Subculture Anime Blog

Eiji and Mao, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g- Oh shi- spoilers.

Summary:

Nana notices that Kazuki is paying special attention to his hair in the morning, but he refuses to admit that there is anything going on. While walking to school with Mao, Kouichi finds that her mind is somewhere else. Mao remembers the previous night’s events when Kouichi tries to help her, so she puts her worries off as nothing as she continues walking towards the school. When Nana witnesses how Mao is acting, she brings up Kazuki’s strange actions as well. Upon Nana’s guess of a date, Kouichi and the appearing Akira wonder what is going on. Mao continues to have trouble on the way to school, and even Eiji notices her absent mindedness when he meets her. Eiji brings up the previous night’s events, but Mao uses the start of class as an excuse to avoid talking about it. Eiji notices that Mao has not even come to class when it starts, troubling him. Mao meets Eriko again when she arrives in the infirmary, so she takes the chance to apologize to her for the study session’s events. Bringing up Eriko’s test scores, Mao expresses that Eriko is amazing. Mao states that she isn’t even sure of herself, and asks if Eriko has the same problem. Eriko denies, as she knows herself the best.

After school ends, Yumi brings up a movie that she believes would help Kouichi with his work. Kouichi mentions that he wanted to see this as well, so he invites Yumi to go with him. Yumi agrees despite her initial surprise, but Akira reminds Kouichi that he has other things to do that day. Kazuki is not there, as he and Eriko are entering a ramen shop in town. When Mao exits the infirmary, she finds that Eiji is waiting for her at the end of the hall. Kouichi, Yumi, and Akira run into Mitsuki as they leave the school grounds, so they are quickly offered a ride. In the ramen shop, Eriko looks through its menu while denying Kazuki’s suggestions. When she orders the very strange “berry berry” ramen, she causes shock for the rest of the customers. Kouichi is unable to come up with something to say to Eriko, but the ice is broken when Asuka shows up. Noticing that Eriko is with Kazuki, Asuka takes the chance to apologize for her previous actions. Trouble is caused for Kazuki when Eriko calls Asuka strange, but Asuka is surprised when she sees Eriko let off a smile. Eriko denies that she smiled, before causing even more shock for everyone by enjoying her “berry berry” ramen.

Walking home with her, Eiji takes the chance to apologize to Mao. He expresses that he honestly likes her, however, and wonders if she would go out with him. Mao is unfortunately unable to figure out her own feelings, so she puts the answer off. In exchange, she suggests that she and Eiji have a lot of fun that night. Eriko finishes all of her ramen, but she surprises Kazuki by suggesting that they try other places. Kazuki leads her to a place that he thinks will be good, while Asuka insists on following. Elsewhere, Akira’s group is surprised to find that Mitsuki does not yet have someone that she likes. Even though she has a fiance, she has not even met him yet. Mitsuki asks the group what it feels like to be in love, so Kouichi and Yumi are forced to give explanations. Kazuki arrives with Asuka and Eriko shortly afterwards, surprising everyone. When Eiji notices how good Mao is at games in the arcade, she brings up her living with Kouichi. After hearing about their habits, Eiji notices that Mao and Kouichi get along well.

While the group discusses Eriko’s eating habits in the udon shop, Nana finally asks what kind of relationship Eriko has with Kazuki. Eriko denies that she and Kazuki were on a date, or even that they are friends, before taking her leave. Eiji pulls Mao from a speeding bike as they leave the arcades, causing her to be in his arms. As they leave the udon shop, Kouichi and Yumi decide to see the movie together on Sunday. The two meet Mao and Eiji when they come around the corner, causing silence for both groups.

Preview: Yumi in a swimsuit.

Impression:

By now, everyone should know my favorites of this show; Eriko for the girls, and Mao and Eiji for the couple. With that said, this had to be my favorite episode so far. Eriko’s shell is cracking, and that’s pretty easy to see. I loved when Asuka noticed her smile, and how Eriko replied by completely denying it. Eriko has totally got the “loner finds friends” vibes going on, and like someone said in a previous post, she probably just wants a hug (I LOVE when you guys say silly stuff like that by the way. Haha!). Eriko’s eating of the “berry berry” ramen was pretty hilarious, but I’m honestly not sure about what everyone is referring to her as. I’m assuming an Ajio(?) is just someone with strange eating habits, but maybe one of you who has better knowledge on the subject could tell me something more specific? Anyways, as much as I like more Eriko on screen, I hate her pairing with Kazuki. Man, that guy is so dumb. What was up with him checking Eriko out while she was drinking water? What a perv!

As I kind of suspected from last week, Mao just seems unready to accept Eiji’s feelings at the moment. I forget that this is a high school based romance sometimes, but I’m instantly reminded when the characters go on about “not being sure of their own feelings”. Come on Mao, how silly can you get? Stop running into poles! The end of this episode kind of brought up the tensions between Mao and Kouichi, but I still refuse to believe that any romance will be appear between the two. I’m sure both of them will get rid of their confused feelings and move on to what really needs to happen with time. I just don’t think that such dramatic changes in relationships will be brought up in this show.

Take the regularly compared shows, Nodame Cantabile and Honey and Clover, for example. In Nodame Cantabile, Chiaki and Nodame were paired from the very beginning. There were a few ripples, but there was never a doubt that they would end up together. When it comes to Honey and Clover, there was plenty of romantic drama. But for the most part, the love interests were pretty clear (Speaking of Honey and Clover, have you guys heard of the planned live action? Oh. My. God.). In my opinion, this show will follow the same format. While there is some light drama, we will probably get the expected pairings that we want by the end. Who needs random changes? This isn’t School Days!