Asobi Asobase – 03

There are many things that we do for our hobbies, but would you risk your life for your pastimes? This week’s Asobi Asobase ponders the answer to this question several times as the girls place themselves on the line for their club. For their first game of the episode, Kasumi learns that maybe her traumatic experience with being her sister’s lackey whenever she lost might be more bearable for her than the punishments Olivia has in store. To make up for Kasumi’s new rule not to force her to get things for everyone if she loses, Olivia comes up with a creative idea as the winner of the “issei no sei” game must smell the other girls’ armpits. It might not seem entirely like a punishment, but for Hanako and Kasumi, it becomes a game of wits and high tension fear as the scent of Olivia’s armpit traumatized Hanako. Whether Hanako’s betrayal and Olivia’s penalty were actually positive developments for changing Kasumi’s outlook on her sister, but it is a roundabout way that Kasumi has been able to find some relief in the crazy things her club drives her to do.

The true “ride or die” club president, however, is the Shogi Club President, whose thrill-seeking tendencies lead her to wager their designated club room to their Pastimers Club occupants on a pastime merely because she’s excited about the idea of beating a team at their own game. The odds are absolutely stacked against them, especially since Olivia used her rule-stretching habits to kick off her shoe the furthest in the Shoe Launching contest. Little did they all know that the Shogi President was more than willing to kick her shoe off after jumping right off of a bicycle she raced downhill for the uphill advantage. She might have ended up throwing the match all for naught as her compound fractures lead them to practice in her bedroom instead, but for a second, she was this close to devastating the Pastimers Club by being the one club who has beaten them so far.

This episode’s daring challenges were hilarious without a doubt, but one moment that flipped the script was Chisato-sensei’s new enlistment into the Pastimers Club. What was supposed to be just Chisato getting advice on how to build a Twitter profile for online dating ended up being what landed Chisato as the club’s supervisor after she was unexpectingly tricked to pose for a questionable profile photo. At first, it was nice to see more of Chisato given that her efforts to draw Hanako back into Tennis were a fruitless endeavor, but unfortunately, she landed herself into hot water now that the girls have designated her as theirs. The girls’ doting on Chisato was very funny though in how Olivia wanted her to go along with her plans just because she likes to talk out of her rear, Kasumi aims to gets her on her good side now that she has someone who can definitely help her out with English class, and Hanako tries to convince her that going on a field trip to get make-overs in swanky popular districts is a valuable use of time.

Episode 03’s segments were outright hilarious, and the smaller jokes wedged in-between were no exception. One such case is Kaichou lacking the ability to be tactful with her threats, making it so that she sounds less like she’s laying it on lightly and more like she wants to see the Pastimers Club burn. Similarly, the effort that Kino Hina has been putting into torturing her vocal chords has enhanced some of this episode’s funnier scenes, stretching out a series of horrified Mandrake screeches for instances like when Hanako chokes on a large piece of candy or when she’s desperately trying to get Kaichou to give her the form to fill out to legitimize the Pastimers Club. The Omake sequences have been humorous, but this time around, it’s outright hysterical as Kasumi tames a wild bear to go after the other girls even after they attack it with weapons and Hanako strips down. Asobi Asobase‘s crusade towards placing its entire cast in one depraved scenario after another has been a riot, and this episode has helped solidify its presence as one of this season’s must-see comedies.

Omake