Goddess Café Terrace, Ep 12 [END]: Gourmet Secrets

Shiragiku reveals how she met Hayato, which relates to Grandma’s hidden past.

Episode 12 — “Two Encounters”

The Bathos Melodrama Meter!

Goddess Café Terrace, once again, ended a spiral of schmaltzy emotionalism with a comedic letdown. The pile of bathos started with the revelation that Shiragiku, the Fishmonger, and the Wagashiya Lady had kept a secret about Grandma from Hayato. This intriguing development added to the mystery behind Shiragiku’s actions in Grandma’s dresser drawer. Why would a recent part-time hire share a secret with longtime market district neighbors? The clues led to the astonishing revelation that Shiragiku knew Grandma was a Three-Star Michelin-Rated gourmet chef! Worse, these adults kept this secret from Hayato so he wouldn’t feel guilty about destroying her dreams of opening a world-class restaurant in Spain. The Spanish connection explained why the café had the name “Familia.”

Shiragiku’s past relationship with Hayato and Grandma added depth and layers to their new one. I would have liked a better explanation for why Hayato doesn’t remember meeting Shiragiku as a young girl. But his default self-centeredness could be good enough. Still, I loved how he rescued Shiragiku from the rude Fuwa twice during Goddess Café Terrace. The young boy had publicly embarrassed the “former ambassador,” and Hayato did it again in the third episode. No wonder that Fuwa guy hated Hayato so much!

Shiragiku and Hayato’s lives have been intertwined through multiple generations, so an element of fate colors their interactions now. But all these dramatic and genuinely emotional bonds landed with a splat when the other girls made another eavesdropping gag. That anticlimax is pure bathos, but if a show needs to keep juggling the balls in the Harem Olympics, bathos punchlines are how you interrupt a romantic development. Goddess Café Terrace has to stoke the audience’s interest in the continuation of harem hijinks for the second season in 2024.

Protecting the Nest Points.

Hayato scored the most Nest Protector points when the anime flashed forward to the future, showing him talking to his daughter. The café and the house must be financially secure for that conversation to happen in the living room we’re used to seeing. I spent too much time looking at the daughter’s eye color, trying to figure out which girl won the Harem Olympics. Hayato gave away two hints.

First, his daughter needed extra tutoring to graduate junior high to get into high school. Second, his tsundere reaction to the question of when he fell in love with “Mama” points to a highly embarrassing sequence of events. Well. For the second clue, it could be any one of the five in Goddess Café Terrace. But the poor girl didn’t take after “Papa’s” studious ways, so that would direct attention to Ami or Ouka. Daughter Kasukabe has the same eye color as Hayato, so no further luck there.

Grandma’s Little Girl Points.

Shiragiku cheated! The point of gathering Grandma’s Little Girl points was to form a substitute childhood friend connection with Hayato. The harem candidate wasn’t supposed to have an actual childhood connection! Anyway. Shiragiku won everything because she aimed to be Grandma’s gourmet cooking student. What happened to Ouka’s rice pilaf? I thought that would be Ouka’s avenue into Hayato’s heart.

Baka Charm Points.

Ami didn’t have any scenes to shine in for the season finale. I have to give one point to Hayato for using the same isopropyl wet wipes that made Shiragiku drunk earlier. Learn a lesson or two, Papa.

Drunk Girl Points.

Shiragiku took home all the points again in Goddess Café Terrace. She even took Riho’s wine away from her! No drunk points for anyone else.

Cool Charm Points.

Akane coolly informed her bandmates she had a crush. They did not take that information calmly! Akane was also the only girl who did not bawl her eyes out after overhearing the tragic circumstances behind Grandma opening a café in a seaside tourist town. She still held a tender gaze for Hayato, though.

Heh.

A new season means new menu items for the Familia Café Terrace. The girls aren’t impressed. Ouka can’t stop calling him “baka.” Uh oh. Akane said she liked Hayato! Oh, that part that is always serious about the café. Riho and Shiragiku picked up on those harem points. Oho. Shiragiku overheard Akane tell Riho about her feelings for Hayato at the public bathhouse. Goddess Café Terrace has no concept of privacy.

Oh, man. I see those alcoholic wet wipes on the kitchen counter. Drunk Shiragiku, incoming! Gong! Shiragiku will have to move out of the share house eventually! That’s news to her! Shiragiku twists Hayato around her little finger with her weapons-grade pout. Quick aside to Akane’s bandmates learning about her crush. They don’t approve of Hayato’s wishy-washiness, and neither do I! Shiragiku is cooking up more than a sweet potato tart in the kitchen with Hayato. The mood calls for nostalgia and reminiscing. Hoho! Shiragiku asked about summer romance! Wow. Shiragiku made her move! But… she said she couldn’t go out with him because it would make him sad one day. Goddess Café Terrace melodrama! Shiragiku fell in love with him first. It’s not fair!

Is she drunk again? Yes! Those stupid wet wipes again! Oh, Akane. You’ll have to hit Hayato up with late-night coffee again. Really now. Wagashiya Lady and Fishmonger said Grandma had taught them how to make their specific gourmet dishes for the cherry blossom festival. Because even simple dishes from a Michelin Three-Star chef can be haute cuisine. More melodrama. That chef business was supposed to be a secret kept from Hayato! He has suspicions now.

Now They Tell Us

Flashback and origin story! Grandma was a Michelin-rated chef in Spain and mentored Shiragiku’s dad. Hayato hadn’t changed much since then. What a terror. But he saved Shiragiku from that even worse jerk Fuwa. The locals called him “that former ambassador.” Perhaps a fall from grace amid a scandal is the source of his temper in Goddess Café Terrace. Shiragiku’s father noticed that Grandma chose a menu that hid her gourmet skills. She didn’t want Hayato to know she had given up a glamorous life in Europe for him. Shiragiku couldn’t remind him how they knew each other because it would have meant breaking Grandma’s trust. Well. That’s over.

Hayato thought Grandma had given up her dreams when she started to raise him, but Shiragiku told him it wasn’t true. She made a new dream — to torment his future wife! Such a touching scene to be ruined by eavesdropping and sobbing women. So which one did Grandma bother the most? The flash-forward and his mouthy daughter say it’s one of the goddesses! She takes after him in attitude but not aptitude. Hints. She talks like Ami…

That’s the End? No!

Picnic time for the epilogue. Shiragiku officially declared war on Hayato’s heart. I see a guitar for Akane, Ami’s rubber ducky, a broken laptop for Ami, and Shiragiku’s sandwich. Where are Riho and Ouka’s symbols? Uh oh. Shiragiku drank Riho’s wine. That’s not the end. The story continues next year!

Goddess Café Terrace (Megami no Café Terrace, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses) streams on Crunchyroll.

Doesn’t a picnic with a group of cute girls look like fun? Check out how artist Kantoku draws the perfect picnic with two adorable sisters. Please pick up ‘SUKI’ My Sister 2 – Suki Maimai in the J-List store today!

Did you enjoy the first half of the Goddess Café Terrace anime? I’m glad they wouldn’t let the anime adaptation end until all five girls fell in love with Hayato. Ami’s arc will be surreal! Did your favorite girl already declare her intentions? Who do you think is the future “Mama” to Papa Hayato? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.