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.
RABUJOI - An Anime Blog 