I thought Shareef’s proposal to Adelheid would be a tough act to beat but it turns out that this season had one final trick up its sleeve: a wedding reception in Nekoya! What a cute and wholesome note to end the show on. Leave it to the Master to treat his customers well.
Before the after party however, Season 2 reintroduces us to one more guest character: the Master’s grandmother Yomi (Kikuko Inoue). I didn’t think she’d ever make a more formal appearance but to be fair, the Season 1 finale did say she’s still alive so it was always a possibility. Plus, I can’t think of a better character to be the final customer of this season and presumably the whole anime than one of the two creators of the Restaurant to Another World.
At Nekoya, Yomi shares a table with Altorius (Motomu Kiyokawa) and she orders her favorite dish, Pork Loin-Cutlet, which is coincidentally Altorius’ favorite as well. Finally, we have two characters who love the same dish. Someone tell Altorius that if everyone voted on the best item on the menu, Pork Loin-Cutlet would most likely win because it’d get two votes instead of just one. I love Yomi’s reaction when she meets Aletta and Kuro. Yomi and her peers fought a whole army of malicious demons back in the day so understandably, she’s stunned to see a demon working in Nekoya. Like Altorius and Alexander, Yomi correctly figures out Kuro’s true identity and is likewise shocked that her grandson unintentionally hired someone so powerful. That said, she doesn’t appear seem mind the two all that much as she later acknowledges the waitresses’ fondness of the Master at the end of her visit.
You get a short montage of Yomi’s past with her eventual husband Daiki Yamagata (Kazuhiko Inoue). This montage doesn’t necessarily reveal anything new but it’s still a very nice scene, especially for the season finale. A brief but particularly touching detail is the fact that the first meal Daiki cooks for Yomi is pork loin-cutlet, thus explaining her fondness of the dish in the present day. I like how the wholesome and inclusive environment of Nekoya can pretty much be traced back to Yomi and Daiki’s first meeting. You have a man and woman, each from completely different worlds, meeting by chance, bonding through a shared love for food, and that love ultimately carried over into their restaurant.
Before leaving, Yomi hands over Nekoya’s master key to her grandson and explains to him that if he so chooses, he can break the key to sever Nekoya’s connection to the other world. As frightening as that sounds, the Master has no intention to close the door and Yomi is only handing over the key to fully entrust Nekoya over to her grandson. Still, this bit of worldbuilding is worth it for Aletta and Kuro’s heart attack. For a split second, Aletta is afraid she’ll be out of a job and Kuro worries she won’t get to eat chicken curry ever again.
The after party for Shareef and Adelheid is a lot more pedestrian compared to Yomi’s segment but I’m hard pressed to think of a better note to end the show on. It’s just a fun time. The Master leaves out a buffet for everyone, allowing them to try slightly different foods for a change, as well as a wedding cake for dessert. Hilariously, Heinrich decides to confess to Sarah during the party. I knew it! I knew there was something going on between them. Too bad Sarah isn’t interested in getting married at the moment. Aletta refusing to let Sarah get married because she doesn’t want to lose her job is comedy gold.
I’m glad that the show ends with Aletta and Kuro telling the Master about the positive effects Nekoya has on everyone, how the good food transcends people’s backgrounds and makes them happy. That always seemed to be the major theme in Restaurant to Another World and I most certainly brought up throughout my episode reviews for this show (including this last one). I don’t need the show to spell it out but given that this is the very last scene and it’s during such a big get-together, it’s perfectly fine for the main characters to point it out. It also seems appropriate considering that the Master now has the power to cut ties with the other world. He wants to keep cooking for these people and hearing Aletta and Kuro’s compliments helps him think that he’s made the right decision.
Sadly, this is likely the last episode of Restaurant to Another World. It’s been almost three years since Season 2 aired and there currently isn’t enough source material for the anime to adapt. By the time there is sufficient material, I’m not sure if the production committee will be interested enough to greenlight a third season. That said, I didn’t think this show would ever get a second season and it eventually did happen so I guess I should never say never.
Season 2 is not without its issues. At this point, I have to admit that the show has gotten pretty repetitive. Also, very few of the new characters really interested me. If anything, I tended to still gravitate towards my favorites from Season 1. In spite of those flaws, I still had a darn good time with Season 2. It’s a wholesome, colorful, and relaxing show, just like with the first season. One thing that I especially have to hand it to this season is all the good Aletta and Kuro content. Those two are freaking cute and this season really let them have the spotlight from time to time. I’d love to see another season but if two seasons is all we get, I say it’s been a good run for Restaurant to Another World.
Watch Restaurant to Another World 2 on Crunchyroll
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