develop afterward. We have Mizuka and Ouka, Svetlana and Shizuku, Imari and Isuzu, Aoi and Akane. Each pair has a different dynamic, but they are all extremely endearing to watch.