Ano Natsu de Matteru / First Impressions

「先輩はすごかった。」 (Senpai wa Sugokatta.)
“Sempai was Amazing.”

The “walk away and pretend it never happened” approach isn’t a terrible way of getting out of an awkward moment when you find out that someone likes you. Whether or not it’s a permanent solution is another matter, especially if you live together under the same roof. From an outside perspective, I was thoroughly amused by how Ichika just got onto the train and left Kaito behind, simply because I didn’t have to deal with all the meandering that guy A and girl B had to go through (or girl A and guy B depending on whose perspective we’re talking about). I did however start to really feel for Kanna when both Tetsurou and Remon added girl C into the not-so-hypothetic scenario, since both Kaito and Ichika are completely oblivious to her involvement. They’re so caught up in their own love and secret alien identity problems that they can’t even be bothered to take notice of Kanna’s feelings — an all too cruel situation that had me vehemently waving the “Go Girl C!” banner in the back of my mind. It made me feel even worse for her when she put Ichika’s happiness before her own, which is starting to look like a cascading effect that originated from Mio — our voluptuous heroine who’s too good for clothes at home.

I can’t really blame either Mio or Tetsurou for putting their love interest’s feelings before their own considering that they’re all friends, but with a group of five people — two guys and three girls — someone is pretty much guaranteed to be left out and there will be heartbreak at least once. If we look at the relationship “chain” and assume that Remon will remain a catalyst for everyone, we have Mio and Ichika at either end and Kanna in the middle. (i.e. Mio -> Tetsurou -> Kanna -> Kaito -> Ichika) From that, I can picture a few possible scenarios on how things will end. One is where Ichika regrettably leaves Earth — much like she said she’d eventually have to do — and things conclude “relatively well” for the remaining four with Kaito reciprocating Kanna’s feelings and Tetsurou Mio’s. Another — and probably the more likely one considering who the main heroine is — is where Ichika decides to stay on Earth because of Kaito, leaving the remaining three to sort things out for themselves. The situation would diverge from there, as either Kanna or Mio could wind up as the odd person out, with the more likely victim being Mio in my mind. Kanna would be heartbroken over Kaito and Tetsurou would swoop in as the supportive friend who’s always been there for her. If not that, then all three of them would come to a standstill, since Kanna probably knows about Mio’s feeling for Tetsurou given how close they are. Whatever happens, someone will surely be in tears before it’s all over — if not everyone from a chain reaction triggered by Ichika’s rejection of Kaito.

Speculation aside, this series has a real knack for making the “emotional turmoil” fun to watch, from its continued use of wild fantasies and married yet promiscuous older sisters. It was pretty clear from the get-go that Ogura Minami (Ooura Fuyuka) was someone that Kaito knew and was just being teased by — with my original guess being a friend of Nanami — but she sure served her purpose well by getting Ichika all riled up and helping her realize how she truly feels. Granted, it hasn’t sunk in completely yet — not after Kaito wasting a golden opportunity to put her on the spot and find out how she truly feels — but it’s a step in the right direction before his impatience kicks in and he’s dying to know. Judging from how this episode ended, it looks like we’ve only grazed the surface of this nostalgic romantic comedy, so I can’t wait to see what “that summer” is all about.

* In case anyone’s wondering why HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD got a cameo at the movie theater, it’s because Kuroda Yousuke did the screenplay for its anime adaptation.
* I assume Ichika just breezed through her exam and started thinking about Kaito, but I’m not so sure about Remon.
* Full-length images: 11, 21, 22, 23, 32.

 

Preview

66 Comments

      1. Since Guy A and Girl B are already destined, the question is whether Girl C and Guy D get together OR Guy D and Girl E get together.

        Girl R just stands by watching and “ufufufu”ing

        Ptolemaios00
        Reply

      2. Sigh… The guys at the Ministry of Education and different school representatives worked so hard to make it look decent and non-suggestive.

        And anime just break the point of their work like it was a cookie…

        Exhibit A shows ewok40k fall for one of anime’s biggest traps ever: Mizugi, which is traditionally as old as your grandpa. >.>

        Ok I’ll concede it looks good… on people who looks good in it at least.

        The Moondoggie
        Reply

    3. Yes, I too was thinking of Taiga as well when I saw that shot of Lemon: Short brunette girl with mini-bust and double-bonnt hair in school swimsuit.

      Not surprising considering the main character designer for both shows is Tanaka Shouga.

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

  7. Note to self never get Ichika angry or you might end up in a really dangerou situation, the face she made when found Kaito with Minami was pure gold!. In a side note, I´m cheering for Mio to end up with Tetsurou, she´s just too cute to be left in tears but I have the feeling Remon eill be more the turmoil maker more than the catalyzer, still it´s funny as hell to watch.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  9. apart from the HSotD insert the things that made me laugh out the most were:
    1.Rinon getting threatened
    2.Lemon torturing Ichika with repeated “Kirishima-kun”
    3.”I will destroy that reality of yours!”
    the flirtatious sister of Tetsurou was only mildly amusing but pretty effective in bringing out jellies from Ichika. Now if only both leads weren’t so dense…

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. Cute? If you like evil geniuses, then yes. OMG is she brilliant or what? They way she just looks at a situation and is instantly able to read what’s going on, now that is scary. It’s like the rest of the characters are there to provide her with amusement.

      bertman4
      Reply

  11. Is there any chance of Kaito cutting his hair? I swear just want to rip off.

    Superficial rant aside, so this was just a prelude? Sounds like theres going to be a lot of tears, drama and frustration in the future. Can’t wait.

    azerbaijan
    Reply

  12. Haha, Scenario 1 (Ichika leaves Earth). Not gonna lie, I laughed a bit at the prospect you even think that’s gonna happen (though I would welcome it immensely).

    This ends with Ichika with Kaito and Mio with Tetsurou. But only after drama ensues and Kanna goes out with Kaito and then he dumps her for Ichika, thus completing this incredibly cliched anime’s obvious plot.

    Aside from the “Onegai Senpai” obvious direction this series is taking, I have no complaints about this show or its characters.

    Kaus
    Reply

    2. Tomatsu Haruka as Anaru > Tomatsu Haruka as Ichika.
      Why? Anaru seems, at least to me, more like natural/realistic character to me, while Ichika is the magical girlfriend type of character.

      boingman
      Reply

  15. Girls are so selfish

    He confess to Ichika then she walk away without an answer then she started to think maybe we should just be friends kind of reply, but then she see him with another women and she get mad and stalking.

    So is like in reality I can’t return your feeling think we better off as friend but you are not allow to see any other women.
    @_@ I don’t want you but others can’t have you kind of thing, crazy.

    mike
    Reply

    1. Ah… See, that’s the difference between the female and male brain. Men quickly see this act as selfishness, but women know that if a girl gets “jealous,” it is because she’s disappointed in two things: why would any give up that quickly? That’s a turn-off and a sign of weakness in will for women. And 2) if the man truly loved her to the level where he wanted a reciprocation in feelings, how could he even be in the mood to see other women so soon? Did that mean that the girl so easily disposable that a “no, let’s just be friends” triggers a “sure, no problem… Moving on… Next!” response?

      Petitorenji
      Reply

      1. Why would anyone give up so quickly, because some guys don’t like to waste time on issues that can’t be solved, how would anyone know beside the girl herself that she really really wanna be just friends or playing hard to get. If it really just be friends then nothing can’t be done, so a guy would prefer to be moving on and not waste time. Accept a confession is just a first step then the guy need to start really need to learn how to make the relationship grow, so if a girl refuse the guy then he really shouldn’t waste time on this first step and start moving on, you only live once, life is too short to worry about the past and issue that you have no control of.

        I do agree that one day seem a bit fast to go for another women but still he shouldn’t dwindle on a fail confession for too long.

        mike
        Reply

    1. Actually it’s more like (as of this episode):

      Girl Lemon —> [Rinon Q—> Girl A —><— Guy B <—X Girl C <—X Guy D = Likes
      X = Friend Zone
      Q = Mascot Character Zone
      [] = This crazy heartbreak train-wreck

      Da5id
      Reply

  17. Ending 1:
    They both go on their own separate ways and remembers that unforgettable summer.

    Ending 2:
    They end up together and experienced many more summers and are reminiscing about that unforgettable summer.

    Hagiri
    Reply

  20. I can only say that the balance between comedy and romance, the very good pacing of the episodes so far, is plain brilliant. I’m just not hot for the OP but that doesn’t do much harm.

    Ananas
    Reply

  21. Given the show’s title your scenario of Ichika leaving Earth would have to have a caveat that she would eventually come back. Thus Kaito would be waiting for her during a summer some time in the future.

    In terms of this episode, loved the use of the supporting characters. Rinon and Manami provided some great humor to balance out Ichika and Kaito over-thinking things. And I wish one of Tetsurou’s lines could have been translated literally. It wasn’t as correct contextually, but it was hilarious to hear him say he’s an “ally of justice” while defending Manami’s husband. Way to support your fellow man when the woman’s trying to take advantage of him!

    a42
    Reply

  22. A jealous Ichika is an amazing Ichika! XD Poor Rinon, his master is nuts. Not as nuts as Remon-sama(awesome!), but still nuts!

    Personally I’m in the “Ichika x Kaito” and “Tetsuro x Mio” boats, although I could see a “Kana x Kaito” ending, which I would find bittersweet since Ichika probably left Earth, but it’d be more than acceptable. The cute, devoted childhood friend doesn’t win enough anyways. If it ends with just Kaito single and waiting with no idea when Ichika will be back, I’ll rage all over…

    Aex
    Reply

    1. Ending A: Ichika leaves earth. Kaito X Kana
      Ending B: Ichika stays with Kaito. <3
      Ending C: Kaito dies of his "injuries". Ichika leaves/stays. Doesn't matter, Kaito is dead.
      Ending D: Ichika leaves earth. Kaito dumps Kana. Kaito will wait for Ichika *foreveralone.jpg*
      Ending E: Ichika stays with Kaito, Kana becomes crazy and thus, "The Boat" ending 🙂 Show Spoiler ▼

      The Story You Don't Know
      Reply

  26. I love Remon-senpai.

    Ichika loves Kaito and she can’t leave him alone due to the state where she accidentally mortally wounded him when her space ship landed.
    Kaito is already critically injured but not precisely, let’s just say Ichika used an improved version of DGrayMan’s Miranda Lotto Time Restoration ability except it has a duration-like battery that needs to be recharge. So this symptom will persist until the end of series.

    pedobearmatt
    Reply

  30. Remon-sempai rapidly becomes one of my favourite characters this season. With her diminutive figure and her sharp and mischievous mind she reminds me so much of Kuroko! So I’m rooting for Ichika x Remon (even if that’s rather improbable)!

    jreding
    Reply

  31. Ugh, this wishy washy romance. Granted it’s only episode 4, so reaching a conclusion this early would just be unlikely to say the least. Rather the two ‘Rivals’ (Mio and Kanna) stepping aside. This early in the series. With Mio distancing herself from Tetsuour, since he’s still hung up on Kanna. And now Kanna, helping Kaito and Ichika reconcile. The only neutral party left is Remon. Who may just stand by and watch as thing fall apart. Or make Kaito’s love triangle a square. (Either just to troll him, or really does care and doesn’t want to me left behind.) Probably the prior then the latter, but you never know.

    Azar
    Reply

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