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「シロクマくん張り切る/海に行こう！」 (Shirokuma-kun Harikiru/Umi ni Ikō!)
“Enthusiastic Polar Bear/Let’s Go to the Beach!”
Trolling levels are at an all-time high here in the first half! A deal is made where one person totally goes wild with the job, whereas the other…oh my, those eyes. It was quite an initial shock to see them switch places, as it expanded the possibilities for hilarious shenanigans many fold. We got a small taste of what could happen with penguin trying to imitate a turtle, but seeing this [why didn’t I see this earlier] switch-up reinforced how funny swapping animals around could be. Just imagine if Sloth or Llama took over for…anyone. Granted, the episode would either need two hours to complete or a buffer for the mad fangirls, but I assure you, shenanigans would be had.
The second half: obligatory beach episode, to put it bluntly. It’s a beach episode with a different kind of fanservice–not one with lots of steaming full-shots, but instead one with lots of cute girls animals doing cute things. Granted, it happens a lot in this series, but it’s the only explanation for the beach setting! However, one point of discussable interest concerns the reactions each of the animals receives from the human world. Throughout the series, whenever the animals interact with humans, the reaction always seems to be either “that’s so cool!” or “holy moly it’s an animal! D:” This episode was no exception. Shirokuma is the cool cat who can impress no matter his species, Panda is the one who sometimes attracts the wrong crowd (but mostly gets ’em), and Penguin…well let’s say he shouldn’t ever try picking up anyone but Penguins. The setting of this world sometimes feels inconsistent to me due to this: is this a world where animals are fully accepted beings (but can still do weird stuff that shocks), or are there still people getting used to the fact? It’s a little trite to bring up in a series like this, but hey, one has to say something more than ‘lol dis funneh’ for comedy coverage!
Finally, upon reflecting on both halves of the episode, I have concluded that Sasako-san is a trooper. She doesn’t seem to take a day off of work…ever, and never complains at work, other than the silent and polite ‘wtf’ reaction. Whilst Shirokuma and friends go and have epic adventures and trolls, she’s always holding down the fort at home, somehow managing the entire cafe by herself. I swear this means that they’ll have an episode dedicated to her for once–omitting her screen time would be cruel! Even we get to see Handa on his down time, why not Sasako! [No, seeing her on her bike doesn’t count.] Here’s to awaiting that inevitable episode! To character development!
ED4 Sequence
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ED4:「ZOOっと、ね♪」 (ZOO tto, Ne♪) by 小西克幸 (Konishi Katsuyuki)
Preview
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Surprisingly, Panda and Shirokuma wearing clothes suits them really well, even if it looks weird. Yogi Bear much? :3
And it’s a crime really, leaving out Sasako-san in a beach episode D:
She really is too perfect(and still too good for Handa :P)
And that switching of roles betweens Panda and Shirokuma, well that was really something so yeah.
Best episode yet.
The lack of comments here still leaves me in despair D:It may be due from the fact I wanted to give SAO some more front-time (look at dem comments!), so I posted this to appear below it 😛
It’s all good though: this show ain’t ending anytime soon 😀
You know they made a good job when you can’t help but grin stupidly for most of an episode. That first part was pure win, simple as that. The second wa great, even if the lack of Sakako in a swimsuit is a bit of a disappointment.
Some Sakako-san’s service, service (because you won’t get any in the actual serie, and it probably won’t sell well because of that).
http://i.imgur.com/y5Lrl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mVA5u.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qZuVK.jpg
Funny how Shirokuma can pass as Panda but it can’t be the same the other way around XD
And this show is so moe.
Polar Bear is the best and can really impress everyone (especially the young people) no less.
It’s funny how the bears think they are the same because they are in the bear family kingdom.
That would be the best vacation for summer!!! Classic watermelon smashing game. I like how they were all enjoying the music on the beach. I like the new ending too.
Shirokuma-kun is such a troll. I’m curious as to where he learned all these skills. Dem magic skills.
I agree that Sasako-san is really under-represented, although it does show that Shirokuma Cafe doesn’t need to rely on cute moe girls for entertainment.
Somehow missed this post until now. I knew something was missing, but got too distracted by all the season premiers.
The first half was brilliant.