「女子は浴衣姿がな、超可愛い(゜∀゜)」 (Jyoshi wa Yukatasugata gana, Chou Kawaii (゜∀゜))
“You See, Girls wearing Yukata are Really Cute”

After luring us with the promise that Taka and Sora might one day be reunited with each other, this week’s episode of Haganai finally delivers. While the build up to that special moment could have been a bit more emotional, it was leaps and bounds better than a certain show with its strange ideas of how to build relationships (not only with the characters but the audience).

But before any of the sappy stuff came into play, there were a bunch of trademark Haganai moments that would have made this episode stand out amongst the rest. Amongst the familiar fan-service shots, there were some great cameos if you were paying attention. Oh, and I’m sure that all of you were paying a lot of attention to Rika’s tongue as well! In terms of humor, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the show still flows even when it goes for a melodramatic approach. The story of Kodaka’s stance on keeping his natural hair color to maintain the only link he has left with his mother; even if he has to endure ridicule from his peers not only felt natural but was one of the sweetest things I’ve heard from a male protagonist this entire season!

But it didn’t stop there. Now, if you’ve been following my posts, you should know that I’ve been praying for something amazing to happen the moment Kodaka realizes his best friend has been sitting literally a few feet away from him. And while the emotions I was hoping for just weren’t there, everything else was. From the reason Yozora cut her hair to the disappointment I had for her moments before the scene started — AIC did a bang up job of hitting a high note with a scene that lasted literally seconds.

Judging from the previews, next week’s episode looks like it will dive deeper into the mystery surrounding just what happened between Taka and Sora and hopefully how they’ll both deal with finding their long lost best friend! <3

 

Preview

54 Comments

    1. I could just hear them both with their “fufufu~”.

      “Ku ku ku. So, you think you are a match for the Queen? You’re just a minion of the darkness!”

      “You’re just a kid, and you dare call someone like me me a minion? Fu fu fu, I am the one true Mistress of the Night, bow down before me you lowly girl!”

      And enter Kodaka and Kyousuke to stop them both.

      Raine
    2. I’m more interested in seeing what would happen if Sena met Kirino. (I’m sure Sena would squee over Kirino, the latter being a cute little sister and all.) XD

      Anyway, as I said in another forum, Yozora definitely gained a lot more fans this episode.

      Incognito
      1. if sena & bajeena saori were to meet, they’ll first stare at each other’s… meat.

        if kirino & sena were to meet, both will start hurling insults that would not make it past the media censorship & will only be available on blu-ray.

        saka
  1. Looks like you guys have a thing with Guilty Crown because I really don’t see the link between the 2…

    Nice ep’, Rika was beautifull (too bad that it’s never this kind of character wich “win” the love battle), but I didn’t understand why Yozora was angry at the end, she WAS in fire right?

    KTNO
    1. I don’t think she was angry. I just think she was embarrassed and frustrated. She was having a good time and after everything her hair is caught on fire by the thing that looked beautiful to her. That’s too much

      Shisui
      1. @KTNO
        It wouldn’t just be the girls, though they are more likely to have long hair. Considering the relatively slow rate at which it grows and the amount of care required to properly maintain it, anyone with long hair would be rather protective of it.

  2. is next week a flashback or a timeskip? Yozora’s hair was long again in the preview. And boy they sure did hit the high note as you say…literally saving the friends’ union for the last second.

    gawrshness
  3. Why was there a need to mention Guilty Crown in a post about a completely unrelated anime? No I am not defending the writing but I don’t understand why the “bashing” has to escalate out of it’s own post. It’s so unnecessary.

    Back to talking about Haganai. Wish Yozora actually wore a yukata though Kodaka’s fantasy was satisfying enough. Does this mean that there’s very little hope for there ever being a second season since they’ve gone past a lot of source material? Sad to see it end.

    Seriously
    1. They’ve only just finished the 3rd light novel. There’s 7 light novels so depending on what they do with the next episode there is enough source material to make another season right away if they wanted to.

      Scruffy
      1. Oh that’s great news. Thanks for the heads up. I’d be more than happy to watch a second season. 🙂

        lol I don’t see why I deserve thumbs downs for my previous post. I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.

        Seriously
  4. Nooo, Sena end, I’m still hoping against all the unlikely odds!
    Normally I have a hard time feeling sympathetic with Yozora, considering how cruel she can be sometimes, but the fireworks scene had me feeling terrible for her. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl too, but I could feel her embarrassment radiating, and I probably would have reacted the same way. That would be a mortifying thing to go through.

    Otherwise, Rika’s pout was adorable! She should wear her hair down more often. Seeing Sena and Yozora competing was pretty funny- they were really acting like friends. And Kodaka is as sweet a protagonist as ever. Is it any wonder why Yozora, Sena, and Rika all fell so hard for him?

    staticology
  5. So Yozora finally pulled out her trump card eh.

    Cameos were great, oreno cameo and the Hirasawa Yui ‘cameo’ if you were listening to the attendance, had to play it twice to make sure!

    0927123
  6. Rika is great, from the tongue technique to employing Largehard (pun intended?) to obtain doujinshi… “All those moe-gap elements are only tools for delivering naughty jokes” – epic win!
    LOL @ cameos by both Ore Imo team and Kobato’s “show within a show”.
    Finally we are at the Yo-Sora moment… Can’t wait for the ending, OTOH will miss the show when it ends.

    ewok40k
  7. Like previous episodes before this, this episode could have nearly chosen to end in a sudden depressing mood, though the final scene took me pleasantly off-guard, and complements well with Kodaka’s dream flashback in the opening scene.

    Next week should wrap up this decent first season well.

    Kinny Riddle
      1. Not really, as there’s still plenty of stuff from the novels that have yet to be animated. So it’s a general assumption on my part.

        I was just using the phrase “first season” for lack of a better description, as whether or not there’ll be a “second season”, this is still its “first season”, no?

        Kinny Riddle
  8. I support short-haired Yozora!
    I enjoyed the firework part, but I kept thinking there could’ve been a better way to deal with the embers in her hair. Then again, short-haired Yozora.

    Avalanche
  9. I guess I’ll get used to Yozora’s haircut, but other than that, just about everything else about this episode was amazing. My favorite ep of the series by a long shot :3
    So sad it’s almost overr!!

    Kiria
  10. this was way too fast, its like they’re burning the whole pages of the 3rd novel in just a sec!

    hope sena still wins the love battle but its exiting to know how yozora feels too after this episode, because for the most part of the anime she hasn’t showed that much interest in a romantic relationship with kodaka.

    n30nL16ht
    1. So if the current series is only up to novel 3 or 4, will there be a second season? Or are they going for an anime original ending? Even if there is an ending, is there a possibility of an alternate ending OVA for the other girl?
      In any case, this episode was most excellent. I really wish Yozora wasn’t so bitchy so we could have seen her in a yukata.

      bertman4
    1. It has been the most consistently enjoyable out of all the shows that aired this season. My only hope is that it stays as true to the LN as possible so that we can expect a second season.

      Harumi
  11. 😀 So far, this has been great- way above expectations. Let’s see how they tie the ends.

    And yep, had to rewind and double check kirino’s gang after catching a glimpse of what looked like kuroneko’s head at the corner of my eye.

    Whee
  12. I’m so glad she chopped the hair! I was so sick of looking at her hair with little ribbons at the end of them. All I could think of when I noticed her hair was the donkey’s tail from Whinny the Pooh. That moment at the end, while nice, was pretty…… Underwhelming. I hope the manga, builds it up a tad bit more.

    Relic

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