「雨を見たかい」 (Ame wo Mita kai)
“Have You Seen the Rain?”

A day at school during the summer break turns into a full-out scavenger hunt after a sudden downpour. While the rain manages to cool down the unbearable heat wave, the Girls Club finds themselves taking an unexpected dip in the school fountain before it’s all said and done.

Given the mystery surrounding the clue Miyako stumbled upon in one of the library books, this episode had to me following along attentively. One clue led to another and eventually into the music room, where the portraits of all the famous composers make sense of the wacky Bach and Beethoven preview from last week. The hunt ended on a somewhat anticlimactic note though, with the discovery of a message in a bottle indicating it was a game prepared by former students.

Regardless, I felt they did a good job highlighting some of the character developments during all this. In particular, we got to see how Ushio has patched things up with her senior Chizuka. In addition, the discussion on the new novel Azusa reaffirms that she’s decided to take a step back from Sumika. In the latter’s case, I like how only Tomoe realized it and used her line about “treading on the thorny shrub behind” from the train ride last time to let Azusa know. Masaki on the other hand continues to be a victim every time he helps Sumika, but at least he had his moment here when she acknowledged him as a guy.

My original thought after I finished watching this episode was that the timing for it seemed a bit weird. Despite being perfectly enjoyable, I questioned whether it made sense to have this right before the finale. However, it did serve as a good way of tying up all the loose ends for the reasons I mentioned above. The best part of it all was how unassuming their approach was to that end. It wasn’t overly apparent they were wrapping things up, hence my presumptuous initial reaction. All that’s left now is the situation between Sumika and Ushio, which I hope they’ll dedicate the majority of the final episode to. The preview seems to suggest such.

At this point, I don’t expect the two of them to fall in love and start making out like Tomoe and Miyako, but I’d like to see them realize their feelings for one another and conclude on that note. It would leave the door open to their possibilities together, which we don’t necessarily have to see to get a satisfying ending.

* And before I forget, Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Preview

12 Comments

  1. philk:
    Short of a break in broadcast schedules, there are no breaks when it comes to blogging anime. -_-;

    I agree it looks like we’re heading towards an anime original ending (since this episode was), though I’ve been told the next episode appears to be out of the manga.

  2. At the rate AIC is adapting (one chapter per episode plus a filler), they’ll have plenty of material for a season 2. Adapting chapter 12 of the manga is actually a good stopping point though.

    Anonymous
  3. Tomoe is much wiser then we would think. She pays very close attention to detail and notices things others don’t see even though they are right in front of them. She reminds me alot of the girl that the main character glasses girl fell in love with at first in Aoi Hana (can’t remember either of their names right now).

    Splash
  4. Splash:
    Tomoe’s supposed to be two years older too, so it’s kind of fitting that she’s wiser. Her poetic side is a nice touch though.

    As for Aoi Hana, Manjoume Fumi and Sugimoto Yasuko should be the two you’re referring to.

  5. Well Sumika is becoming a hearth breaker queen without realizing it, Masaki and Azusa are already victims. Poor Azusa I wish she could end with anyone. Tomoe is really making things happen and gets more cookie points from me.
    Off to open gifts. Merry Christmas for those of you and politically correct Happy Holidays for everyone else.

    Island Esper
  6. I don’t expect Ushio and Sumika to be getting together, considering the fact that they’re still not together in the manga yet,…Show Spoiler ▼

    . Anyway, I enjoyed this episode, even if it’s a filler. It didn’t feel too much like a filler to me, at least. :p I love the fact that Show Spoiler ▼

    It would be SO cruel to even tease about her possible existence in the anime and not have a 2nd season at all. 🙁

    EnigmaticWarrior
  7. need season 2, cuz the next episode will be ch 12 of the manga, and that ch was real cute

    I loved the reference to Lotte, cuz thats a sign for a new season, right?

    well, this episode was cute and i really liked it, even if it wans’t on the manga ^^

    sorry for poor english xD

    lol

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