Hibike! Euphonium 3 – 07 – Embracing the Struggle

For all of her maturity in most other matters, when it comes to Kumiko Reina can be especially childish. Just take her pouting when Kumiko doesn’t immediately discern that Reina wants to go to the pool with her during the last summer break of high school. She even bought them matching swimsuits!

As the band cleans up the practice rooms, they’re visited by two former members: Yoshikawa Yuuko and Nakagawa Natsuki. While they’re now college freshmen, they still bicker like the old friends they are. They are also certain they made the right decision in picking Kumiko and Reina to be the next president and drum major, respectively.

On the first day of summer break, Kumiko decides to accompany Hazuki to a college fair, to try to get a sense of what’s out there. But while Hazuki has chosen to pursue a career as a nursery school teacher, Kumiko’s visit to the fair doesn’t result in any similar epiphanies. She’s as uncommitted as ever to her future path, though Hazuki says she’d make a great teacher too.

Since it’s Bon, Kumiko’s big sister Mamiko is home for a couple days, and both she and their mom agree that Kumiko should do what she wants. It’s not that strange that at eighteen Kumiko still isn’t sure what she wants to do with the rest of her life—there’s so damn much of it left to live! Ultimately, her mom and sister don’t tell her anything she doesn’t already know.

The big pool day arrives, as does the reason this episode gets at least an automatic four stars: Reina and Kumiko not only don matching swimsuits, but swapped the tops and bottoms to make it quite clear to all that they’re thick as thieves. The underclassmen are in awe of their beauty, while even Mayu, whom Kumiko invited out of the blue, loves how close they are.

Kumiko invited Mayu in part to try to get at the heart of why she causes her so much discomfort, despite being so kind and gregarious. When Mayu describes herself as someone with no real preferences, who goes along to get along, it dawns on Kumiko: Mayu is the kind of person she was in middle school. Floating through, fitting in, but lacking the same drive or enthusiasm for … anything that everyone else seems to have.

Not necessarily content but resigned to being the class “Mama”, Mayu doesn’t even like to appear in pictures. Kumiko insists she use the shutter timer and pose with everyone else, but when school starts back up and she distributes the newly developed photos, the only one with her in it just happened to be the one that “didn’t develop correctly”, according to her.

There’s just something not quite right about Kuroe Mayu, and that not-rightness is almost becoming a distraction for Kumiko from being able to properly balance band president duties with figuring something out for her future. There’s also the specter of Mayu making it through the prefectural auditions while Kumiko doesn’t make the cut, and not being able to do the soli with Reina.

That said, even if she’s not in the prefectural final cut, if that version of the concert band advances to the Nationals, the auditions will begin anew, and that’s the one in which Kumiko truly does want to play with Reina. We’ll see if she takes the L in the next round of auditions, or if something else happens that renders Mayu’s current attitude untenable for the band.

A Sign of Affection – 12 (Fin) – Their Time in the Sun

Itsuomi leaves their first official date out together to Yuki, and she picks the most beautiful spot for it: a park absolutely bursting with blooming flowers. She loves photographing flowers, and has always found it cute how each type of flower waits its turn to have its spotlight in the sun. The parallel here is that Yuki gets to have her spotlight here, with Itsuomi having fun soaking in how much fun she’s having.

During lunch, Yuki makes a sign about taking Itsuomi to Oushi’s house as “impossible”, but he almost mistakes it for the okay to kiss her. Turns out she’s not as comfortable smooching in public, but is fine with some cuddling if he’s okay with it. Itsuomi repeats the words she told him: if it’s her, he’s okay with everything.

Itsuomi saying that makes Yuki so happy she can feel her emotions getting out of control, which isn’t helped by how shaky much their swan boat ride is. But on the packed subway home, when he’s shielding her from a bump and some girls accidentally bump him and swoon at the sight of him, she totally gets it: her guy is supes dreamy, after all. It’s just that she knows the parts about him that aren’t related to looks are just as dreamy.

Earlier in their relationship Yuki asked him why he travels so much, and he told her he’d tell her when they’re closer. Now that they’re closer, she asks him again at the park, and he writes a long form text explaining it. He’d always loved planes as a little kid, but when his fam moved to Germany, he had trouble communicating.

It wasn’t until a soccer ball rolled his way that he was able to reach out and make a connection to a German kid and made a friend. Traveling for him is not just about studying languages and cultures, but living them, and teaching the next generation the value of that. Itsuomi follows this with a string of sweet nothings to Yuki that make her cry tears of joy.

As we close the book on Sign of Affection, we learn that Oushi is going to keep up with his signing to get certified, which makes his friend Izumi happy to see him motivated and not down in the dumps. Will it mean he’ll look her way? Who can say.

As for Shin and Emma, she decides to give it a go and ask him out. I’m sure it’s new and strange, but it looks like they’re going to be just fine. Same with Kyouya and Rin, who gets a ring from Kyouya to make it official that they are, indeed, dating, and that she doesn’t have to pinch herself.

Yuki works hard, saves up, and acquires a passport, which means she can finally travel with Itsuomi and see and experience the things he does in person. You can tell they’re looking forward to sharing a world together: Yuki because she’s never been abroad, and Itsuomi because he’s never been abroad with the girl he loves.

It’s a bright, colorful, cheery, and extremely positive finale for Sign of Affection, a show I’m exceedingly grateful to for making my heart soar every week, as it highlighted the beauty and magic of making connections, forming bonds, building trust, and finding love with others.

Kimizero – 06 – Shooting Her Shot

Well now, our boy Ryuuto ain’t as stupid as he looks. Maria’s ruse doesn’t last more than a minute from the moment he enters the gym storage room. When she hugs him, he knows immediately she’s not Runa. Thus caught, does Maria quit right then and there? Unfortunately not.

She insists on having sex with Ryuuto, telling him they can keep it a secret, and that unlike Runa he’ll be her first. Ryuuto quite sensibly separates himself from her and tells her no, he’s not going to do anything to hurt Runa. He could have said a lot more.

Frankly, Maria needs someone to tell her that it’s simply not all right to disguise yourself as your fraternal twin sister and try to trick her boyfriend into sleeping with you! But because Ryuuto is an uncommonly kind fella, and has also felt the sting of rejection (from Maria!) she’s feeling now, so she lets her cry on his shoulder.

Big mistake! The next day at school everyone is atwitter about Ryuuto cheating on Runa with Maria. A photo taken from the bushes shows the two on a park bench. He confronts Maria, who denies she had anything to do with it, and for once I actually believe her. She also agrees to deny the rumors. I hope she learned her lesson.

She also makes a remark about whether they’d still be together if only she’d said yes instead of turning him down, before saying there’s no point dwelling on the past. Unfortunately, Runa and Nicole hear this while they’re in the hall. Runa drops her phone, then runs away upset. Nicole slaps Ryuuto across the face for breaking his promise to her.

Unfortunately, that’s the last Ryuuto sees of Runa that day, and indeed for the first two weeks of summer break. She doesn’t respond to his messages telling her she’s sorry and asking for an opportunity to explain himself. He comes close to ringing her doorbell, but doesn’t have the guts. He’s disgusted in himself.

Fortunately, his nerd friends decided to go to the exact same beach in Chiba where Runa is (where all they do is watch game streams), and snap a photo of her with some hot tanned dude when they spot her. While I’m most certainly not a fan of them taking a photo of Runa without her permission, they save Ryuuto’s summer by doing so.

Ryuuto jumps on the next train to Chiba and finds the beach hut where Runa is there with Nicole and still clinging to the hot tanned guy, who is the first of them to notice Ryuuto is there, assuming he’s a customer. When he realizes he’s Runa’s BF, he introduces himself … as Runa’s hot tanned uncle, Mao.

That aside, Ryuuto is there to apologize to Runa for making her worry. When Nicole has to head off to work, Mao assures her he’ll be sure to kick Ryuuto’s ass if he makes his dear niece cry. Ryuuto proceeds to tell Runa everything: how Maria was the girl who turned him down in middle school, and how the night they came back from the beach, Maria confessed.

While he turned her down flat, he knows there’s no excuse for not telling Runa everything sooner. But to his surprise, Runa isn’t upset. She never responded to his texts because her phone broke when she dropped it, and she hasn’t had the opportunity to get it fixed.

But more than that, Runa gets why Maria fell for him, and also that whoever he turned down, he’d do it gently and be kind to them, just as he always is with her. Because it happens to be her little (presumably by a few minutes) sister, she’s grateful Ryuuto turned her down softly.

While Runa ran off upset, she soon calmed down, realizing she’d fled a situation without getting all the facts, and after some thought, decided that she not only still trusted Ryuuto, but wanted to stay his girlfriend no matter what. That he showed up to talk to her before her phone got fixed only reinforces her trust in him.

The question is, who took that photo in the bushes? Couldn’t have been Maria, and we don’t know of any friends she has who would do something like that on her behalf. I also doubt it was Nicole, as she doesn’t seem like the voyeuristic type. It will be interesting to see if we ever learn their identity, and if they cause any more problems for our lovebirds.

Until then, all’s well that ends well, as Runa invites Ryuuto to her granny’s house and asks him to spend the rest of summer break with her, working at the hut and having fun on the beach on their time off. Uncle Mao is cool with it, and Ryuuto can’t very well decline, especially after two weeks of wallowing in despair!

Hyakkano – 05 – Human for a Reason

Next girlfriend up: the Cool Beauty, Eiai Nano; the girl who is not only atop the school exam rankings, but got a perfect score; the girl who is rumored to not be a girl at all, but an advanced AI, supported by her distinctive name. But when Nano and Rentarou’s eyes meet in class and the soulmate magic happens, she’s revealed to be as human as his other girlfriends.

However, things are a bit different with Eiai. Unlike Hakari and Karane, who were fighting for his love from the start, or Shizuka, who wasn’t sure she deserved it, Eiai actively tries to suppress the love for Rentarou that’s been bestowed upon her, hiding behind cold logic and efficiency. That said, she also uses those things as an excuse to suck on Rentarou’s finger when he cuts himself during lab.

(While this is happening, Karane takes her tsundere-ness to new heights by declaring “It’s not like I care about looking at some stupid cells or anything, okay?!”, to which Hakari responds by asking her what she’s even fighting against in life. Chef’s kiss.)

When Rentarou thanks Nano later, she gives a logical explanation for an illogical action, and rejects his offer of a thank-you soda. She feels such gestures, and indeed all non-academic activities such as “having fun” to be meaningless and devoid of value. She goes on to define value as something created only by utility and benefits.

But that night, in her completely undecorated room, Nano finds herself preoccupied with thoughts about Rentarou and unable to focus, even when she writes out hundreds of digits of Pi (“Pi is Life”). The next day she decides to ask Rentarou out, but when he heartily accepts, she then rejects, hoping he would decline.

Nano is convinced in this moment that simply drawing a line in the sand and ending her love via rejection will resolve her current emotional upheaval. But Rentarou has been rejected too many times to let one more faze him. He asks Nano for one date to prove to her that romance is more than just a means to matrimony and childbirth … that it has meaning beyond that, unable to be calculated.

Nano agrees, and I believe it’s largely in part because a part of her wants to go on a date with the boy she suddenly loves, even if she’s as cold and skeptical at the theme park as she was at school. Her scathing commentary on the various illogical and absurd contraptions and practices they go through is well worth the price of admission. “Horse simulator” and “human house” were gold!

But something happens when they ride the Ferris Wheel: her acrophobia kicks in, and creates a crack in her calcified armor. Her hand trembles, and Rentarou can tell she’s afraid and sits beside her. When she grabs his sleeve, he places his hand on hers to steady it, and she interlocks her fingers with his. It’s without a doubt something Nano has never experienced, and she cannot hide her enjoyment.

After that vulnerable moment, the two go over the instant camera photos Rentarou had taken throughout the day, and to her surprise, he can discern her emotions in each one, from boredom to genuine enjoyment. Everyone always calls her emotionless, but that’s simply not the case; they just aren’t watching her closely enough.

That said, she continues to insist this day and everything that happened in it was meaningless and a waste of time, and that she gained nothing. Rentarou is happy she was straightforward as always in telling him what she thought about the date, and prepares to light the photos—which have no digital files or negatives—aflame.

But just as one corner of the photos begins to singe, Nano instinctively rips them away from the fire with a look of sheer panic. Rentarou admits he tried to burn them in order to prove to Nano that the times they had weren’t meaningless and that she did gain something. She may not understand what it is, but when she grabbed the photos it proved she didn’t want to lose it. And she can’t lose what she doesn’t have.

There’s a meaning to good times, and enjoying those times makes life meaningful. Realizing that she was too quick to conclude she wasn’t missing out on anything by avoiding fun and romance, Nano again asks Rentarou out. He accepts, and she makes it official with a surprise kiss, afterwards declaring that she intends to fulfill her desires “without fretting about the means.”

All that’s left is to introduce his fourth and newest girlfriend to the ‘cule, which at this point is a mere formality, especially considering the other three are now thick as thieves. We even get a preview of their future interactions together, as Karane chides Nano for “optimizing his death” when she suggested he kill himself with poison rather than seppuku if he doesn’t do right by them all.

The other girls are a little jealous Rentarou went on a date with Nano, something they haven’t done yet, so Hakari wastes no time suggesting a group date to a pool, which means we’ll be getting the swimsuit episode next week.

Until then, Nano’s intro was fantastic, and her calm deadpan logic hiding an aggressive assertiveness makes for a great new wrinkle to the dynamic that includes Shizuka’s quirkiness and Hakari and Karane’s chaos. I also hasten to add that Rentarou didn’t seek out to change Nano, only to introduce her to a part of life she hadn’t bothered to access, knowing the rewards would far outweigh the inefficiencies.

Insomniacs After School – 05 – Gray Skies are Going to Clear Up

All Ganta wants to do is meet Isaki on the beach on a starry night, but the first day of the camping trip is cloudy and gray. Ganta goes through a number of trials, most of them involving enduring the presence of the well-meaning but irritating-as-hell loudmouth Haida Rui.

Kudos for presenting the “rowdy school friend” in such a nuanced way that we can see he’s just trying to involve Ganta but fundamentally doesn’t understand Ganta’s deal. All attempts to sleep fail, and the physical and emotional effects of all that lost sleep are cumulative.

The next morning, Hakui-sensei makes everyone run laps on the beach. He considers Ganta’s lack of energy to be self-inflicted and urges him to expend all his energy. When the class activities are called off due to rain, Ganta again spends lights-out utterly exhausted but completely unable to sleep. I’ve been there; I’m sure many of us watching have: every little sound and thought is torture. Then Ganta emerges around 1 AM to find that the rain has stopped and the clouds have vanished.

He quietly dresses, packs his camera, and heads to the beach, where of course Isaki is there waiting for him. After bumping fists, she takes hold of his hand and runs laughing through the water as the dazzling stars twinkle above them.

Rarely have I seen a scene of such innocent, unbridled joy. Every shot and movement of Isaki is infused with so much love. If, like me, you watched Vinland Saga earlier this evening, this provided a much-needed emotional salve.

After having an absolutely terrible time on the camping trip, everything worked out. Ganta sets up the camera to take a 2-hour shot, which means he and Isaki have to figure out what to do for two hours. Isaki says she can tell Ganta hasn’t been sleeping.

She confides in him how anxiety grips her when she tries to sleep in her bed, but how snuggling up to him has given her her best sleep in ages. He tells her it’s the same with him, so they agree to sleep together right there. She listens to his heart, and laughs upon learning it’s beating faster than the other day.

All the same, she goes out like a light shortly after snuggling with him, and he soon follows suit, noting first how “warm and tickly” it is to have someone sleeping right beside you. His alarm wakes him up at 5 AM. The camera shot seems to have worked out, but the two of them need to hurry back before they’re spotted.

Even so, as Isaki walks on the beach ahead of him, Ganta can’t help but ask if he can snap some pictures of her. While she’s a little bashful, she’s totally fine with that, and produces some absolutely adorable poses in front of a truly heavenly sunrise.

I’m not worried about them getting caught or into trouble. I’m not even worried (yet) about the pills the episode really wanted us to see Isaki taking earlier. Taking us from the depths of insomniac despair to the highest summits of bliss, this is why I watch anime. This was one of the most beautiful and poignant portrayals of blooming young love, comfort, and closeness I’ve come upon in a long while. When these two are together, all’s right in the world.

RABUJOI WORLD HERITAGE LIST

Insomniacs After School – 04 – Chemical Reaction

This week’s IAS features both Isaki and Ganta hanging out with their friends and separately realizing that that they feel a certain way about each other. When Nono tells Isaki how the upcoming fireworks festival would make for a perfect date, Isaki’s response makes it sound to Nono like she already has someone in mind (because she does). There’s a realism to the interactions and banter between the friends that matches the naturalism of the visuals.

Ukegawa has also caught on to how much time Ganta has been spending with Isaki and only Isaki, and uses it to distract Ganta so he can beat him at shogi and hava Ganta buy him ramen. Afterwards the boys cross paths with the girls, and while Isaki and Ganta can only make out the tiniest sounds of greeting before Ganta pedals off, it’s clear as a starry sky to Ukegawa that Ganta likes Isaki, and it’s not a stretch to believe she feels similarly about Ganta.

Ukegawa tags along with Ganta to Yui’s so she can critique the night photos he’s taken so far. She’s strict, but that’s the way Ganta wants it, as he wants to do it right. When he climbs into the tent he set up as practice for the class’ seaside camping trip, Yui heads off to work, and Ukegawa makes a tactical retreat. You see, Isaki has arrived and he doesn’t want to be a third wheel.

It’s Isaki who greets Ganta when he emerges from the tent, and for the first time since they met, the two are nervous and self-conscious around each other, owing to all the talk about dates and such. Ganta still manages to ask Isaki out to the fireworks festival, but he unfortunately qualifies it as saying its for astronomy club work. C’mon, man, she’d have said yes even if you said it was a date! Hopefully it will end up being one anyway.

For the next few days Ganta is unable to practice his photograpy since the weather is too bad. He also gets grouped up with Haida, a guy he calls a “joker” who just rubs him the wrong way. During home ec, we see that Kani is eager to beat Ganta at something, be it a test or an apron. Is she simply being competitive, or is there more to it? I guess we’ll see!

As for Haida, he mentions to Ganta that he spotted him out late at night. He’s not going to snitch since that would incriminate him too, but that happens anyway because their teacher Hakui-sensei is also in the bathroom. The two bow and apologizes, but when Hakui tells them to take steps to get better sleep because people who can’t are “messed up”, Ganta takes it as an insult to Isaki and calls his teacher an asshole.

While that probably endears him to the ne’er-do-well Haida, it puts him in the teacher’s doghouse, which combined with the shit weather, his slow progress with camerawork, and the fact he’s forbidden from taking pictures on the camping trip leads him to say that nothing’s going right. He says this while Isaki is hanging teru teru bozus around the observatory, which he tells her is futile; the forecast says it will rain the whole trip.

Isaki walks up to him, puts her hands on his face, and pushes his cheeks up, turning his hangdog frown into a smile. She says they should hope for it to clear up at least one night, and make a promise that if it does, they’ll meet on the beach under the starry sky.

Not only does this cheer Ganta up, but it also calms him down to the point he can fall asleep. Isaki again approaches him, curls up next to him, and places her head on his back. His heartbeat, which she states is “the best”, lulls her to sleep. I love these doggone cute kids so much!

Insomniacs After School – 03 – Laid-Back Astronomy Camp

By signing their names to a sheet, Ganta and Isaki bring the Astronomy Club back to life, but as cool as Kurashiki-sensei has been about all this, she warns them the form is not just a formality. As president, Ganta will have to attend the school club budgetary meeting and not only report on legitimate club activities, but compete for school funding.

While Kurashiki is happy to serve as club advisor, she has nothing to advise on the day-to-day activities of the astronomy club. However, she does point Ganta and Isaki to someone who does: Shiromaru Yui, an alumnus and the last member of the astronomy club before it was shut down. Ganta and Isaki take a train out to rural Wakuraonsen and traverse seemingly endless rice paddies to find this Shiromaru.

When they finally find her workplace, it’s an arcade with a deafening din. At first, Yui asks these two minors what they’re doing there after school, but she then recognizes their Kuyo High uniforms and deduces that Kurashiki-sensei sent them, and that they’re seeking her council.

Yui invites the pair to her cargo container converted into a pretty awesome apartment, and even treats them to some carbonara (and a brief look at her unmentionables). Yui looks through Ganta’s camera and determines that he still needs to learn the basics of night photography (she also sees photos Ganta took of Isaki, which are informative in another way).

After dinner, Yui takes the kids out, where it’s now dark and a new moon, perfect for shooting pics of stars. She shows Ganta how to use manual focus and adjust the f-stop and ISO levels. These pointers result in him taking his very first in-focus photo of stars, and he and Isaki are so jazzed that Yui herself can’t help but smile. While she’s been a loner for a long time and may even prefer it, she’s clearly a kind, sweet, and generous individual.

That’s confirmed when Yui takes an active interest in these kids’ resurrection of the astronomy club by paying a visit to the observatory. When Isaki arrives after swimming practice with a bad case of the yawns, she’s revitalized not just by the presence of Yui, but of a tent in the observatory. It, along with a camp chair and other comforts, are crucial for a successfull night photography session.

Ganta and Isaki head home that night extremely excited at the prospect of planning a Perseid meteor shower viewing party in August. Ganta is less confident of not embarrassing himself by submitting an entry for a national astrophotography contest, but as Kurashiki says, it’s a small price to pay for the potential reward of prestige—and more funds from the school.

Later that night, Yui pulls a Shima Rin and engages in a full-bore iyashikei late night photography session, even bringing along her awesome cat Rollo. As her camera takes a long-exposure shot of a torii gate, she makes a fluffy pancake with her camp stove. The resulting shot is so pretty, she can’t resist wanting to send it to Ganta and Isaki, but hesitates since it’s pushing 2 AM.

Of course, we know Ganta and Isaki are most likely wide awake at home around that time, and apparently so does Rollo, as he nudges Yui’s finger so it presses the send button. She freaks out, but only for a few moments, as she gets immediate, enthusiastic replies from her two kohai, who are clearly night owls.

As I said, it’s clear Shiromaru Yui has adopted a number of tools that enable her to not just survive but thrive in her somewhat monastic life of solitude. But it’s clear from the numerous cute expressions she makes throughout the episode that she’s hardly opposed to social interaction.

In fact, she was eager to share the beauty of the night sky with others, since sharing it only enhanced her enjoyment. It’s a triumphant introduction of another endearing addition to the cast, voiced with a wonderful humanity and nuance by Tomatsu Haruka. Between her and Kurashiki-sensei, Ganta and Isaki are in good hands!

Urusei Yatsura – 17 – If Wishes Were Bras

This week’s outing is evenly split between two stories, the first chronicling Ryuunosuke’s quest to obtain her first bra and cast away her chest binding. It all starts with Shinobu being stalked and photographed by three delinquents from a neighboring highschool whose boss is infatuated with her. Ryuunosuke is walking by, so Shinobu gloms onto her, and the hoodlums assume she’s Shinobu’s guy.

When Ryuunosuke informs them she’s a girl (with her fists), the delinquents work out a deal with her: a 5,000-yen gift certificate (enough to buy a bra) if they can snap a bunch of photos of her on a date with Shinobu so their boss will stop barking up the wrong tree.

Ryuunosuke, with just a scant 400 yen to her name and no concept of inflation, grudgingly agrees, even though she could simply borrow a bra for free from any of the girls in her class.

These photos must be convincing, so Ryuunosuke and Shinobu dress up for their date. When Ryuunosuke applies the same passion she has for fighting to date with Shinobu, she’s rewarded with a slap for being too forward and Shinobu’s concern she may actually have the hots for her.

Adding to the complexity of the situation is that Ataru is not okay with Ryuunosuke dating Shinobu, whom he is still pining after, and Lum keeping Ataru honest.

At the end of the day, we know Shinobu’s prime criterion for dating is good looks, so when the grotesque abomination of a bossman shows up in the mood for-a-smoochin’, we know he has zero chance. Ryuunosuke, torn between chasing after the airborne gift cert and protecting Shinobu, leaves her vulnerable to attack.

But Shinobu is ready to repel the bossman with her fist. He then contents himself with eating what he believes to be Shinobu’s bra, which is actually Ataru’s mom’s bra, with which he tried to bribe Ryuunosuke earlier.

From there, we move on to something completely different: The Moroboshi family settling in for a meager dinner of three shumai and one bowl of miso soup each. When Ataru predictably eats more than his fill and starts bickering with his parents, Lum ducks and covers, as she hears something descending from the sky with great speed. It turns out to be a sentient Wishing Star.

The star will grant the family three wishes—anything they want. Ataru’s folks are skeptical, but the first wish—cleaning up the room the star ruined with its arrival—they realize it’s the real deal. Sakuranbou (who shows up out of nowhere) uses the second wish for yakisoba.

Then Ataru, his parents, and Lum begin arguing ad nauseum about how to use the remaining wish. Ataru’s mom wants cash. His dad wants to “redo his life”. Ataru wants a harem, and Lum wants his cheating to be cured.

When the Wishing Star asks for something to drink and is directed to the fridge, it locates Ataru’s dad’s beer, and ends up passing out drunk. Since its wishes are only good until dawn, everyone tries in vain to wake it up. Sakuranbou ends up using the final wish to simply wake the Star up, at which time it says all three wishes have been fulfilled, and departs by flying through the kitchen window.

A shame; it would have been nice if one of the wishes could have been spent to put a little more cash in the Moroboshis’ pockets…or to cure Ataru of his lecherousness for Lum’s sake.

Spy x Family – 23 – The Flames of War

The Campbell siblings have no shortage of dirty tricks to try to stop the Phonys, from a net that moves up and down, a wind machine that affects trajectories, to a hidden sniper firing court-colored rubber bullets. But even they couldn’t have known they’d be up against a couple of elite spies.

Throw adversity at a couple of lunatics like Twilight and Nightfall, and they’re going to keep finding a way around it. Once they’re both in rhythm making impossibly acrobatic yet precise moves, it’s game, set, and match. The Campbells poked a couple of bears, and simply got mauled.

Whether it was Cloverworks or Wit Studio that animated this episode (or both), the “tennis” action was never not fantastic looking, adding a sense of legitimacy to a thoroughly farcical game. When it comes time to claim the painting, Cavi suddenly says it’s the one piece he can’t part with.

But Loid and Fiona prepared for the possibility the secret police would get to Campbell before they got to the painting, so Loid simply disguises himself as Campbell’s valet and pulls the ol’ painting switcheroo, Thomas Crown Affair-style. The mission is a complete success, and the two spies high-five.

Fiona drops Loid off to find Yor in the park with Anya, and decides she needs to challenge and defeat Twilight’s Strix wife right then and there … in a game of tennis. Thanks to Anya, we can witness Fiona’s ridiculous thought about how it’ll go down, as well as Yor’s worry about Fiona replacing her.

Yor also plays the bumbling novice perfectly when she whiffs on what starts off as a badass assassin’s serve. But the thing is, she didn’t whiff; she simply hit the ball so hard it went through the strings of the racket like Play-Doh through an extruder (or human beings in Cube). The concassé’d ball is a little masterpiece of comic timing and trick animation.

Even when Yor holds back on her serve, she hits the ball so hard it goes faster than sound, creates a shock wave that digs into the ground, and lights up like a comet. Fiona tries her best to absorb the serve and volley it back, but her racket simply isn’t up to it, smashing to bits.

Fiona, defeated utterly, runs to her Trabant and races off, not letting Loid or Yor see her mask crack to reveal the seething, churning tempest of emotion within. Yor, who is simply relieved she fought Fiona off this time, very empatically tells Loid that she Won, leaving out the “for Us.”

The punchline of this two-parter is that while the code hidden in the painting indeed leads to finding Zacharis’ Dossier, but it turns out to be a diary filled with photos of pretty young actresses. These are the “dark secrets” that could “re-ignite a war”, not between East and West, but between Zacharis and his wife. I also loved the uncommented-upon sight of the gaudy rings Fiona took from Campbell on Handler’s hand.

But after the punchline comes a moment of realization for Loid when he sees that Zacharis managed to maintain a happy marriage and family after burying away his creepy dossier. Keeping a marriage and family happy isn’t easy, as evidenced by a clearly frustrated-looking Yor at the end.

I imagine she was underwhelmed by Loid’s reaction to her win over Fiona, and still worried about Fiona continuing to try to usurp her. Sure enough, the episode wraps up with Fiona in the mountains strengthening her serve with a racket made from a boulder as the wildlife watches in morbid curiosity.

Bocchi the Rock! – 04 – Queen of Woot

Ikuyo is practicing hard at guitar with Bocchi, but it’s still pretty rough. She considers whether she could simply sing on stage, but then worries about what she’d do during interludes. She concludes it would be best if she just try her best and get better at the guitar.

Her “Kit-aura” once again blinds Bocchi, but for a minute there, she was experiencing someone else’s frustrations instead of focusing on her own. Yes, even a normie like Ikuya has those!

Nijika calls a band meeting, with the purpose of coming up with things to make Kessoku Band more band-like. She acquired colored zip-ties as merch, which Ryou immediately tries to monetize. Ikuya suggests they start a band Insta and is appointed social media minister. When Ikuya asks if Bocchi has any ideas, Bocchi searches the boxes in her head furiously to no avail.

But Nijika says Bocchi doesn’t have to come up with anything so she can instead focus on writing the lyrics to their first song with vocals—something Bocchi forgot she was assigned to do. She talks a big game about being the lyricmaster, one week passes and all she’s managed to do is perfect her Bocchi autograph style.

After doing some closet video editing and finding her middle school lyrics notebook that’s more like a book of curses, Bocchi does some intense roleplaying in her bedroom, first emulating the coolest, most extroverted chick ever, then straight up channeling Ikuya.

It’s here where I once again simply had to bow down in appreciation for the absolutely bonkers voice performance Aoyama Yoshino has been pulling off with the many shades of Bocchi. It’s also a display that her entire family peeks in on, and her parents worry she’s possessed.

The next day Bocchi is summoned for another band meeting, and comes with a handmade sign declaring she has not yet written any lyrics. But that’s okay, Nijika didn’t call everyone out to Shimo-Kita for that, but so they could take some “pro-phos”, or promotional photos.

The ensuing sequence of shots of the four girls, both posed and candid, in a variety of different locations, really ups the energy and realism of the setting. There’s also a lot of comedic mileage to be had in capturing the four girls’ different personalities through still imagery. A particular highlight is when Ikuya and Nijika copy Ryou’s stare.

One thing everyone agrees on is that Ikuya looks great in every photo, which she chalks up to having an established Insta account. But at one point in this extended photo shoot, Bocchi overloads. She’d never had a non-family, non-school picture of herself taken before, and now all of a sudden she’s in dozens of them.

When Ikuya suggests she start her own Insta, things get even worse, as Bocchi starts writhing on the ground and enters a fugue state in which she imagines herself as an attention whore kaiju that levels a city with her desire to be seen. Bocchi’s unhinged, almost cubist transformation in the real world contrasts with the stark, richly-textured style of her fantasy.

Bocchi’s bandmates manage to bring her back into their plane of existence and they do a jump shot, which they all agree is great, so they call it a wrap for the day. But Bocchi’s lyric block remains firmly in place. She decides she needs input from someone, and deems Ryou is the best person to give it (since she won’t humor her).

As a reminder Bocchi’s social anxiety is going precisely nowhere, she struggles to even enter the trendy cafe where Ryou told her to meet her. She decides to say “Are ya winning, diners?” when she enters, drawing blank stares (Bocchi’s overly formal texts are also a hoot). Her next challenge is striking up a conversation with Ryou, resulting in a long stretch of silence until Ryou simply asks to read the lyrics. I’d say don’t overthink things, Bocchi, but that’s impossible.

Ryou reads the lyrics, which are packed with seishun clichés, but rather than just shit on them, Ryou tells Bocchi why she quit her first band (the music just started getting too commercial and shallow) and offers helpful feedback. We get an adorable origin story to how Kessoku Band was founded (Nijika said she loved how Ryou played), and Ryou states her philosophy that abandoning uniqueness and honesty is akin to dying.

Bocchi says that if she avoids generic lyrics she’ll write bitter, social-outcast lyrics. But to Ryou that’s perfect: think how hilarious it will sound if a normie like Ikuya sings those lyrics? Ryou is spot-on in wanting to embrace the band’s contradictions. That way lies uniqueness and freshness.

Bocchi was ready to peg Ryou as a deeply considerate person … until it’s time to pay her check and she asks Bocchi to spot her as she’s still broke (she’s apparently still eating weeds and wanted a break from that, and also to try out the new café). But the fact remains, she was considerate in her criticism, and Bocchi now has a direction.

She comes back with a notebook full of lyrics that are genuinely hers and not trying to put on a front or prove anything. The other girls note that the lyrics are kind of a downer, but Ryou says they’re “very Bocchi,” adding that they may not connect with everyone, but will hit deeply for those they do. Kind of like this show!

Bocchi has done good; the band has lyrics, and no doubt soon Ryou will feel inspired and write music to go with them. The two have also hit it off in a way that pisses off Ikuya, who obviously wants Ryou-senpai all to herself. As for that pro-pho, Bocchi once again goes the extra mile, printing out dozens of copies and plastering her walls and ceiling with them. Damn Bocchi, I know you want to change … but please never change!

Each episode of Bocchi the Rock! I watch reinforces my belief that I was missing out big time these past eight weeks. Bocchi is fast approaching Kaguya-Sama – Love is War levels of AOTY excellence, and I haven’t even seen the full band play yet! The vibes are very good, and the sky’s the limit.

P.S. The new Bocchi-centric ED theme is so sweet, wistful, and pretty-sounding it made my heart hurt a little…not a bad thing!

A Couple of Cuckoos – 24 (Fin) – Part of the Flock

Cuckoos eschews any more huge revelations or decisions and instead opts for a laid back finale full of warm family vibes. We begin with Nagi, Sachi, and Erika receiving a gaudy invitation to Papa Yohei’s birthday, a celebration that he prepares and executes all on his own. It’s never explained why, mind you, but it’s safe to say Yohei’s a good and cool dude, so his wife and kids let him have his fun.

I find it odd that it would slip Sachi’s mind that her brother and Erika share a birthday as they were switched at birth, and even odder that Nagi would only now do the math and realize he was conceived before his folks got married. Among the annual family portrait, there’s a pale-haired kid who goes totally unexplained…maybe she’ll show up if this gets a sequel.

The biggest takeaway for Nagi and Erika (and Sachi, who later reports it to Erika’s dad) is that their folks simply want Nagi and Erika to be happy, and for Erika to be in their lives like she is now. They no longer believe they have to follow through on their engagement and get married to maintain that.

Of course, by putting the onus on whether to get married or not, Nagi and Erika actually have to think about it beyond something being forced upon them. Sure, on the bus ride home they worry that Erika’s dad might not agree with Nagi’s folks, but in his head Nagi wonders whether Erika being able to convince him means the “end of their relationship for good.”

The episode then segues into Erika’s Dizzy Fever Day, as she suddenly collapses in the middle of a study session. Sachi and Hiro take her to bed, take her temperature, and prepare to change her into her PJs to rest more comfortably, and of course Nagi barges in while they’re disrobing her.

But while Sachi and Hiro bar Nagi from Erika’s room while she’s sick, they let their enthusiasm and drive to help her recover as fast and completely as possible ends up simply overwhelming her. They look up remedies like sake and leeks tied to the head, and develop the crazy eyes as they go on about how they’ll make Erika better than new.

When all of that fails to lower her fever, Nagi decides to step in and offer her a hot meal to regain her strength. Erika claims not to be hungry, but her grumbling stomach betrays her. Nagi also took exception when Erika told the others “sorry for being a bother”, as she’s been nothing but that for him since they met.

That being said, he doesn’t dislike that Erika, and so wants her to get better so she can get back to being that Erika. He knows that since Sachi and Hiro started living and coming ’round all the time, she’s worked herself hard to keep up with the energy level and it took a physical toll. It’s all well and good to want to be present and active in the group, but not at the cost of one’s health!

When Erika asks why he knows her better than herself, he says simply that they’re engaged. ‘Nuff said. For all of Sachi and Hiro’s good intentions, it’s his job as her fiancé to take care of her, and vice-versa. Hearing Nagi acknowledge their engagement and how it’s still important to him even when his parents have all but given them cover to break it off gives Erika a smile. What was thrust upon them at first has become something neither of them want to give up anytime soon.

When Papa Yohei delivers a copy of the latest family photo, it has Erika front and center. It’s a photo full of love and joy (or, er…RABUJOI) celebrating the addition as the gift that it is. Nagi, Sachi, and their folks are as happy Erika is part of their family as she is to be part of it. The fact that the episode ends with Nagi and Erika nagging each other over house chores just goes to show how close they’ve gotten.

If there’s a sequel that ties up the loose ends (Sosuke, that mystery kid in the photo, whether Nagi and Erika actually marry, etc.) I’ll be sure to watch it out of the affection for this colorful flock of cuckoos.

Heroines Run the Show – 11 – The Mask Falls

Our episode opens on someone we haven’t met before: an extremely enthusiastic café maid adding her love to her customer’s omurice. When she removes her wig and puts on those distinctive glasses, we discover it’s Chizuru, who it would seem we still haven’t met…not for real, at least.

Chizuru doesn’t seem to like working her ass off at this job, but she apparently needs to so she can keep making money to send…to LIPxLIP, and Aizou in particular, with whom she is particularly smitten. She has hidden that intense infatuation from both the boys and her friends…but one day she’s sloppy, and Yuujirou hears her phone when she snaps multi-burst shots of them playing basketball.

Back at work and as popular as ever, and with the scandal well behind them, the boys have a new problem: Hiyori isn’t around anymore. Their new old manager mixes up their drinks. It’s a little thing, but after Hiyori made that mistake she never made it again; it speaks to what a dedicated, detail-oriented hard worker she was, and what a void she leaves. Hiyori has done her best to forget about her old job and focuses on track, but her times are slower and she’s clearly eating more at lunchtime.

When Juri notes that the harassment of her has mercifully ceased, Hiyori says she’s most sorry about “hurting the fans”, and as Chizuru is one of them, she has to quickly excuse herself so she can drop the friend facade, whip out one of the photos she took of Hiyori with LIPxLIP, and curse her as she blots her out with a Sharpie. Yuujirou witnesses the entire tirade.

Juri invites herself and Chizuru over to Hiyori’s for a pizza sleepover, but the discussion becomes awkward when Chizuru answers that yes, she does have a crush. That’s when Yuujirou strategically side-checks her in such a way that her bag goes flying…and the incriminating photos fly out too.

Juri’s cavalier reaction—almost as if a part of her she expected something like this, is contrasted by Hiyori’s sheer bewilderment. She’s genuinely unsure of what’s going on, until Chizuru makes it nice and sparkling clear: she fucking hates her guts!

The sleepover obviously cancelled due to the death of good vibes, Hiyori instead runs all night, only to replenish all the calories she burned with another crepe sesh with Mona-chan. Mona draws from her own experience “hating” her sister to tell Hiyori that “hate” is often just an easy label for more complex feelings buried beneath all the bluster.

Hiyori is all aboard with the idea of reaching out to Chizuru and asking her how she really feels, but Chizuru doesn’t want to talk, and avoids her at every turn the next day. I thought at first Hiyori’s superior speed would have the advantage in the ensuing cat-and-mouse, but lest we forget, Chizuru snapped those photos while remaining totally undetected. It’s like trying to corner a ninja!

When Hiyori finally does tackle Chizuru, none of Chizuru’s hostility has dissipated. If anything, she’s even more annoyed that Hiyori won’t leave her the ef alone. But when pressed, Chizuru maintains that she did nothing wrong, and that it’s the “nobody” Hiyori’s fault for getting so close to the idols and not “knowing her place” like Chizuru.

In the rancor she dispenses, Hayami Saori brings back shades of Hatoko’s Rant and demonstrates once more why she’s among the best in the business. When given dramatic meat, she leaves nothing on the bone. The tussling gets more and more physical until the two are literally throwing right crosses at one another, but only Chizuru’s lands, knocking Hiyori clean out with a fountain of blood.

When Hiyori wakes up in the nurse’s, Yuujirou and Aizou are with her…and so is Chizuru, asleep by her bed, clutching her hand, her eyes raw from tears. Seeing her there, one can’t help but forgive her, because she wouldn’t be there if she didn’t actually care about Hiyori. Perhaps she can ditch the easy, safe hatred and explore the true feelings beneath, but the episode wisely doesn’t wake her, leaving us to wonder until next week.

Komi Can’t Communicate S2 – 10 – Tomo-Choco

The first day back from the school trip, everyone’s got a little Komi in them, as everyone tentatively approaches the new friends they made in Kyoto in the much more familiar setting of their classroom. Tadano can tell Komi wants to go talk to Mikuni, and watches her go from normal to negative to fired up to negative again. All she needs is a little push, which he literally gives her, enabling her an Mikuni to reconnect. Ayami soon joins them when she sees them talking.

We shift to a pair of Komi’s older friends when Onemine invites her and Kaede to her house to make chocolates for Valentines Day. Her many younger siblings are bemused by Komi, so beautiful yet so quiet. Once she does say something, they praise how lovely a voice it is. The three girls and Onemine’s fam exude warmth and good vibes, and that chocolate cake looked hella delicious.

The rubber meets the road the next day at school, when Valentines is in full swing. The three lads envision how different girls in their class would give them chocolate, but those are just delusions. Ren has to make things gross and weird, but Katai makes up for it by getting chocolate from Mikuni and then giving friendship chocolate to Tadano.

Little did Tadano know it would be the only chocolate he’d get that day. Komi was going to put some in his shoe locker, but he showed up before she could do so and she scurried away and things were awkward between them the rest of the day. It isn’t until he goes out on an errand for his sister and mom that he bonks Komi with his door.

They go to a park, where Komi reveals that the thing she brought for him was a printout for when he wasn’t in class. They part ways, but thankfully Komi summons some courage and runs back to Tadano’s place, even calling out his name with the loudest voice we’ve ever heard from her!

She almost punks out again when she says it’s just “friendship” chocolate as opposed to the other kind, then makes the caveat that she made sure Tadano got the best of the batch she made. I’m not sure why Tadano would ever think this girl hates him…She yelled for him, for goshsakes!