Subculture Anime Blog

Nana wishes she could be in Manabi Straight.

Summary:

Kouichi confesses to Yumi outside, but this is due to the script he is following. Yumi is unable to act well, causing Akira to force her to do multiple acts. Yumi eventually breaks down, causing an apology at the udon shop later. Yumi expresses her thought that she would do her best, because she has no time. As the group is served udon, Akira wonders about scouting again. When it comes to finding someone with the right image, Mitsuki comes up with a suggestion. Meanwhile, Mao waits for Eiji after one of his successful sessions. She surprises him by revealing herself, and they stop by a shop afterwards. Brining up the title of the phrase that was mentioned earlier, Mao expresses how well it fits with Eiji’s character. Nana and Kazuki talk about Mitsuki’s selection for a heroine on the way home. This is none other than Mao, who Kazuki is iffy about. The two are interrupted by a call from Asuka, who Kazuki answers with a bit of an attitude. Kazuki tries to call Eriko afterwards, but he is still unable to get through.

Kouichi’s mother is overjoyed whens she finds that Kouichi has invited a girl home. She exchanges words with Yumi in the living room, completely ignoring Kouichi’s questions about Mao. After embarrassing her son quite a bit, Kouichi’s mother leaves the house so that he and Yumi can be alone. Kouichi wonders what is taking Mao so long to arrive, while Yumi wonders if it was a bother for her to stop by. Kouichi tells her that it is a big help, but Yumi believes it is her fault that it had to come to this. The two almost share a kiss in the moment, but Mao enters the house shortly after. She almost leaves, but she learns that the two have been waiting for her. Kouichi and Yumi request for her help to play the heroine role, which she finally agrees to after a big hesitation. She has one condition, however. She makes Kouichi promise to make Yumi happy. This makes Yumi mention the trip to the beach Kouichi has planned, causing a bit of happy embarrassment.

Asuka shouts out advice to Kazuki at practice. When she asks the boys where Kazuki is as they finish, she finds that he has been on the phone. Kazuki wonders what he is buying with Asuka as he walks out with her. He wonders why he must go with her, when she just wants to buy new shoes, but they are interrupted by a call from Nana. When Kazuki denies to his sister that he is going on a date, Asuka blushes. At home, Eriko contemplates actions on her phone. Mao reads through the script in her room, but she pauses after looking over the kiss scene. She remembers the kiss she gave Kouichi, but is interrupted by a knock at the door. This is Kouichi himself, requesting to borrow a camera for his date with Yumi. Mao readily agrees, telling Kouichi the same phrase she heard from Eiji earlier. As she closes the door, she thinks to herself that she must do her best as well. When Kouichi and Yumi arrive at the beach the next day, they enjoy themselves to the fullest. Yumi realizes that she really just wanted to remember the time she is now sharing with Kouichi. Kouichi prepares to see Yumi off at the train station later, but she gets off before it leaves so that they can share a kiss. Mao sees this as she rushes to the train, putting her in isolation.

Preview: Uh oh spegetio.

Impression:

What a great episode! I was so thrown off by the opening of the episode. They really fooled me with the fact that they were preforming their act. 21 times indeed. After 15 episodes, Kouichi and Yumi have finally gotten somewhere. I laughed pretty hard when Mao interrupted them earlier in the episode, as she even planned on leaving. Mao really needs to get over that family-like kiss she gave Kouichi. I mean, it was a freaking kiss on the forehead. Is it because they’re in Japan? Come on. Speaking of culture, I randomly noticed the udon a bit more in this episode. I found out that I’ve actually been eating it for ages. It’s funny how I don’t realize what things are just because they are called something different in Chinese. Back on track, Kouichi’s mom was pretty hilarious. I dunno if I’d call her the typical mom, but it was really fun to watch her try to help Kouichi hook up with Yumi. The end of the episode definitely made the episode, but I think we all saw it coming. I love how they made it like a scene on stage. In other relationship news, Mao’s “Wah!” towards Eiji was really cute, along with all her random jumping. I’m getting more and more attached to Asuka, which might be because of a combination of the seiyu who plays her and her constant blushing. I will fight her evil tricks though. Eriko all the way!