Beneath that soft supple exterior lies a true demon... or not?
Summary:
As predicted, this episode featured a lot more of Kurumi. We start off with the innocent looking Kurumi meeting up with her friends. Her friends firmly believe that Kurumi who’s known Kazehaya since middle school are actually ‘more than friends’. She shrugs off this suggestion, but privately wonders to herself whether he likes her back.
So they're finally using their first names!! And I just learned their family name too... d'oh!
Meanwhile Sawako is pondering the newfound change of people around her. It seems like ever since the previous episode, everyone at school has been trying to get her attention and tickling her. Confused, she learns the truth from Hirano and Endo who tell her that apparently the new Sawako rumour is that if she gives you a smile you will get good luck. Realizing how close those two are now to Sawako, Yano points out that they are Sawako’s friends too, and decides to get everyone to call each other by their first names/short form names.
Everyone re-introduces themselves again: Ekko (Hirano), Tomo (Endo), Chizu (Yoshida) and Ayane (Yano). After some prodding Ayane manages to get Sawako to call everyone by their short names as well, as nervous as she is about this. Ayane decides to go one step further to try and get Sawako to call Kazehaya by his first name, but she chickens out and calls him “Kazehaya… kun”.
"Who me?" Yes you! You plotter you!
That day in class, Pin ‘volunteers’ Kazehaya to be the class representative for the sports festival. As excitement builds up in the class about the festival, Sawako who isn’t very athletic (surprise, surprise) wonders if she would hinder everyone with her mediocre soccer skills. Kazahaya, who seems to know that she plays soccer (perhaps he’s been watching her for a long time?) encourages her, and the class decides to practice at lunch time. Meanwhile word of Kazehaya’s position as the sports rep gets around to Kurumi and her friends, and her friends hatch a plan to also get her elected so that she could spend more time with him.
At lunch, everyone practices and we realize just how bad a soccer player Sawako is. Dismayed, she wonders if she is holding everyone back from having quality practice. After dreamily watching Kazehaya play, he comes up to Sawako pointing out her pigtails (woo!) as Sawako blushes. While everyone goes back inside, Sawako is engrossed staring dreamily at Kazehaya walking back to class.
That afternoon as Chizu and Ayane decide to go shopping, they ask Sawako but she refuses, secretly hoping to get some soccer practice in. She goes to try and borrow a ball after school and is unsuccessful so she ends up kicking some rocks outside of the school as she waters the plants.
At the sports meeting, Kurumi sneakily saves Kazehaya a seat and also pretends she’s ‘unlucky’ for being a sports rep just like Kazehaya. It seems they really are pretty good friends. As she tries to talk to him about some CDs, Kazehaya ignores her as he is engrossed with watching Sawako kicking a big rock outside. When Kurumi realizes this she gives an ominous blank stare.
Kurumi hesitates to tell Kazehaya that she's joining the UN Space Fleet to defeat the Tarsians...
After the meeting, Kazehaya surprises Sawako with a soccer ball, and they practice together as Kurumi looks on from inside…
This week’s Sawako Kawaii pic of the week:
While Ran-ko will always be the "pigtailed girl", Sawako is awesome too!!!
Reaction:
In many ways, Kurumi's look here is much scarier than any Emo Face Distortion could ever be...
Overall, this is a pretty sweet and innocent episode. But like a young Anakin Skywalker in the Phantom Menace (well actually this was nothing like that cause this show is good, where as SW:TPM sucked, and yes I call it TPM I’m that big of a nerd), Kurumi is hard to read. Right now the story is positioning her character to be able to go both ways (not like that you sickos!). Either she could genuinely be quite shy, sweet, and generally too self-conscious to ever confess to her good friend Kazehaya and just going along with her friends plans innocently, or she could actually be quite the schemer underneath. Honestly, it would make this a much better series, if she actually wasn’t much of a schemer and was actually truly sweet. As others have pointed out, it would kind of suck if Kurumi were merely a side character ‘foil’ for the ONE TRUE RELATIONSHIP between Sawako and Kazehaya that we know will always be the ultimate end.
The other parts of this episode consisted of showing just how innocent Sawako is. It seems she’s really not used to calling people by their first names, and it was sweet seeing her try and fail to do so with Kazehaya. Throughout the episode there were multiple hints at her starting to realize that she’s naturally thinking something ‘more’ about Kazehaya and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes her true feelings.
If this were a standard anime, the plot would go like this:
Kurumi schemes and ends up ‘tricking’ Kazehaya to go out with her, while simultaneously ‘destroying’ Sawako, while Sawako is really sad. But eventually Kazehaya ditches Kurumi and confesses to Sawako, and they live happily ever after.
I really, really hope it doesn’t go that way.
This post was written by...
Epi – who has written 193 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
As a huge fan of all things mecha, high school and tsundere, I've been writing for SSAB! since the summer of 2009, although my love of anime spreads through all genres. I'm not as witty as some, but I aim to bring comprehensive and well-written anime reviews out there for you all out there to enjoy!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I am the founder of the Kito Kito Kurumi fanclub, you shall not speak of my goddess in such a manner.
You’re just jealous Sawako likes me more
Let’s be thankful that Shin isn’t in this storyline.
Good point about the possible direction and innocence of Kurumi. A non-innocent Kurumi would be cheapish, I feel. And if you look at say, Bokura ga Ita, I think we can have two actual contenders without resorting to such a typical rounding as, “omg she’s teh bad wun.”
Hahah I dunno if Shin were part of the story that would be kind of funny… fighting over both Kurumi AND Ryu!
I am totally hoping for the innocent vs innocent battle. I think that’s how it will play out.
Haha, excellent Hoshi no Koe spotting there, it does remind me a lot of the flashback classroom scene. If only she had gone off to fight that Taursians. Also, I’m glad we’re in agreement as to the Sawako pic of the week.
It’ll be interesting to see how Kurumi acts in the next episode. While she is The Enemy and must be defeated, I think she’s going to be something more akin to the standard shoujo heroine, and plot and scheme to get close to Kazehaya and either lose to Sawako gracefully or go crazy in her failure and then turn into the psycho, pure evil antagonist. She definitely has the crazy in her, as evidenced in that eye closeup. If she goes this route it would be an interesting change from the usual shoujo storyline. Innocent vs. semi-innocent battle?
Kurumi turns into Rena from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni… that would be awesome.
‘Gomen Nasai Kazahaya… gomen, gomen gomen… kyuh kyuh’
Kurumi is 100% evil. All that saccharine posturing may fool her “friends” who let themselves be subtly manipulated by her, but to me there is no doubt that her shy and softspoken demeanor is a facade. We saw traces of her claws two episodes ago, and the look she had while gazing out the window this time made it clear that she’s going to try and eliminate any obstacles between her and Kazehaya. It won’t be a frontal attack, but it’s coming.
I guess we shall see! Personally I love innocent vs innocent more, and I hope Harumi is more of a Sheryl Nome than a typical shoujo villain.
Kurumi’s frown face when she notices Kazehaya
leering atwatching Sawako cracks me up for some reason. The evil eye sent it over the top for me; I was laughing WAY too much at it. She’s sort of manipulative with her friends before that, but mostly in a harmless way; however, the “I’m gonna DESTROY that bitch!!” eye is just like, “… OK, settle down now, sister.”I forget if they did this before, but all the invisible chair scenes kinda weirded me out. Is it that hard to draw chairs? Do they really block the view that much? It’s like Shota and Sawako decided to become mimes all of the sudden.
I also get the feeling that Ekko and Tomo are totally just joining Sawako’s entourage for study guides. Can’t say I blame them, though. Even Ayane and Chizuru are inconsistent with the Sadako-Sawako thing to the point where I sometimes get confused about what her actual name is (Sadawako, perhaps).
I have a soft spot for manipulative characters like Ume, but I don’t feel right supporting her because Miyuki voices Ayane on the other side.
Well I’ve been an Aya Hirano fan since Kiddy Grade, but I still don’t support Ume :p
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