First Impressions / Natsuiro Kiseki

「夏風邪とクジラ」 (Natsukaze to Kujira)
“Summer Colds and Whales”

I oscillate wildly between viewing this as a friendship anime and a yuri anime, and sometimes within the same episode. This was one of those episodes. On the yuri front, Rin was leading the charge. When she said that she wanted to be wherever Yuka was, I SQUEE’d and HNNNG’d all at once. SQUNNG’d? Something like that. Also, her tearful lunge at Yuka when it really wasn’t necessary spoke volumes to those whose goggles were fastened tightly. And that whole thing where Rin likes Four Seasons member Miharu (who she says is like Yuka), but wants to be Chinatsu because Chinatsu is always looking at Miharu? Just more fuel for the yuri fires!! There was also one part which you may have missed, where Saki was worrying over Natsumi in the preview. You really care, don’t you, Saki? D’aaaww :3

But I may have just enjoyed the friendship anime portion of the episode more. When Yuka and Rin were watching the video of Four Seasons, they talked about how the group was good because it was the four of them (much like Sphere itself, ZING!), which hit home nicely later in the episode when Yuka’s absence made the girls realize that they were much the same. Though this was ostensibly an episode about Rin and Yuka (in loli form or otherwise), really it all came back to Saki and her imminent departure. If it’s not the same without all four of them, even for a day, what will happen when Saki is gone forever?

I just realized a way this might end that I hadn’t considered before. Saki is already moving to Tokyo, and Yuka is jealous, because Saki will get to see all the live shows. Now Yuka wants to move to Tokyo too. Of course, Rin wants to be wherever Yuka is, and it was heavily implied last episode that Natsumi might swing a certain way since she got all embarrassed about being shipped with a Four Seasons idol. Since Saki is obviously a candidate for her real affection, that would give her reason to want to be in Tokyo as well. Perhaps the end isn’t that the girls wish for Saki to stay, but that all the girls go to Tokyo instead. It might not even be through wishing on the Big Rock…they might wait as long as college to get there, but eventually, they would all be together again. Together, and having made the choice to grow up instead of stay as kids.

The good thing is, I have no idea if that will happen! Like I said back in episode 1, I love following original series because none of us knows what will happen. All I know is that these four girls are really good friends, and it warms my hearts to see them together. Have you ever had a friendship like that? I know I have, and it’s a wonderful feeling. Does my old heart good to see it again.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The four of them are best together. So what happens when one of them is gone, either for a few days, or forever? #NatsuiroKiseki

Random thoughts:

  • Something about the art was weird this week, especially with Yuka. It seemed like her head was too…round, maybe? Not sure.
  • Rin got rained on a bit, so she got a cold. Uhm, hate to break it to you, but colds don’t work like that, Nippon. It’s a virus. L2science.
  • So Rin sees a whale when she’s sick. Uh, okay. That’s not insane at all, Rin-chan. Not at all… *shifty eyea*
  • Those twintails, that ponytail, that …whatever this is! Some character designer is clearly having a lot of fun with Yuka’s hair.
  • This picture makes it look like they’re .0004732 seconds from hot yuri luvin’. This is intentionally misleading, because that did not happen, and also exactly why I chose this picture. Leave me with my dreams!!
  • Just kiss already, dammit.

Full-size images: 25, 28, 34, 36

 

Preview

27 Comments

  1. Glad I’m not the only one that thought the animation this week looked a bit… off…

    Noticed it at first with Yuka’s face looking odd but the more I watched there were small things off with everyone’s heads at some points, seems like they were cutting a lot of corners with the quality of the more distant shots or something.

    Qwerty1
    Reply

    1. Yeah, the art/animation quality was definitely down this week. It was a major distraction once I noticed it. It’s like they suddenly rounded up all the interns to try their hand at an episode for some reason.

      Hopefully this doesn’t continue.

      Knillinux
      Reply

  4. When she said that she wanted to be wherever Yuka was, I SQUEE’d and HNNNG’d all at once. SQUNNG’d?

    This episode is pretty much YukaxRin. When I heard Rin said that the first time, I had to adjust my yuri goggles a bit.

    Also, this episode shows us that Rin can be a bit like K-On!’s Yui. Of course, they have the same seiyuu, Aki Toyosaki.

    John Hayabusa
    Reply

  5. I really liked the scene that started off the second half of the ep. with Rin in bed telling Yuka about seeing the whale. That background song really complimented the mood and made it a really sweet scene of friendship between the two.

    And yes, L2science indeed…I always /headdesk when anime pulls the automatic next day fever from getting caught in the rain.

    LSD whale ftw!! Loli Yuka was such a good friend.

    Xin
    Reply

  6. Just a note regarding rain and colds – yes, colds are caused by viruses, but sudden changes in body temp like getting soaked in the rain can lead to the immune system weakening which can cause people to be more susceptible to viruses. I was a really bad asthmatic as a kid and always catch a cold when I get caught in the rain which eventually leads to asthma >_<.

    taiakun
    Reply

  7. It seems like Saki is aware of Rin’s affection for Yuka when she said it’s better to leave Rin and Yuka alone and told Natsumi they should not pay a visit to Rin.

    Serapita
    Reply

  10. Yuka is the glue that binds the four of them together, and it takes her being absent for the other three to finally realize that.

    Oh, more Rin x Yuka yuri FTW. Same for Yuka’s various gorgeous hairstyles.

    I think I must be way too spoilt with so much quality animation that studios like Kyo-Ani, PA Works and A-1 Pictures have provided in recent years, that I just cringed at some of the sloppy animation this episode.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

      1. You’re right. Still, the best case scenario (for Rin) would be Yuka is bi. At this point I have a hard time seeing Yuka’s feelings towards Rin as anything but close friendship, but that’s just my personal opinion. You’re free to keep your yuri ship going if that’s how you see it. (Can’t say that I’d blame you. They’re very cute together)

        Dingus
        Reply

  14. As I watched this week’s episode of Yuru Yuri. Oops! Sorry about that… Anyway,
    this was a pretty good episode of Yuru Yuri! Damn it! What’s wrong with this keyboard! ☺

    BTW, Stilts, according to my yuri chronograph, they we actually 0.0001332
    seconds away – accuracy and realism is important in Anime, you know!

    No miracle(s) this week, but still nice sentential story. This series reminds me
    of Natsume (Yuujinchou San, etc.) as far as the stories go, cuter, of course.

    I definitely noticed they paid quite some attention to Yuka’s hair this week! Cute!

    I wonder is they’ll use the “rock” to keep Saki from moving to Tokyo – I’m surprised
    none of that discussion has come about. Too, it’s interesting that they didn’t think
    to even use it to help Yuka get over her cold until a few days had passed!

    You know, Stilts, you bring up a good point. Maybe all of them will go to Tokyo
    (as a season finale) and a second season will be based off of that. Who knows.
    There’s definitely a lot of set up happening (as you’ve mentioned) for that to happen.
    Like Natsume, if done well, I see no reason why more seasons couldn’t follow.

    This is a series I thought would be light-weight, but it’s actually pretty engaging…

    mac65
    Reply

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