Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai – 10 – The Larsenburgian Princess Makes an Irish Exit

This was a simple, quiet, beautiful episode focused mostly on Teresa and Mitsuyoshi’s date (there’s no other word for it) to the Rainbow Samurai show, which begins with the two meeting where they first met, by the gates of the Imperial Palace.

It’s an episode with a beginning and middle that will warm your heart and an ending that will break it—assuming you’re invested in these two.

It’s obvious how much fun both Mitsuyoshi and Teresa are having, but while they’re both smiling, there’s an underlying romantic tension that neither of them is bold enough to remark on with words.

Instead, they simply enjoy their time together, winning each other prizes at the cork gun stand (Teresa hitting hers thanks to an assist from the Yakuza-ish cafe regular), interact in the live show as “hostages”, and enjoy a rainbow-themed meal.

Meanwhile, in a rare cut from their date, Kaoru asks Alec if she’ll go on a date with him, expecting her to reject him for the umpteenth time…only she doesn’t! Not immediately; she gives him a chance to choose where they’ll go, but he’s too consumed in utter shock to suggest anything, and she retracts her offer.

The two encounter one another at the Tada cafe, where Alec delivered a letter to Gramps from Reiko, AKA Rachel, Teresa’s nanny, who introduced her to the Rainbow Samurai in the first place. What a weird coincidence…

When Mitsuyoshi and Terea scale the Sky Tree to the observation deck, it’s suddenly all gray and rainy, as it tends to be whenever the two meet up (or so Mitsuyoshi jokes). The weather, and the sight of a happy family beside them, reminds him of the last time he saw his parents, on a day just as gray and rainy.

He tells Teresa how he blames himself for not telling his father his true feelings; delaying them just a little could have prevented the accident. This is something he knows is ridiculous, but he’s always felt that way regardless, and hasn’t been able to tell anyone…until Teresa.

As the clouds part to reveal a humongous double rainbow, Teresa tells him if he regrets not sharing his feelings in the past, simply try to share them from now on. If that’s meant to be a hint, Mitsuyoshi doesn’t take it.

After that, the two part ways at the cafe, and Teresa can barely hold back tears when thanking Mitsuyoshi for their wonderful day together, for a souvenir he got her, and for the photo of them posing with the Rainbow Samurai. He asks if she wants some coffee, and she shakes her head and returns to her hotel next door.

The next morning at school, the teacher announces that Teresa and Alec have returned to Larsenburg for “family reasons.” Mitsuyoshi and Kaoru are stunned. His entire day with Teresa turned out to be the last they’d spend together, and he didn’t even know it.

There were ample chances for Mitsuyoshi to take Teresa’s advice and share his feelings. On the other hand, every time she shared hers, it was through muttered words he never quite heard, and followed with “oh, it’s nothing at all.”

I would’ve gone a different way than basically ripping off a relationship like a band-aid, but ultimately it was her choice to decide how to say goodbye to Mitsuyoshi. Perhaps anything more would have only made it harder for her to leave at all…and she has to leave, for he good of her country.

Advertisements

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai – 09 – Various Things

Teresa’s head maid/nanny/governess-whatever warned her; if she went to Japan, she may encounter “various things”…Teresa just never knew that those various things would include falling in love, and not just with Mitsuyoshi, but with his friends, a simple life of school, having fun, and occasional cafe work…and with Japan.

At the airport Teresa all but confirms to Alec what Alec had suspected; that she has indeed fallen for Mitsuyoshi. But Teresa hasn’t abandoned her plan to marry Charles and become queen. That duty remains extremely important…but now it is competing with…various things.

With the air between the girls cleared, the next time Teresa is near Mitsuyoshi, she stiffens up and becomes conspicuously…formal. Mitsuyoshi does not change in turn; he merely continues being the kind fellow he’s always been, plucking a caterpillar from her hair, picking up her eraser, and lending her and Alec his umbrella (though it eludes me how someone as meticulous as Alec would forget hers).

Mitsuyoshi had hoped Kaoru would be able to share his, but neither of them have an umbrella, so they run through the rain. And the chances of someone in an anime getting a fever after getting stuck in the rain always hover somewhere around 99.999999999%, so Mitsuyoshi collapses. Teresa blames herself for taking his umbrella, and works a shift at the cafe with Alec so Mitsuyoshi can rest and recover.

Yui serves Mitsuyoshi her Special Red-Hot Rice Porridge (I’ll call it Reho-riho), but when Yamashita and Hajime leave his bedside, they neglect to bring down the dirty dishes, so Yui sends Teresa up to his room to fetch them.

There, Teresa finds herself all alone with the guy she’s fallen for, and the wind scatters his photos, all of them beautiful and full of love. Even with his fever, she can’t resist bending over to kiss him, but immediately tears up upon doing so, cursing herself for being unable to “stop.”

At this point its almost assured she’ll have to take a significant emotional hit in order to follow through on her royal duty to marry Charles, whom she simply does not love (though could presumably fall in love given enough time, as with some arranged marriages). But “in love now” tends to win out over “in love down the road, maybe.”

For now, once he’s better, Teresa seems poised to invite Mitsuyoshi to a day of Sky Tree Rainbow Shogun fun. And once she’s done having her fun, she’ll presumably return home and do her duty.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – 06 – Rainy Days are The Worst. Rainy Days are The Best.

After a cold open involving Hirotaka and Kabakura being photographed doing BL roleplay, we rewind to Narumi and Hirotaka both forgetting their umbrellas, despite being adults. Kabakura isn’t worried about any of his effects getting wet, so lends them his umbrella.

Hirotaka switches both the side he’s on (so she doesn’t get splashed by cars) and the position of his bag so smoothly, Narumi takes note of it in her inner monologue, and it’s further evidence he’s legit boyfriend material. Meanwhile a soaking wet Kabakura encounters Koyanagi and asks if she’ll share her umbrella, and rather than say he gave his to their friends, he says he forgot it, and gets doted on by a concerned Koyanagi.

For her part, Koyanagi professes her hatred for rainy days because her shoes get wet, but when she invites herself to Kabakura’s for dinner and he invites her to spend the night, she professes her love for rainy days. So basically, she and rain are like Asuka and Shinji.

Then we see why Hirotaka and Kabakura were posing like would-be lovers: to cheer up Narumi. Hirotaka can sense something’s up, but Narumi is being all coy with false smiles and “it’s nothing really, don’t worry about it.”

Finally, Hirotaka waits for her after work and continues to pursue the issue, going so far as to ask if he’s “so undependable” she can’t tell him what’s up. Finally, she relents, and it turns out to be nothing; a character in a manga she (and Kabakura) liked died.

If it were something genuinely troubling, would Narumi have told him? I like to think so, but even not, sometimes it pays to be persistent when someone is trying to spare you trouble or worry…and in this case, Hirotaka already was worried.

Finally, Christmas approaches. There’s talk of Santa and when Narumi, Hirotaka, and Naoya stopped believing in him. Nao, in a thin and much-less-warm-than-it-looks Santa costume handing out free coffee outside Starbucks, states that he never stopped believing in Santa; his definition of who it was simply shifted to anyone you love or are connected with who makes you happy. Narumi praises Nao as a saint.

Last year’s Christmas was The Worst for Koyanagi. Sure, she had plenty of time to make a wicked awesome costume, but the reason she had that time is that Kabakura spent the holiday working his ass off, and they didn’t even speak to each other until the new year had some.

This year Koyanagi assumes it will be more of the same, and that she simply has to make peace with the fact her boyfriend is a workaholic. But as office elevator doors close, Kabakura suddenly teleports from his desk to the doors, forcing them open and joining Koyanagi.

He ends up taking her to a super fancy and exclusive restaurant, the reservations for which he made over a half-year ago, and the cost of which he worked extra hours to afford. Koyanagi, appreciative of his efforts, presents him with the gift of a limited-edition event item.

Hirotaka and Narumi stay in for Christmas Eve, eating takeout, drinking beer and wine, and playing video games together. Both couples look like they’re having nice Christmases.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san – 03

When Takagi spots Nishikata and suggests they walk home together, Nishikata offers her some of his drink, thinking she won’t go for an “indirect kiss.” Of course, she’s fine with it; it’s Nishikata who wigs out at the prospect.

Nishikata then makes a fluke shot with the empty can in the garbage can and gets all cocky when Takagi misses. Turns out her miss was a trap; her next shot goes right in, then interrupts his shot by saying she’ll give him her first kiss if he makes it. He misses.

The next day Nishikata estimates he was teased fifteen times by Takagi, so when he hears form a sports figure on the TV that he trains ten times harder when he loses, he begins doing pushups. At school, he’s all sore, and Takagi takes advantage by poking his arm.

Nishikata keeps up the training, despite the fact Takagi teases him more and more with each passing day. However Takagi later admits that she’s starting to notice the effects of the training, saying he “looks pretty good;” while she may be sincere, she’s also trying to make him blush, and she succeeds.

Finaly, on a rainy afternoon Takagi forgets her umbrella, so asks Nishikata if he can share. He tries to scare her with a frog, but it doesn’t faze her in the least, and when she notices his wet shoulder, she scoots closer to him, causing his heart to race even more in such an awkward situation.

In all three segments, Takagi is both testing and expanding the limits of contact with Nishikata, all while inducing the priceless reactions she lives for. It gets to the point where she tries to get Nishikata to say “I love you” in both Japanese and English.

He bristles as expected, but some day, perhaps a couple years from now, he might not think all this attention from and contact with Takagi to be so torturous.

My Girlfriend Is ShoBitch – 02

After Haruka learns Akiho is a lot less comfortable sharing an umbrella in the rain than walking in it and getting her shirt wet (revealing that she’s not nearly as raunchy as all the research she’s collected suggests), we spend a seemingly impossibly long time with Haruka’s moe sister Kana, who is really annoying.

She’s only a year younger than her brother, and learning he has a girlfriend is a shock. Thankfully, after meeting Akiho, Kana realizes it’s not the end of the world; indeed, after some posturing, the two get along swimmingly, much to Haruka’s relief (and after clearing up some misunderstandings)

Akiho is class rep, which means it’s her job to fire up the class to do a formal cleaning, which she does with a stirring speech that inspires the boys about not letting their rooms get so dirty their moms clean them and find their dirty mag stashes.

Akiho is very prone to misunderstandings, so when she hears two guys equate switching girlfriends to discarding trash, she gets very nervous. Luckily Haruka is a sentimental guy who doesn’t like to throw stuff out, but treasure his “personal belongings”, which she also takes as meaning she’s safe from being discarded.

After watching an anime perpetuating the girlfriend making lunch for her boy, Akiho exposes one of her weaknesses (besides taking almost everything anyone says or does the wrong way): she’s a bad cook. What a shocker! Interestingly, Haruka doesn’t even get to try the eldritch abomination; Akiho keeps it away.

Instead, after seeing how good Shizuku is, she begs her senpai to be her cooking master, and in between the inappropriate arrangement of vegetables and the use of many a double entendre, they whip up a mean pot of beef stew.

When Shi asks for Haruka’s banana for desert, he seemingly calls her bluff, making her flustered…but he’s really just giving her his banana (this was a stretch, as they’re in Shi’s house, so they’re her bananas, surely).

Haruka walks Akiho home, but it’s raining again. Both have their own umbrellas, but Akiho decides to take a little step forward by pretending she doesn’t, so she and Haruka have to share, and walk close together so as not to get wet.

ShoB***ch is the definition of pleasant, lightweight rom-com fare. I still found Kana and Shizuku a bit too intrusive this week, and I’m hardly optimistic about the prospect of still other girls entering Haruka’s orbit, gumming up the works. While they’re tolerable at the moment, the show shines when it’s just Haruka and Akiho, with Yuuki Aoi delivering a nice low-key performance with the occasional burst of passion.

Masamune-kun no Revenge – 04

Masamune continues to expose the fact all he knows about courting girls is through shoujo manga. Staring at Adagaki throughout class and then lending her his umbrella, all while spouting canned lines, just ends up kinda creeping her out. Yoshino suggests he cool it, literally, by mixing it up and starting to ignore her.

That turns out to be a lot more difficult than Masamune could have imagined, as he feels he’s throwing away all the goodwill he’s built up with Adagaki. But, despite how badly he’s flailing, it does actually work: Adagaki doesn’t consider him a bug.

She can’t, not when he’s irritating her this much with all the ignoring. When she confronts him roughly in the hall (not at all what he imagined), Masamune can only say he likes “everything” about her before running off…to see Yoshino again. But because of the camera angles, you know Adagaki followed them, and gets the wrong idea about the two.

While playing hooky for the first time, Adagaki is approached by Yoshino, and tries to play it cool, but Yoshino comes right out and tells her about all her contact with Masamune. “He only has eyes for you,” she says to Adagaki, getting more and more flustered. Before Yoshino can deny she feels the same, Yoshino vanishes.

It’s while Adagaki is rushing around aimlessly, stuck in her thoughts, that we learn what she thinks of herself, and why it’s so “inconceivable” that she’d like anyone, or that anyone would like her. The Cruel Princess act is an intentional one, designed to keep others away.

She wants to keep others away because, as she says, she ” hurts others to avoid being hurt,” and we see her there dressing down Pig’s Foot. I imagine she did not expect Masamune to leave when he did, and branded him a liar, but also wonders if he left because she drove him away.

To avoid history repeating itself, she’s been aloof and kept her distance from everyone. Whether she’s worshiped or hated, she’s not close enough to anyone to hurt anyone or get hurt.

But now things are changing. Masamune’s cold shoulder awoke feelings in her, and when he saves her from getting hit by a car, she’s right on the cusp of telling him when the driver of the car gets out…and embraces Masamune.

Apparently, the story of Masamune and Adagaki cannot be so neatly wrapped up so quickly and easily. Whoever this girl is, she’s competition, which is something Adagaki has never had, reigning as she has over all the boys and girls at school. And like class rep Futaba, this girl is someone else threatening to knock Masamune off course.

But what’s the fun of things being too easy? I’m game for the complication New Girl brings.

Momokuri – 01 + 02 (First Impressions)

After obsessively amassing 100 photos of her crush Momo, Kurihara Yuki confesses to him and he agrees to go out with her. She must struggle to hide how head-over-heels she is for him, while still crafting ways to get closer.

Momokuri is harmless lighthearted rom-com; the equivalent of Anne Happy or Sansha Sanyou, only with a romance at its core instead of a group of girlfriends. It also owes a bit to Kare Kano, in that Inner Yuki is a lot wilder than the one she usually shows the world (her patient friend Norika excepted).

Anyway, I like shows that get the confession over with quickly, and Momokuri definitely does that. I also appreciate that this isn’t one-sided, but mutual affection; these two are mostly on the same wavelength; it’s just a matter of intel (Yuki has it all on Momo; Momo barely knows Yuki) and level (Yuki stalks Momo, but not vice versa).

This show originally aired as an ONA/web series, but I never caught it. It’s episodes are also half-length, which means each week will be a two-for-one deal, which I can get on board with.

Kakuma Ai (Julis) has a lot of fun with her voice role, while Okamoto Nobuhiko (Okamura Rin) mostly avoids his trademark shrillness.

There’s nothing particularly special about this show, but it was pleasant and easy to watch, so it gets a place on my “feel-good” list at this early stage of the Summer season.

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!

Nisekoi – 13

One thing that’s been driving me MAD throughout this whole “mystery girl” thing is, why should it even matter? They were FIVE, for crying out loud. It doesn’t matter who Raku liked then; it matters who he likes now. Or I should say, who he likes the most now. I’d say at this point the ranking goes: Kosaki, Chitoge, Seishirou, Ruri, and lastly, whatever other attractive girl happens to get all up in his space. He is still a teenager after all.

Sure, it could be argued that he’s kept his promise seriously out of a sense of honor and loyalty to that girl…but if that’s the case, why doesn’t he even remember her friggin’ hair color? No, the mystery is an excuse he’s using (likely not intentionally) to avoid making a decision about the here and now. Even if he and Chitoge have to remain in their false relationship for the sake of their families doesn’t mean Raku can’t be upfront and honest with the girl he/likes (most) at present. …Right? (I’m not asking anyone in particular.) But the fact is, even if Raku wasn’t overthinking or obsessing over the hazy past, he’s still in a difficult situation.

While it may seem he likes Kosaki the most, Chitoge is definitely making inroads with her adorableness, whether she’s drawing nearer to him so he won’t get wet under the umbrella, or jumping into his arms when lightning strikes, their bond seems to be growing, in fits and spurts. And Raku’s dad continues the trend of the dads saying awesome things by confirming what I said, to Raku and Chitoge’s horror: they’re looking less nise and more koi all the time.

Thank brings me to this week’s Big Reveal: the famous photo Raku finds, the only one from ten years ago, is neither Kosaki or Chitoge. BOOM. Furthermore, before Raku can ask his dad who the third girl was, his dad announces that she’s Raku’s betrothed (or fiancee), and she’s on her way to see him. And you know what? That’s fine with me. I’ve routed for all three girls at different times in the show’s run. I welcome a fourth, eager to see what she brings to the table…not more futility, I hope!

 

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren – 10

Whatever Chuunibyou euphemisms she needs to use to describe her condition, the simple fact is that Satone has fallen for Yuuta…again…and has fallen hard. She’s determined to keep the promise she made to herself the first time it happened: to devote herself to remaining the magical devil girl forever. The persona (and mental state) that is Sophia Ring etc. is nicely represented by a simple (and very KyoAni) symbol: the little heart sticker on her cheek.

Whether due to the sweat and increased heart rate from her rekindled infatuation or the summer heat, that sticker has been coming loose and falling off. She tries to stick it back on, but it just falls off again. Her “condition” is being fueled by memories of close moments she had with Yuuta, and they’re proving more powerful than she can handle. It’s quite a transformation from the Satone we were first introduced to.

It’s also a welcome one. With Shinka and Sanae’s love-hate relationship chugging along Yuuta, Rikka’s powers back, and she and Yuuta in their own lovey-dovey little world, it was only logical for the drama to start brewing around Satone, especially after her epiphany on the train. Having recently watched the film that recaps the first season, there’s a definite symmetry to Satone and Rikka’s arcs—only Satone’s isn’t poised to end happily; after all, there’s only one Yuuta. The pain and anguish Satone goes through this week is familiar, but still powerful.

Oh, Yuuta: so busy participating in his own subtle, unique, brand of romance with Rikka, doesn’t see Satone’s “battle” coming. They end up together again while Yuuta is searching for Rikka (natch) and have to seek shelter under a shrine when the heavens open up. That’s when Satone begins a totally different battle – one against herself. Despite featuring no fantastical special effects, it’s easily the best battle we’ve seen her in. She insists that Yuuta tell her everything he can to give her brain enough logical ammo to convince her heart to give up on this whole Yuuta business.

Yuuta has no idea what’s going on, but when he gets a text from Rikka (natch) that sends him away, he unknowingly repeats a gesture he made to Satone in the past (throwing his cape over her in the rain), only this time, he’s throwing it over himself as he leaves. Satone thinks she’s gotten through the battle, but he returns with an umbrella he found for her. Just like that, the tears flow, the heart sticker washes away, and victory for Sophia may be out of reach for good.

We imagine the triangle that has thus coalesced shall be the focus of the two remaining episodes. Yuuta can’t possibly not know what her deal is; that would constitute an unacceptable level of denseness. We’re also hoping next week doesn’t simply pick up where we left off and let Satone get away with laughing it off. We’re going to operate under the assumption that Yuuta knows her true feelings for him now. It will be interesting to see what he does with that knowledge, and how it will affect things with Rikka (who still doesn’t know squat).

Rating: 9 (Superior)

Samurai Flamenco – 02

The police get several complaints about a man in a red costume harassing them. Goto warns Hazama to give his act a rest. Ishihara gets Hazama an extra role in the idol group Mineral Miracle Muse’s music video. He hums the Red Axe theme in order to stay calm, and MMM’s center Maya Mari notices. After meeting Hazama for dinner, Goto finds that his umbrella (belonging to his girlfriend) is missing. Hazama races after the man who stole it, and video of his peaceful confrontation goes viral.

At first, Hazama’s nightime “superheroism” is portrayed as nothing more than antics and petty scolding, which people are taking the wrong way. They’re so comfortable with the insignificant crimes they commit, that his unusual appearance and extreme moral stance lead them to report him to the cops as a deranged freak. It’s a hard, thankless job, but you get the feeling Hazama feels he’s making more of a difference sitting in the rain waiting for people to put out their garbage to early than he is appearing in music videos as a pretty man-prop.

Like the heroes he adores, he has Life Event That Set Him On This Path, which he reveals when Goto tells him the petty crimes he bothers people about will never end, but are simply a part of society. Goto is right, but only 90-99% of the time. Hazama fights for that 1% of cases where stealing someone else’s umbrella leads to the owner catching a cold…or the umbrella belongs to the owner’s long-distance girlfriend; not only Goto’s responsibility, but a valued reminder of her. That rare occurrence of anything other than the minor inconvenience of a stolen umbrella – that’s everything to Kazama.

Rating: 9 (Superior)

Stray Observations:

• We finally meet MMM…thankfully they’re not your usual idol group that is all smiles and rainbows on camera but complete bitches and tormentors to their underlings in real life. They’re actually quite pleasant.
• Hazama “singing” the Red Axe theme over the idol song…that was ingenious. Not that MMM is bad; we maintain that the ED is very nice. Catchy; but not annoyingly so.
• It’s also pretty cool when Hazama unknowingly attracts the attention of a fellow Red Axe fanatic, who just happens to be the idol he worked with. Something tells us he’ll be asked to worth with MMM again.
• That chase was awesome, but we’re somewhat doubtful Hazama could keep pace with a monorail on a bike in the rain while obeying all red lights.
• Hazama identifying his superhero persona on a tv quiz show…brilliant.

Another – 03

Misaki removes her eyepatch to reveal an artificial green eye. Misaki tells Sakakibara the story of the Misaki from Class 3 26 years ago, whom she claims to be her cousin. Whenever he asks his classmates about it, they react with shock and dread, and tell him never to ask about such things, and to not worry about things that don’t exist. Misaki herself tells him he’s the only one who can see her. Not long after asking Sakuragi, she sees him in the hall while he’s talking to Misaki, runs in the other direction with her umbrella, and trips and falls down the steps, impaling herself through the throat.

Third time’s the charm…or in this case, the horror. For 9/10ths of this episode, we didn’t know what to expect, and were contemplating the ramifications of a ghost student traipsing around who only Sakakibara can see. Well, now we know; the episode’s climax was quite emphatic: it’s not fucking good. Poor kind, innocent, big glasses-wearing student officer Sakuragi meets a most grisly death – the first blood of the series. And looking back, it was subtly foreshadowed through the use of umbrellas as well as long shots of the staircase – not to mention Misaki asserting “she doesn’t dislike the rain.”

Sakakibara must now feel partially responsible for the death of a classmate. That, combined with the realization he can see a dead person no one else can, will deal blows to his sanity. And he partially caused it by going against the warnings of his classmates. Still, if I were him, I couldn’t help being curious about just what the hell the deal is with that old, scratched-up desk in the classroom where no one sits, and why no one’s allowed to talk about it. Well, now he knows. And now, when we see that calm, soothing, beautiful ending sequence which reveals each character one by one, we’re left wondering who’s next…

Rating: 3.5

Persona 4: The Animation – 14

This episode rewinds back to the beginning of Summer vacation, only this time tells it from Yu’s point of view. A fox directs him to a part-time job tutoring a smart but unsociable boy, which leads to a job assisting with daycare, in which he accidentally breaks a $800 mecha toy he must then pay for. He also takes an mugged elderly woman to a hospital, where he meets a flirty but jaded nurse. He helps all of them in different ways, which explains all of the mysteries introduced in the last episode.

We were left last week with more “huh?s” than “ohs”, so we’re glad this second part explained everything that went on with Yu. It was quite a summer vacation, in which he touched the lives of numerous people for the better. Action, comedy, romance, drama…mom-on-mom smackdowns – all were on display in a very dense and bustling episode. As long as you’re okay with the fact this two-parter had next to nothing to do with Persona and could have been a part of any slice-of-life non-fantasy anime series, it was very well done. It all holds together brilliantly, and even if a few details are a little absurd, they were fun rather than dubious.

This episode didn’t forget about anything that happened last week, and wove all of the storylines he creates as summer progresses with surprising deftness. Every person he meets and who and what they are matters, and none of it would have worked without him knowing them. But on top of all this excellent weaving is the conclusion that all of this was a means for the fox to replace the umbrella Nanako lent him, which was destroyed by wind and a truck. The Fox met Yu, got him to take the job, and everything was set in motion. This was definitely a case of the means being more entertaining than the ends we saw last week.

Rating: 3.5