Iruru couldn't have had an influence in a show in which she never debuted. Tohru is still best chorogon, but Iruru probably has the most coherent and focused character progression given how she is sort of the only character with a real story arc devoted to her. It's paced pretty well and it shows her developing with clear reference to her past. Granted, afterward, she was sort of relegated to "second Kanna," but the effort still counts for something.
I think I'm the only one on earth who enjoyed the Christmas play episode. The last episode definitely threw in a drastic tonal shift which really rang dissonant to the rest of the series. It might not have been so bad if they built up to it a little more, but because the whole scenario wrapped up in one episode, it just came off as far too forced. That said, I liked what they did with Tohru actually leaving for a week or so. That battle at the end was completely bizarre and unnecessary, though.
