© Takibi Amemori/Shogakukan/McCain Support Committee
Episodes 8 and 9 deftly thread the needle between romantic excitement and genuine believability.
I was really impressed with these two episodes and how they pulled it off. They’re all themed to the upcoming Tsuwabuki Festival, which is similar to Halloween and involves costumes, fall treats, and more. The fact that students have to play a role in the activities keeps the realistic conflicts from feeling too ridiculous. Sometimes romantic comedy type scenes have to be a little over the top to create ridiculous situations, but this is all pretty believable stuff. The children cooked, cleaned, and prepared short stories while working together and developing their unique talents.
Most importantly, it touches on the themes of overwork and stress. Komari pushed herself to the limit and collapsed, scaring the student and her family. She was ultimately unharmed, but even this fear served as a wake-up call for their activities. Later, when Nukusui shows up early to finish things off on his own, the others arrive and scold him for trying to take on too much at once. “I don’t want to push myself,” was his excuse, but it was a weak defense. Many people who work hard and allow themselves to suffer burnout (or worse) don’t actively think “I’m going to overwork myself today.” In these situations, people are simply trying to accomplish a lot and unintentionally hurt themselves by pushing beyond their limits.
The romantic tension is also more subtle in these two episodes, which I appreciate. No grandiose confessions or over-the-top theatrics, but all the overly relatable tension that happens in a “will they or won’t they?” Confession has been made, but everyone is still friends…or is it? Or maybe there’s something more to it? These questions simmered in the background, adding a nice texture to what had already been a mundane event (which the A-1 team accomplished gloriously). There’s still some typical trope stuff that I didn’t like, and it’s even mentioned by Nukumizu in the text, but it’s pretty minor and didn’t take me away from the moment. Both episodes are big winners in my book.
Episode 1: grade:
Episode 2: grade:
Grant is the co-host of the Knife Licker Podcast and the Super Seniors Podcast.
Makeine: There are so many failed heroines! Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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