Subculture Anime Blog

One touch…..ok?

Summary:

As a black cat passes by Sora, she takes the chance to pet it. When she sees a foreign owned cat, she cannot resist the chance to touch it either. She asks for permission in English, before experiencing a bit of joy. At school, Natsumi is given the task of helping the new student that has arrived. She is very excited to be told that she has the best qualities for doing so, but becomes shocked to find that the new student is a foreigner. The girl introduces herself as Kate, before revealing that she actually knows a bit of Japanese. The girls do their best to introduce themselves as well, and Sora reveals a pre-prepared page of her sketchbook with her name written on it. In other places, Mike has trouble with a language barrier between himself and the new cat who has showed up. When Ujo asks Hiyori why she picked Natsumi to help Kate, she brings up the time she overheard Natsumi talking about her puppets. As they all had English names, Hiyori assumed that she was good with the language. As Kate is confused with a bit of Japan’s customs over lunch, Natsumi quickly obtains the resolution to teach her. The girls prepare a welcoming party for Kate in the clubroom, but they continue to have language troubles. Mike has similar troubles with the foreign cat, but he is shocked to find that Ha-san can speak English. Mike reveals his wish to travel the world, but it is obvious that he cannot do so.

Kate learns more from her fellow students in the classroom, as Ryo and Fu set out to make preparations for her welcoming party. When Natsumi is told that her Japanese is a bit strange by Kate, she falls into despair. Hiyori wonders why Natsumi isn’t teaching Kate English, when she finds the notebook she has prepared on the ground. In the meantime, the local cats discuss locations of learning. As Kate continues to learn more about Japanese culture, Sora finds the chance to present her with Natsumi’s notebook. With a bit of oddities from Ryo and Fu, Kate’s welcoming party finally starts. Natsumi is still down, but Hazuki brings her into the group. When Kate’s turn to talk comes up, she takes the chance to reveal a bit of magic to everyone. She presents her newly generated flowers to Natsumi, and thanks her for what she’s done. With this, the mood becomes lively again, as the entire class enjoys themselves in honor of Kate. On the way home, the girls find out that Kate has a cat. She introduces it as Buchi, as Sora takes the chance to pet her new friend again.

Preview: Ryo Fu combo! That one chick returns.

Impression:

Oh my goodness, being forced to watch this late is such torture! Why must my favorite anime of the season be one that almost no one is watching? I should probably get used to it, because that’s usually the case with my tastes. Anyways, this was the anticipated foreigner episode. From the preview of the last episode, I was so ready to make fun of the bad english. Surprisingly though, that wasn’t the main source of laughter! The engrish actually wasn’t bad when compared to other shows, and the episode was full of cultural jokes. I’m going to be completely honest. I didn’t get half of them. I was kind of proud of catching some of the kanji ones though. I think Kate might be as good at making really bad jokes as I am! I almost died laughing when Natsumi went into despair after being told that her Kansai way of speaking Japanese was weird. Don’t hate on the Kansai! I’m also loving the cat side stories, and how they have their own little world along with everyone else. By the end of this episode, I was feeling as wonderful as ever. That’s why I love slice of life so much. Building on concepts like new friendship, they just make you appreciate life. Ryo and Fu will be getting more screen time in the next episode, which I will try to watch asap. It should be full of hilarity!

Note: The OP and ED changed slightly to include our new addition to the cast. Kate love!