First Impressions / Lamune

Summary:
When Kenji arrives at school one day, Tae asks to see him, and only him, after school. He shows up, but finds only Sakura Hiromi waiting for him. Hiromi tells him something, and Nanami notices that Kenji’s acting kind of strange afterwards. However, he doesn’t tell her what happened. The next day is the day of the school trip. Suzuka asks Nanami to sit with her on the bus, and Kenji ends up sitting with Hiromi. Nanami gets a bit jealous every time she sees them together, from the bus ride to when Kenji takes a volleyball to the face in order to defend Hiromi during some fun and games. However, Nanami quickly gets Kenji’s attention back by playing with him in the water.
After a spicy curry dinner courtesy of Hikari and Misora, the class gathers around the bonfire for the folk dance. Before Nanami can say anything, Suzuka invites her to dance, leaving Kenji with Hiromi. The two dance, and, when they have to switch partners, Hiromi bids Kenji goodbye. By the time Kenji finally gets paired with Nanami, the dance is over. That night, Kenji and Nanami both have trouble sleeping. Nanami wanders outside and finds Kenji by the waterfront. He finally tells her what happened: Hiromi confessed that she liked him, but also that she’s moving soon. Tae had requested that Kenji make some memories with her, so he did. Nanami seems relieved, and leans onto Kenji as they admire the view.

I was not expecting a Hiromi episode, so this is a pleasant surprise. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the one person who can potentially spice things up a little. However, she only offers a small bit of conflict to the plot (seen in Nanami’s jealousy), and that’s only temporary since we learn that she’s moving soon. She seems to know pretty well that Kenji’s feelings lie with Nanami, and bows out gracefully at the end. I guess this series really is all about Kenji and Nanami’s relationship.
Animation this episode is surprisingly consistent and good, though the character designs are noticeably different (in a good way though). And despite Hiromi’s goodbye, it seems that we’ll get more of her in next week’s episode when she actually moves.

Closing Thought: It seems that the typhoon everyone was talking about is coming in episode 11.

10 Comments

  3. Hmm, with 5 episodes left (more or less?) at this point, it’s hard to determine whether they are planning to tell the storylines beyond Kenji and Nanami’s confessions (which is essentially the most eye-tearing arc)…I’m guessing if they are, the rest of the series would have to be devoted to Nanami and Kenji.

    And I would like to take this opportunity to bash Tae for doing what she did. I got mad the instant she MADE Kenji spend time with Hiromi just because she thinks Nanami and Kenji are always together and a little time out from the relationship wouldn’t hurt. Actually, I didn’t like the way she interfered with someone else’s relationship in the first place. I mean, Hiromi finds her very own “next door loveable boy” the instant she moves for heaven’s sakes.

    Also, did they even show how Hiromi ended up liking Kenji? It has an important part in Nanami x Kenji relationship.

    Rasmiel
    Reply

  5. Oh, I guess they are pretty much going to sum the typhoon event in one episode then. I’m interested in how they’ll pull it off, especially since in the game, the event literally goes on for several years, and I don’t think what they did with the game would work as well in anime.

    Rasmiel
    Reply

  6. You do know this will all end up by saying I love you… I mean this whole serie is about I love you exept they dont say it. So whats the point? I mean… comon… whats the freakin point?! O_O well i guess in the end they’ll say it and it’ll be all over… -_-

    paiser
    Reply

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