「真夏の夜の・・・ – A school in summer」 (Manatsu no Yoru no…)
“A Midsummer Night… – A school in summer”

The quirks of everyday life, something that A-Channel manages to nail on the head every single episode. It’s comparable to taking a camera and having it follow you around as you live your everyday life. As uneventful and boring as that could be, A-channel trims the fat and keeps all the fun parts of everyday life. At this point, it’s refreshing that watching Tooru and Run run through their routines at the beginning of each episode still makes me chuckle every time.

After someone commented on last week’s episode about the lack of Miho and Yutaka, I was hoping that they would get a little more screen time this week. Since their introduction, they haven’t really had a chance to shine. Sure they might be just support characters, but Yutaka’s fun and crazy personality is something I wouldn’t mind having more of. With the mix of personalities that the main cast contains, Yutaka and Miho would fit in easily. Hopefully they won’t get thrown to the side, since I’m really interested in watching them really reveal who they are. While Yutaka seems to have completely revealed her inner craziness, Miho still hasn’t had the opportunity to just let it all loose.

But without worrying about the side characters, this week was once again full of Nagi and Tooru goodness. I’ve started to approach each episode expecting to get a dose of two out of the four main characters, getting to learn their quirks and specific traits. While a Yuuko or Run centric episode hasn’t been done yet, the past six which focused on Nagi and Tooru were all fun to watch. I normally would try to sympathize with Yuuko due to being the butt of every single joke, but I’ve continually gotten so caught up in them that I’m to busy laughing to feel bad. With Run’s air-headed mind saving her from insults to keeping a cool head during heated situations, I can’t imagine her ever getting stuck at the end of one of Nagi’s plans (as if Tooru would do anything, right?).

With the ever so creepy Satou-sensei not making friends with anyone in any department to Yuuko going from cute to extra cute, things felt pretty well rounded this episode. If anything, the most surprising part came from watching Tooru be so insecure about wearing more cuter clothes. With that cute sweater of hers forcefully taken off, the little bit of purple she wears over her school uniform is just as cute. If the preview for next week’s episode is any indication of what’s to come, I can see Tooru wearing a simple yet cute white summer dress and failing at wearing heels. God help me if no one takes the opportunity to strike while Tooru is out of her comfort zone!

INS6: 「探検のススメ」 (Tanken no Susume) by ナギ (Nagi)
Watch the 6th INS: Streaming ▼

 

Preview

24 Comments

  1. hmmm i think i’m starting to like this anime. Though i would say this isn’t like Nichijou with full pack comedy, i think some part of this anime makes me giggle seeing that some part of it reflect some part of my life.

    Run-chan with this face is so cute

  2. Haha.

    I wonder how many times the word “cute” is going to get thrown around over the course of your reviews for this show.

    That last paragraph alone tallied six.

    Granted, this is a cute show.

    Stranger
    1. Depends on what you mean. If you mean the general, “cute HS girls drawn in moeblob fashion not doing much, but they’re cute and amusing,” well yeah, it’s exactly the same as 100 other 4-koma manga out there. This one just happens to have good character interaction, so it gets an anime.

      This makes it similar to a bunch of other anime, too: G.A., K-On, Hyakko, Sketchbook, etc. But they’re all different because the characters are executed differently. With this genre, the characters have to drive it, because plot sure as heck isn’t going to do it.

      It doesn’t really specifically remind me of LS, because LS has always been more comfortable directly appealing to the more otaku-ish tendencies of the audience, and it also tends to break down the 4th wall, while A Channel is a lot more general in its themes and it avoids breaking the 4th wall rather firmly. (Probably a function of which magazines they’re serialized in.)

      Also, LS has a habit of randomly adding characters whenever the mangaka feels like it. (Which is often.) I haven’t really noticed that tendency in A Channel. The mangaka seems to be keeping it centered around the main 4. Sure, there are a few other characters, but you don’t see much of them.

      I’m enjoying A Channel right now, because it’s funny in a non-stressful way.

      sarcastic_weasel
  3. https://randomc.net/image/A-Channel/A-Channel%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2012.jpg
    Seeing the two senseis arguing about who ought to be the only one to wear a lab coat gives me a strange feeling, as I don’t ever recall Nagato and Koizumi ever bickering with each other in the SOS Brigade. lol (Seiyuu reference)

    Gotta laugh at Yuuko’s cute air-headedness at going along with the pace of Nagi’s prank so much that she totally forgotten the whole purpose of why she had to came back to school at such a late hour.

    Kinny Riddle
  4. c-cuute! ~<3 ♥

    The random idea of Run to take a picture of Tooru in the morning was Golden!. I’m learning so many things from this show it makes me wanna redo my entire childhood! Seriously, who wouldn’t want a childhood where Tooru was present? (Or even Yutaka!)

  5. You didn’t think this was a Yuuko focused episode? It was about her having to go back and get the paper, and her fears. It even ended with her being cute post-credits.

    “While a Yuuko or Run centric episode hasn’t been done yet,”

    AniC
    1. Not really. If you consider a school trip where she somehow ends up getting chased by a dog, getting the crap scared out of her every few minutes, and then a random Sensei barging in and passing out a Yuuko-centric episode, more to you.

      Tooru on the other hand always gets some attention :T

  6. Tooru’s bangs grew back surprisingly quickly.

    I only find Satou-sensei creepy when he’s fanboying Run’s forehead; I actually find his nickname for Tooru (Sea Urchin-chan) to be very apt and adorable.

    Also good to see more Yutaka and Miporin screentime if only for a while. I’m still waiting for Yutaka to open her eyes.

    Zyl
  7. As of late, A-Channel has been a bit of a hit-and-miss for me as it pales in comparison to Nichijou’s random gags and just not delivering “that” much in anything. In any other season I reckon this show would be fine; it just so happens that it’s in a season full of other slice-of-life shows…

    SirMuffin
    1. Oh yeah, I totally agree 100% about Miho and Yutaka. Every time they show up on screen, it’s like Christmas morning. They’re simply a joy to watch and that’s just them interacting with themselves and Tooru. I can’t imagine how hilarious it would be if they spent more time with the rest of the cast.

      BabyChooChoo

Leave a Reply to Kinny Riddle Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *