「スキルアップその2」 (Sukiru Appu Sono 2)
“Skill Up Part 2”

While you’d never catch me calling this show a serious one, there are definitely moments that catch you off guard and sweep you off your feet.

Being A Senpai

While a majority of this week’s episode revolved around Tama getting a nice mini level up, I think the first 5 or 10 minutes deserve their own section (which I’m about to give it). First, can we all admit that we all felt our heart sting a little when Shii felt horrible about being unsure in her advice to a depressed Tama and then admitted to Seki that she thinks she’d be a better club president? God, if there wasn’t that Iris-sensei transformation moment I think I might have teared up a little. And you know what, if there’s something that this show does extremely well, it’s the way it brings out a unique charm out of all of the main characters. Be it the scenarios it places them into or by diving into the inner workings of their personal thoughts, it really feels like you’re building an intimate relationship with every single character that’s constantly growing with each passing episode.

Skill Up!

If there was one thing I was afraid would happen after the SNS-bu debuted their second game, it would be Tama not having any sense of conflict and the show growing stagnant. Luckily, the introduction of Minaha and her fiery personality jump started Tama’s drive to become an even better artist. Creating a situation where the journey becomes more important than the destination, you have to love how the solution to most of Tama’s troubles are super simple but the story becomes more about how she figures out how to get there. That and it doesn’t hurt when Minaha calms down a bit to the point where she can actually teach Tama some important skills be it with digital or traditional art.

Looking Ahead

Overall, I think this has been one of the better episodes we’ve had in a while. There’s a clear direction that the SNS-bu is heading and we’re getting to see all the steps their taking to make it to their goal. That said, I can’t wait to see the group at the Summer Comiket since I’m sure it’ll be crazy and I’m excited to see Tama’s reaction to all of it. Hopefully by then she’ll be a digital art master that can put even make the high tesntion Minaha relax. Anyways, I’ll catch you guys next week — see you!

P.S. You know, it really bugs me that this show has such a lot rating on MAL. Sitting at a low 6.8, it makes me wish everyone else could experience the way I feel about this show. Alas, that’s the power of slice-of-life / school-life and I’m sure that a lot of people probably find this show too boring for their taste. AHHHHHH WHY.

 

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4 Comments

  1. I am one of the few then because I do like this show. I find the interactions between the characters well done and not at all formulaic. Can’t wait to see how Tama conquerors all :-).

    a2colin
  2. I dont like MAL ratings or ratings in general. Ratings are a good way to “put down” non-conforming views, easily create opposing camps and being elitist. I hate ratings especially when there is no universal rubric to base the scores on (like in mathematics), or the people that generally rate dont share what their standards are (but even then…). MAL ratings are “basically my feelings are better than your feelings”

    sithstormjedi
    1. however, i do approve of ratings such as “Good, Average, Bad” because i find these descriptions much more insightful of a person’s feelings than… i dont know… [insert rating]

      sithstormjedi
  3. I’m hoping people didn’t drop it after that one episode with them calling the phone rather than IMing Kayo, because even if I think that was an egregious approach to make a (still legitimate) point, that shouldn’t be enough to turn people away, but that’s just me. But also as someone who enjoys this show, I can see it has its faults, where even if it does have lessons that apply well to rising artists and those wanting to chase a craft of their choosing, it has its jokes where they aren’t the best or don’t really have a unique spin on them. I admire the show’s commitment to go with those jokes, but I can see them not being everyone’s cup of tea.

    This was a nice episode, though I have to give it credit for being daring enough to not only introduce a new character this far into the run, but also do it rather briefly. Like seriously, they go from “Who’s that, oh, it’s Marika” to her chilling with Tama and Yumine like she was always there in, like, two minutes. Nothing against it since Marika seems like a fun character, but it was quite an approach for them to take.

    Still, this show is a fun ride, it has several bumps along the way, but it means well in a way that I’m still intrigued with it.

    Fuwa Fuwa

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