Subculture Anime Blog

ef’s second season can’t come soon enough?

Summary:

Yuno gets a call from her mother in the morning, so she describes the activities that are going on at school for her at the moment. In class later, Yoshinoya announces that they will be making shoes out of clay. The students all bring out their models, some shoes being old ones. Miyako’s ice skates do not stand properly, so she almost has to get a different pair of shoes, but a boy allows her to borrow a pair of his. When Miyako almost takes a sniff of the shoes out of interest, Yuno is forced to stop her. Yuno starts to fall asleep while working on her project, wondering if other forces would complete her project for her while she rested. When Yuno does doze off, Miyako accidentally spills glaze on her project. When Yuno wakes to see the progress made on her shoes, she wonders if her thoughts had actually come true. In other places, Natsume meets Sae close to the garbage. She puts on her usual attitude, but panics when she sees that the Headmaster is there as well. The Headmaster describes how arguments can show how friendly people are with each other, and when he leaves, Natsume is surprised to hear that Sae does think of her as a friend.

Yuno’s parents make a visit to the Hidamari apartments while their daughter is at school, giving gifts to the Landlady for always taking care of her. When Yuno and Miyako return home, they impress Hiro with their works. The two go to show Sae next, but the girls find that she has fallen asleep during work again. Because of this, Miyako plays a prank on her by leaving a large stuffed animal under a blanket close to her. When Sae goes to scold Miyako afterwards, she is even more shocked at the sight of a boy’s shoes at her apartment. Yuno receives a mail from her mother later, wondering what she is doing at the moment. Yuno sends a mail back, but after going up the stairs to her apartment, she is shocked to find her parents in front of her door. Yuno’s parents describe their want to visit her after hearing that she would be done with school early that day, and also how they had went on a small date before arriving.

Yuno’s parents introduce themselves to Miyako in their daughter’s room. Offering her some meat buns, they quickly see how nice of a person she is. When Miyako goes to get the other girls, Yuno’s parents take the chance to notice how much their daughter has changed. When Yuno’s father sees a short strand of hair in her room, however, he quickly panics at the thought of Yuno having a boy in her room. When Hiro and Sae enter the room, however, he soon learns who the hair belonged to. Sae’s introduction turns out to be a lot more formal than the other girls’, causing a slightly awkward atmosphere. The girls take the chance to leave, explaining their need to go to the market as well. As the girls leave, Yuno’s mother notices how nice of friends her daughter has. Yuno’s mother takes the chance to prepare something for her daughter afterwards. Yuno and her father are left with a slightly awkward moment in the meantime, as they get in small conversations about things in the room. Yuno’s mother finally makes Yuno’s father get to the point, so he takes out a ticket that Yuno offered to him in the past. Noticing that Yuno could not give him a proper massage when she was younger, he is quite touched.

Yuno’s parents take their chance to leave after finishing their daughter’s meal, but before leaving, they present her with a picture of her earlier years. Yuno gives her parents a recent picture of herself and her friends in return, then receiving an odd picture of her parents before they leave. On the train, Yuno’s parents express their gladness that Yuno has made such good friends. Yuno’s friends meanwhile discuss how good, yet odd, Yuno’s meal is. Yoshinoya suddenly shows up at the door, then revealing that Yuno’s parents had visited her home earlier. After eating with her students, Yoshinoya returns home with a bit of happiness. In the bath that night, Yuno realizes that she has learned to do a lot of things by herself ever since entering the Hidamari apartments.

Preview: P…p..p….PANTSU???

Impression:

I’m still weirded out by the introduction of Shafty references in Hidamari Sketch. Unlike with most of their other shows, it just seems so out of place. Chihiro’s doll was subtle though, and it was a nice reminder that Shaft will be making me happy next season as well. Either way, I loved this episode from start to finish. The art project that Yuno and Miyako had early in the episode was really nostalgic, though I did find it odd that they didn’t go to an art room to work with the clay. Wouldn’t that make the classroom really dusty? Natsume’s tsundere nature towards Sae is always fun to watch too, especially when she gets all jealous over Hiro. Miyako’s pranks were hilarious to watch as well, and the double take on Sae was just killer.

Yuno’s parents visiting was petty heartwarming, as it is something most people can relate to at some point in their life. Their unique personalities were funny to watch too, especially when Yuno’s dad freaked out about finding Sae’s hair in his daughter’s room. The theme of change was a nice one to play on, as people seem to notice how much they have developed when it is mentioned to them. It’s nice to see an anime where kids aren’t angsting against their parents every once in awhile, you know? Also, my memory is probably just really hazy as usual, but did we ever find out what is actually inside the infamous room 203?