I want to pretend that everything in episode 13 after Hanayo got the email didn't happen. Not only was it a very inappropriate follow-up to the rest of the episode, it's also infuriating how the details of the message were not revealed at all. Can we at least have an idea of what's going to happen?
I am not really against the concept of a "new beginning", the μ's girls getting together for one last adventure in a sequel, or anything like that (as long as the graduated trio don't go back to school or something dumb). It's just that this is the *last episode*, and for this episode to end with almost no sense of closure after all the signs have pointed to us getting closure frankly ticks me off. This is a freaking cliffhanger ending that came out of nowhere. I am not really surprised that something like this has happened, considering the massive sales this anime has brought in, but I'm just disappointed in how it was done.
The new musical sequence was pretty darn fun and exciting. It just doesn't fit into the episode narrative-wise. I have the feeling that Sunrise/Lantis finished planning and drafting Happy Maker before the episode's script was finalized, which could explain how it doesn't seem to follow anything in the episode.
I still like this episode despite the ending, which goes to show just how good the rest of the episode is. I think it was a good idea to make episode 13 positive-minded and low on the waterworks. The tears were already shed in episode 11 and 12; episode 13 is the point where the μ's girls have mostly gotten over their sadness and they are ready to say their farewells with smiles.
I really liked the shout-out to the 1st episode of S1 in Honoka's self-introduction with Susume Tomorrow. I definitely did not expect Aishiteru Banzai to be used as a graduation song, but it fits really nicely. Nico's mom is awesome, and it's nice to see another side of Nico. And club president is the perfect role for Hanayo.