Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6--A Challenger Appears

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 1

Also, it's the Obligatory Swimsuit Episode.

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 2
Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 3
Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 4

With the strains in the character relationships nearly reaching their breaking point, the plot gives the drama a good shove in the right direction by introducing two new characters: a childhood classmate of Kaito's and her...enthusiastic friend. Normally I'd be bothered by a show bringing in new characters halfway through (and since they're on vacation, I doubt that we'll see them again after the end of next week's episode) but I'm giving it a pass here since I'm loving the results. I also thought that Kinoshita (Kaito's former classmate) was pretty well presented; she got caught up in the idea of reuniting with her first love and failed to see the difference between the statements "I'm not seeing anyone" and "I don't like anyone." While it was obvious how this was going to end--Kaito is turning into quite the heart-breaker, and I doubt that those are the last tears that we're going to see before this show is over--I'm hoping that this development will force both Ichika and Kanna to be more honest about their feelings. I was pretty amused by the way that they teamed up during this episode ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all that) but the show has put off how Kaito is going to deal with knowing Kanna likes him. And with Ichika reacting pretty strongly towards a girl that they'd only known for a day, how is she going to deal if/when Kanna confesses to Kaito? Basically, I'm excited by the way things are moving forward, and I'm pretty sure once the characters head back home, the plot will start addressing those questions.

Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 5
Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 6
Ano Natsu de Matteru Episode 6 Screenshot 7

On the other side of the things, the subplot surrounding Mio and Tetsurou was pretty fun to watch in this episode, especially with that cliffhanger. For supposedly being a shy girl, Mio's actually pretty brazen; not only does she walk around her room naked, she sleeps in the buff and apparently doesn't wear underwear either. Mio's quirks aside though, I'm glad that she was able to take the initiative against Kinoshita's really pushy friend. I see lots of restraining orders in that girl's future, since that was pretty much attempted assault. As awkward as that cliffhanger was (for the characters, I mean. I was laughing), hopefully they'll be able to talk at least a little bit about what happened. I've been rooting for Mio and think that they'd make a good match. On a different note, Lemon was almost completely separate from the action this time around, standing back and enjoying the drama and only stepping in once to give Ichika some advice. I'm sure that she'll be disappointed when she finds out that she wasn't around to film everyone's embarrassment. I also found it interesting that this time around Lemon's script brought up an intergalactic police force that punishes aliens who reveal their identities to humans. Possible foreshadowing or just a red herring? With Lemon, only time will tell.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

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