Aharen-san wa Hakarenai – 09 – An Assembly of Aharens

When Raidou is feeling under the weather one day, he just happens to resemble the love interest in a shoujo romance novel. We know Aharen to be sensitive to how Raidou looks at her, especially after their tender moment at the fireworks festival, so his misleadingly amorous face is almost more than she can take. As for Raidou, he passes out from his fever and goes home early.

The next day Raidou is fully recovered (as one would expect of one with such a hardy build as him), but Aharen is out sick. He’s asked to deliver printouts to Aharen (a time-tested but by now obselete practice in the ageof the internet) and ends up encountering a third member of the Aharen clan: Reina’s much taller little sister, Eru (Hidaka Rina).

Eru exhibits certain tsundere qualities, treating Raidou with initial hostility but later admitting to her sister that she finds him “interesting” and “doesn’t dislike him”. She also has somewhat extreme notions of cooking what with bringing a whole tuna home and cutting it up with what could only be a katana.

Reina is very grateful Raidou came by, but he doesn’t impose further on the Aharens by staying for dinner. Eru watches as her big sister clings to him. While bathing with Ren, Eru admits that she suspects Reina to have “special feelings” for Raidou, but whether they’re actually going out remains a mystery to her.

Lil’ Ren sets out on a shopping trip and runs into Raidou, perhaps for the very purpose of finding out for sure whether he’s dating his big sis. When Ren realizes he’s lost his wallet and all the money for the groceries he intends to buy in order to help his sisters out, Raidou produces his wallet, only to find it’s empty too.

Thankfully, the Aharen dog Nui produces Ren’s wallet with the cash needed, but before Eru can get a straight answer out of Raidou about his relationship with Reina, Reina appears, and the discussion is tabled for now. Sure enough, in the presence of two Aharens Raidou effortlessly calls Reina by her first name, making her steam and blush.

Maybe there’s nothing Raidou could say to Ren or other curious parties to satisfy them. Maybe he and Reina simply defy specific labels.

Momokuri – 25 + 26 (Fin)

After Yuki presents Momo with a handmade cypress shoehorn (which is kinda the perfect weird Yuki gift for Momo), the episode ships our two lovebirds and their friends to a fancy hot spring, where Momo lets slip that he loves yuki (i.e. snow), but sounds just like he’s saying he lives Yuki the girl, which is fine with her but embarrassing to him.

Yuki couldn’t be happier, but things get a little more awkward when Yuki comes into a room where Momo is surrounded by three girls, and she isn’t the slightest bit upset, even calling “too cute” that Yuzuki and Momo are so close, and reaching for her camera.

Momo storms off, miffed that Yuki wasn’t more jealous (or indeed jealous at all) by such an unfortunate sight. But he knows his attitude sucked back there, and when Yuki flags him down to talk, he decides he’ll do just that.

What follows is a lovely, poignant scene where he describes how he came to fall in love with Yuki, but expresses his worry it’s a different love from hers, and possibly in a greater amount.

What he learns is that Yuki’s love may be different (and a bit creepy at times), but she has just as much love for him as he does for her.

And there you have it: now Momo knows Yuki’s “secret” obsession with him…and it’s perfectly okay. He’ll just be on his guard to stop her from collecting his garbage.

Momokuri was a cute, kind little show about a cute, kind, guy, short and easily flustered, and a slightly unusual girl who always sweats the details, start dating, learn more about each other, and fall deeper in love…in all its myriad forms. It was always a light, pleasant, feel-good watch.

Momokuri – 23 + 24

Last week one of Momo’s descriptors for Yuki was “hardworking”, and this week all Yuki does is prove how apt that descriptor is. Not only does she do all she can to make sure Momo passes final exams (though he ends up still having to take make-ups), she also cooks lunch for him.

Indeed, her devotion for Momo has motivated Yuki to try to improve herself in all the home ec areas she’s weakest in. Norika is impressed, if still a bit weirded out by the way Yuki expresses her love.

Even Rio can’t help but respect all the work Yuki is putting into becoming someone worthy of Momo…even if she really doesn’t have to go so far. Momo simply doesn’t seem to be putting in the same amount of effort to be worthy of Yuki, aside from trying to be seen by her as a strong and reliable man (and in this he often fails because she, and everyone else, merely sees him as cute).

In the end, Yuki’s intense efforts result in her getting sick over the Chistmas holiday, but thanks to Norika, Momo ends up visiting her, and to his credit, he does all he really needs to do: be there. Yuki is over the moon by Momo’s presence, and when he worries he’s imposing, she insists he stick around, holding her hand until she drifts off to sleep.

It’s a simple but lovely little scene that shows that sometimes it doesn’t really take much effort to fulfill the dreams of the one you love. Simply being by Yuki’s side is enough.

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge – 06

This week Tanaka catches cold from getting soaked several times by the rain, even though he had an umbrella. He thought the rain wasn’t heavy enough to justify opening it, and by the time it was it was too late. He also tries to develop a rain barrier by standing out in the rain, but that doesn’t go so well.

Shiraishi looks at the rainy day and sees an opportunity for the cliched but still desirable experience of walking with a loved one while sharing an umbrella. When she actually gets her wish, she’s a bit frazzled by how suddenly it happened.

She’s also a bit to excited for Tanaka to get any closer to her, and she’s content she’s as close as she is. Unfortunately, that means half of Tanaka is exposed to the rain, and the next day he comes in with a hoarse throat, a bad cough, and a mask.

Shiraishi sees this as another opportunity to take care of Tanaka, but he doesn’t want her to catch his cold, so asks her to stay away in a manner that could be construed as cold if we didn’t know who was saying it. The thing is, we don’t see Shiraishi again the rest of the episode, so she obeyed his wishes!

Instead, the second half of the episode is dominated by Echizen, who is an awesome delinquent with a gentle heart and old-fashioned notion of romance. In one of Sick Tanaka’s numerous attempts to communicate wordlessly to save his voice, he is loath to write Echizen’s name in Kanji, and instead writes a note asking if she could change her surname to Ohta or Tanaka.

Echizen sees this as nothing less than a proposal and a demand for her to choose one of the two guys, and she stresses over it immensely. Indeed, she shows her more tender, vulnerable, bashful side, one previously only seen when interacting with Miyano.

She weighs the pros and cons of marrying Ohta and Tanaka, and almost cuts her long skirt. She worries about being too tall for Tanaka, but then he says he likes her height. She worries about not being able to see Ohta as a man, but then he saves her from tripping and carries her when she falls down the steps.

The fact that Echizen becomes a completely uncoordinated klutz when worrying about these things further deepens her character into something far more than your run-of-the-mill Yankee. But the show smartly doesn’t let the misunderstanding extend beyond this week, as Echizen comes out and explains her bizarre behavior as the result of Tanaka’s note.

Tanaka and Ohta explain he was sick and only suggested the name change because he was too lazy to write “Echizen.” But they both decide it’s easier anyway to simply address her as Miyano does, as “Ecchan,” thereby perpetuating her smittenness.

While Shiraishi+Tanaka and Echizen+Ohta make the most sense, it was fun to see the doors open for other possibilities, even if they were one-sided and the result of a misunderstanding. And I’m never going to complain about the occasional doe-eyed Echizen!

Dagashi Kashi – 10

This week’s DK starts off with a little mystery, as Tou is confronted by an out-of-breath, distraught Hotaru who has been running in her stocking feet, takes Tou’s hands, and begs him for help. But with what? What is her big issue? And where are her shoes?

After the credits, we’re in Coco’s store, only Hotaru isn’t there. She hasn’t come by for two days, which to Coco isn’t just bizarre; it’s a little scary. When he doesn’t find her at Saya’s cafe either, the two pay a visit to Hotaru’s massive house for the first time, and find Hotaru in her pajamas and a surgical mask, looking very much the worse for wear.

They mystery deepens as Hotaru seems to freak out whenever she sees Coco’s face. And while she seems interested in the snacks he brought for her, she always ends up recoiling in fear, and can’t complete a sentence without wincing in pain multiple times.

Turns out the mouth ulcer she had last week—and continued to torture with pop rocks and the like—has only gotten worse, swelling her cheek to a ludicrous degree.

When pressed for answers, Hotaru tells them the tale that led to her encounter with Tou the other night. She used Pop-a-Fortunes to try to wish for her mouth to heal before a new Baby Ramen flavor release, but the candy instead tells her to go on an “outing”, which she goes on immediately (without putting on her shoes).

That led her to Tou, who gave her advice to abstain from candy until her mouth fully heals. That way, the candy will taste even better, since absence makes the heart (and stomach) grow fonder and all that. The only problem is, that abstinence has led to candy withdrawal.

When Hotaru just can’t hold back anymore, she has to be physically restrained by both Coco and Saya. Her cuckoo clock snaps her out of her trance, letting her know to take her disgusting-looking but lovely-smelling homemade medicine.

That “medicine” turns out to be the culprit behind her increasingly huge mouth ulcer: it’s made from a combination of powdered pine, melon, and “American Cola” drink mixes. In other words, it’s pure sugar.

Upon learning Hotaru’s cure (and her candy abstinence) is a sham, they take off, leaving her to continuing drinking her nasty—and very harmful—witch’s brew. But what’s the daughter of a candy company to do?

Usagi Drop 10

The days get chillier, and Rin gets sick with fever for the first time under Daikichi’s care, catching a stomach virus that kicks her ass. The ordeal scares the crap out of him, but Hitani is there to help him keep his cool and nurse Rin back to health. With so much proximity, the two parent-and-child pairs are starting to rely on each other more and more, making the group even more closely resemble a family.

When I was a kid, getting sick just plain sucked; enough that you can bet I didn’t care how my parents felt. In fact, I remember them staying calm most of the time, and I can recall several occasions when I thought I was getting sick but they assured me I either wasn’t or it wasn’t that bad. Of course, when I was Rin’s age, I’ll bet they were just as doting (and the same nervous wrecks) Daikichi and Hitani are here.

He knows she’ll get better; that these things happen, but there are often moments when he seems to despair. Hitani is right there to advise him though, having dealt with this kind of thing with Kouki. She proves to be an incredibly caring woman here, and it speaks volumes about how close she and Daikichi are that she knows she can show up without warning and help out. These events only reinforce my prediction that they’ll grow closer still.

Rating: 3.5

Hanasaku Iroha 10

After running around overexerting herself and working so hard the past few episodes, Ohana finally pays for it with what everyone refers to as a “light fever.” Always so chipper and energetic, Ohana finally has to lay in bed and do nothing, and it makes her mind wander. This is is an episode with many strange an dreamy moments, and perfectly depicts the combined feelings of weakness, helplessness, boredom, lonliness, and uselessness being sick can cause.

Ohana dreams of a Ko surrounded by light in a shrine who calls her home. Indeed, laying in bed hearing everyone say how well they’re getting along without her, combined with her delirium, lead her to question her usefulness at Kissuiso. She starts to doubt whether she even belongs there at all. After all, working hard has led to her being in this state; how can she go on?

One by one, the staff visits her. Tohru appears to be more outwardly smitten with her than ever, probably due to Ohana having temporarily losing her sharp edge. Minko notices how he acts towards and talks about Ohana, further complicating that triangle in the future. But in the end, everyone convinces her that she is a vital piece of the puzzle at Kissuiso, and once she’s better, the whole place will be better with her back on duty. Rating: 4