Skip and Loafer – 04 – Stop and Smell the Gyoza

Kanechika-senpai shows Mitsumi some episodes of a TV show Shima acted in when he was a kid, and gets her to agree to talk to Shima about joining the drama club. Kanechika notes that Mitsumi as an extreme pushover, but this is too important to go easy on her.

The thing is, saddling her with this task ends up distracting Mitsumi so completely that she utterly fails at every other task on what was to be a perfect day of school. She spaces out during a 15-minute quiz and ends up getting a volleyball to the face in P.E.

Shima spots her in the nurse’s office window and the two have a nice easy chat together, demonstrating once more how effortless their chemistry is. Mitsumi is able to talk about her “mission” to Shima, which lessens her mental load, and Shima is able to explain that acting isn’t his passion, it’s just something he did to make his mom happy.

He then steers their talk to Mitsumi, because he’s genuinely interested in her and her dreams. When she speaks about how underpopulated her home is and how she wanted to come to Tokyo to attack the problem at its core. When she laughs if off, he tells her she doesn’t need to, because it’s an admirable goal.

That said, Shima admits he’s not sure he’d be able to deal with all the hopes and expectations that come with such a lofty goal, all but admitting he believes Mitsumi is far more amazing than him. She goes on to say she wouldn’t be in Tokyo if it weren’t for her best friend Fumi.

When Mitsumi studied so hard for entrance exams she forgot to sleep or eat, Fumi was there to watch over her and make sure she actually did get some food in her belly. She also promised that pass or fail, they’d go out for gyoza again. Mitsumi tells Shima if he ever finds a new goal for himself, they’ll do the same and go out to eat, succeed or fail. They pinky promise, and Mitsumi’s pinky tingles even afterwards, as sign that it’s a real one.

In the second half, Mitsumi meets with Hanazono-sensei (her homeroom teacher upon whom she barfed on her first day) in the faculty lounge, worried about “losing control” of herself now that she’s in high school. Hanazono listens, but inside she’s thinking how big of a square this girl is. Her grades are excellent for someone who doesn’t go to cram school.

That said, if Mitsumi wants to know how she can develop more discipline, Hanazono points her in the direction of Takamine-senpai, the student council treasurer. Mitsumi is in awe of Takamine’s strict daily schedule and complete lack of wasted time and energy.

But like everyone on Skip & Loafer, Takamine is hardly a one-note character. To Mitsumi she may seem perfect; a badass CEO-type who is headed nowhere but up. But internally, Takamine is a surging ball of anxiety. Her intricately-detailed schedule book can be a millstone around her neck. One missed train or bus means an entire day of productivity is ruined.

It’s only when Takamine spends and afternoon with Mitsumi that Takamine begins to question whether she’s really doing things in a proper, balanced way. Mitsumi injects some much needed spaciness to Takamine’s day, such that when things go wrong or there’s a lapse in focus, it’s mitigated by something worthwhile, like a cute cat, or a gorgeous sunset.

Takamine probably often suffered from dreams in which she’s always chasing buses she’s late for, but the night after hanging out with Mitsumi, she meets a fuzzy black cat in her dream, and another bus arrives immediately, one that takes her up into the dazzling starry sky.

In addition to being particularly Ghibli-esque, it’s so lovely to see such a normally stressed out Takamine enjoying herself in her dream, embracing the “space”, i.e. spaceiness of taking the time to smell the roses or gaze at the stars.

Takamine’s dream, and Mitsumi’s example, inspire her to loosen her grip on her oppressive schedule and negelect to check her wristwatch every five minutes. When an ornery soccer club president presents his report to her, she accepts it with a warm smile that causes him to flee lest she see him blushing.

Takamine also makes sure to tell Mitsumi not to follow her example to the letter, but determine her own pace and style and way of doing things. That’s definitely something Shima wants her to do, since Mitsumi stayed up all night preparing her own oppressive schedule and has the eye bags and yawns to prove it.

She assures Shima that such condition is temporary and she’ll “get used to it”, but Takamine gives her permission not to force herself too hard. After all, days where a little time is wasted aren’t too bad in moderation.

Skip and Loafer – 03 – Camp Salted Caramel

Mitsumi considers every turn along her walk to the student council office to be momentous, as she envisions herself as a venerable lion of politics appearing on her favorite news program in the future. It all starts here…only someone is already at the door, having had the same idea.

That someone is Kurume Makoto, a reserved and introverted classmate who is considering joining the council but doesn’t want to be a bother, and jumps twenty feet when Mitsumi sidles up to her. As far as Kurume knows, Mitsumi is the rumored “secret boss” of the school, public vomiting aside.

Kurume is even more bewildered to see Mitsumi being followed by the “flashy gal” Yuzuki and “himbo” Sousuke, both of whom seem to be chummy with the secret boss. All Kurume has is labels and feels rather indimidated by these personalities, but she harbors a lingering curiosity nonetheless.

Both Mitsumia and Kurume look set up for heartbreak when the council president informs them they don’t recruit members. However, Mitsumi’s dejected visage brightens when she learns she can join the Tsubame Society, the council’s support group for events and such.

She’s then bathed in the warm light of Takamine, one of the council treasurers, when she talks about how the added council works causes time constraints, but she apportions out her day by the minute and essentially game-ifies her days, and says it’s all worthwhile time spent.

Mitsumi is excited to join the Tsubame group, but isn’t sure if Kurume feels the same way. Mitsumi runs her down and gives her another start in the hall, and before Kurume knows it, she’s in a “Starmax” cafe with Mitsumi and Sousuke, having ordered the same goofy boba drink as Mitsumi.

Both Sousuke and Kurume experience vicarious joy in watching Mitsumi’s Starmax and boba debuts. Kurume also comments on how well Mitsumi and Sousuke get along despite being so different. Sousuke’s thoughtful answer surprises her, as he says it’s more about the little things, like when food tastes better with a person.

Kurume then joins Mitsumi and Sousuke in a commemorative selfie. She has to admit she would have never ordered such a weird drink but for Mitsumi, and that it actually does taste better when she’s drinking it with her and Sousuke. I love how Sousuke wordlessly gestures for Mitsumi to get Kurume’s contact info. They make such a great team!

Mitsumi again demonstrates how lucky she is to have a stylish aunt in Nao-chan, who doesn’t let her leave wearing all of her extra clothes and accessories. The reason she’s getting dolled up is that Kurume was bold enough to invite her to go see a movie that’s adapted from a book they’re reading in class.

Of course, since Mitsumi is a shining sun surrounded by planets of every shape and size, their two-girl movie trip becomes an eight-person group, which includes Mika, who is glad Mitsumi and Kurume are so plain, only for Yuzuki to show up and dazzle everyone with her effortless glamour.

Mika at least gets to sit next to Sousuke at the restaurant prior to the movie, but the more she looks at Yuzuki, the more self-conscious and depressed she gets. Sousuke, continuing to show he possesses a great deal of emotional intelligence by complimenting how stylish Mika is. Even then, Mika regards Sousuke as a mystery.

Yuzuki, meanwhile, tries to be friendly with Kurume, but more than once her attempts fail miserably when a flustered Kurume is unable to engage with her. After the restaurant, Yuzuki is upfront with her, saying if she doesn’t like “people like her” she doesn’t have to force herself to talk to her.

Mitsumi watches, senses something is amiss between the two, and blames herself for getting such a big group together without considering the potential for clashing personalities. As class leader she feels obligated to fix things, but isn’t sure how, and simply finds herself sitting between them.

That’s when she gets a taste of salted and caramel popcorn at the same time, and realizes that two distinct flavors can be combined to make a new, even better flavor. She didn’t know until now because she’d never tried the two simultaneously. That reminds Kurume how how it was that same adventurousness and vulnerability that not only got her to drink that weird Starmax drink, but become friends with Mitsumi.

So she sends texts to Yuzuki admitting she typically doesn’t like “people like her”, but wants to change that, and wants to get to know Yuzuki better. When Yuzuki looks over at Kurume, the latter straightens her glasses and looks straight ahead, but also blushes a bit. Both are clearly happy to have mended fences and excited to be friends.

After the movie, everyone goes their separate ways, but with new bonds forged, and existing bonds strengthened. Mitsumi proves herself to be someone that puts everyone at ease and enables new connections to be made and new instances of fun and happiness to be shared.

As she watches a stylishly-dressed and exceedingly handsome Sousuke glide along the streets with Shibuya as a backdrop, Mitsumi also realizes she will surely come to love this strange, loud, busy new place.

Skip to Loafer, then, is the quintessential Tuesday feel-good anime. Its characters that feel like real, imperfect people who are learning that they complement one another in surprising ways. It’s lovely and charming and heartwarming, and I’m glad it’s in my life.

Skip and Loafer – 02 – Hitting It Off

On the train to school, Mitsumi tells Nao-chan about self-intros, which explains her sleepless eyes. Nao-chan squishes her niece’s face and tells her to smile. She get the attention of other passengers, who notice her height, wrist and Adam’s apple.

Mitsumi’s aunt is a trans woman, but it’s clear that doesn’t matter in the slightest to Mitsumi. You get the feeling Nao-chan can feel the eyes of others—probably nothing new—but Mitsumi takes her hand and re-centers her attention where it belongs: on her adorable niece.

Mitsumi’s self-intro goes well until she tries to tell a joke about being a natural born leader, the reaction to which is colder than Wisconsin in February. Sousuke has her back, saying in his intro that he’d like to work for her one day, which gets the laughs she was going for. When the two are picked to be the class reps, the girls see the instant easy chemistry they have and wonder whether they might’ve made a huge mistake.

Among them is Egashira Mika, whom we saw only became friends with Mitsumi when she learned she and Sousuke were close. She takes Mitsumi aside and tells her not to take everything Sousuke tells her at face value. She explains that due to his looks he’s nice to everyone so it doesn’t cause any trouble. Mitsumi thanks Mika for the “advice” but wishes she never heard it, because it has her suddenly questioning what everyone is saying.

Mitsumi’s country upbringing can’t prepare her for the sheer chaos and din of after-school karaoke, but when she heads to the bathroom, she’s stopped by the cool beauty Murashige Yuzuki, who tells her Mika is using her to get to Shima, and if she wants to bounce, she’ll accompany her. When Mitsumi peeks into the booth, she sees Mika chatting and laughing with Sousuke.

This is all a lot more complicated and confusing than Mitsumi had hoped, and she hesitates going back in when she gets a call from her best friend Fumi, who may as well be a serene Buddha on that grassy beach. Despite Mitsumi saying otherwise, Fumi can tell Mitsumi is down, simply because they’ve known each other so long. She urges Mitsumi not to overthink things. After all, in Kindergarten Fumi thought Mitsumi was scary, but in time realized she was actually sweet.

Mitsumi gets back in the booth, heartily sings a childhood song everyone knows and is charmed by, and basically stops overanalyzing everyone. Before everyone splits, Yuzuki exchanges her contact info with Mitsumi, while Mika keeps chatting with Sousuke, not-so-subtly asking if he has a girlfriend. Sousuke shuts her down rather bluntly before joining Mitsumi on her walk home.

Mitsumi accidentally called him “Sou-chan” since he’s similar in name and appearance to her family dog. But the next morning Sousuke runs with it, calling her Mitsumi-chan where everyone can hear. Mitsumi is courted by all of the brainy clubs, culminating in the second-year president of the drama club personally inviting her to watch a play and giving her roses in hopes that she’ll join.

Mitsumi remains undecided about clubs all day, and asks Sousuke how he usually makes such choices. Looking a bit distant and distracted ever since the drama club prez showed up, he tells her that he tries to consider that anything he’s undecided on was “never that important”.

For what it’s worth, he’s very much not undecided on wanting to be friends with Mitsumi, but when the drama club prez flags him down and tells him he recognizes him as “Kanade-kun” from television, Sousuke is even more blunt with him as he was with Mika: he does not want to talk about it.

Mitsumi accepts that she can’t tell what anyone is thinking (only Fumi can), but she’ll try harder to understand her complicated new friends little by little. She is also perceptive enough to know that while Sousuke is so bright and cheerful and kind to everyone, he also seems to be masking a sadness.

That night, Mitsumi tells Nao-chan that she’s decided to join the student council. In addition to helping prepare her for a future as a government official and leader, it will allow her the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of her peers, which helps her overall mission to understand others better. Going from a class of eight to a school of hundreds is a hell of a change, but Mitsumi is determined to handle it in stride.

Skip and Loafer – 01 (First Impressions) – Entrance Ceremony

Iwakura Mitsumi (Kurosawa Tomoyo) is the pride and joy of the tiny rural seaside village from whence she comes; a whale in a kiddy pool. In Tokyo, where she’ll be attending high school, she’s a guppy in a lake, and the lake is full of sharks. But Mitsumi can’t know that until she actually experiences the big city for the first time.

After a gorgeous transition from the village to Tokyo that flips the camera up into a sky that joins them, she is bursting with confidence as she prepares to head to the school’s entrance ceremony. But then our POV switches to a blonde young man who is late for that ceremony…and he finds her stuck to a wall.

But while all the tunnels and halls and signs made her lost and the crowds made her nauseous (since she’s just never been around so many people before), this country bumpkin is blessed with terrific fortune, as she comes upon a gorgeous prince in shining armor—which is the same sharp blue uniform she’s wearing.

He’ll lead her to school, but he’s in no hurry himself. When he tells her it’s “just an entrance ceremony”, Mitsumi snaps at him, saying that’s something only he can say. But she immediately regrets that, and wonders if Tokyo brought out her “true colors” as a bad person. Of course that’s not the case, it’s just that she’s not used to the pace and the sheer volume of the city.

When she and the lad make a run for the school from the station those impostor syndrome thoughts begin to amass, until she regains her nerve, gets up, slips off her loafers and socks, and runs the rest of the way barefoot. The blonde guy, enchanted by Mitsumi’s moxie, finds his pace quickening, to catch up to her.

Mitsumi makes it just on time, thanks to the principal giving a longer-than-scheduled speech. There’s that fortune again! Then the blonde guy receives a shock: this absolute chaotic mess of a girl is actually top of their class, and even though she leaves her written speech in her luggage, she still delivers a perfect and stirring address…from memory.

It’s a stunning scene when she snaps into focus and makes a strong first impression in front of the entire school. Thanks to tradition, they can’t see her hauntingly gaunt face, only the principal can, and he’s disturbed by her lack of blinking. Mitsumi is at the end of her rope, and ends up hurling onto her homeroom teacher’s favorite blouse and pricey suit…in front of the whole school.

Rising from potentially the very top of her class in social stature to the bottom and gaining the nickname “the Puker” on the first day, is enough of a roller coaster to make anyone nauseous. But Mitsumi isn’t one to be discouraged by some early errors, forced or unforced.

She’s determined to have a perfect high school life, so step one is to make friends. When the girl at the desk behind her blows her off when she introduces herself, Mitsumi is once again discouraged, but then the blonde guy, who is in her class and is named Shima Sousuke, walks right up to her desk, says they should be friends, and exchanges contact info.

Immediately, that same girl who blew her off decides she wants to be Mitsumi’s friend after all. What’s funny is that this sudden change of heart, isn’t played as comically opportunistic as I thought, but instead played fairly straight. I’m going to give Egashira Mika a pass for being initially a bit treacherous to Mitsumi. After all, it’s the first day of school!

Mitsumi finishes her day by unpacking and speaking to her best friend back home, assuring her that her first day of school in Tokyo went absolutely swimmingly. She doesn’t bother her friend with any details of the myriad mishaps that befell her, and there’s a good reason for that: talking to her friend is talking to her family and the village. She doesn’t want to worry them.

They have no reason to worry. Mitsumi may still be trying to keep up with the blistering speed of city life, but she’s ambitious, dogged, and perseverant, and even if she never fully figures it all out, the key is she’ll have friends who’ll help her, just as she’ll help them with what she’s good at.

That brings us to Shima. He’s still in touch with what are presumably his friends from middle school who all ended up at different high schools. Or maybe just childhood friends? I like how their relationship isn’t overly explained, it’s clear this is where Shima feels most himself and comfortable.

But he sheepishly reports that he’s made a friend, and there’s something about her that made him run after her. This shocks his friends, who know how lazy he is, but when they ask if it’s a girl, he makes a quick exit. He’s not yet ready to share all of what he’s feeling right now, he wants to savor it for himself.

With self-introductions tomorrow, Mitsumi wants to repair the reputation she built with her entrance address.  I love how the Tokyo night lights are so eerily bright to her. It’s perhaps those lights lurking just behind her blinds that keep her awake long enough that her brain kicks into speechwriting gear.

She doesn’t just write one; but several, depending on the “mood of the class.” She does this instead of, ya know, sleeping. And so when she arrives at the breakfast table she’s positively ghoulish from the all-nighter. No matter. I get the feeling she’s going to do great when it matters.

As she did with Kumiko in Euphonium and Phos in Land of the Lustrous, Kurosawa Tomoyo absolutely kills it as the voice of Mitsumi. She has such a unique-sounding yet natural voice, and a lot of range to boot. Kudos also to P.A. Works for a stunningly gorgeous presentation that looked and felt cinematic more often than not.

I won’t lie—there are times when this show gets almost too sweet and sugary. But as a student of both Disney and Studio Ghibli I’m no stranger to that. There’s the same sweet charm of Whisper of the Heart here, mixed with shades of warmth with the sharper bite of the classic Kare Kano. This is a no-doubter for spring.