First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

Summary:

New member recruitment hasn’t gone very well for the astronomy club, and Mihoshi makes a big fuss about it to Saku in his classroom. This gets his classmate and popular girl Makita Hime angry because she doesn’t want Mihoshi around, but Mihoshi just tries to get her to join the club. Afterward, Saku apologizes to Hime, unaware that she has a bit of a crush on him after he had been kind to her and complimented her hair on the bus from back during entrance exams. He hadn’t remembered her when they actually started school, however Hime still refuses to lose to Mihoshi, who she thinks is Saku’s girlfriend. She manages to get some time alone with Saku and finds out about how he moved a lot and how he knows Mihoshi, and in particular Saku mentions how this is the first time he started somewhere where someone knows and remembers him. This strike a chord with Hime because she feels that she remembers him too, even if it was from more recently, and she works up her confidence to say something to him, but she gets cut off by Mihoshi’s arrival. Mihoshi wants Saku to join her on the school roof for some stargazing, and she drags Hime along too. Hime is impressed by the sight of the first star of the night, but what really inspires her to join the club is the revelation that Saku and Mihoshi aren’t really going out.

This gives the club enough people, and it also starts a bit of a rivalry between Hime and Mihoshi over Saku’s affections. The bigger problem though is that the club needs activities, so Roma proposes going out stargazing at the park. Unfortunately, it rains, so Mihoshi convinces everyone that they should go to Saku’s house. Saku’s mother is delighted to see Mihoshi again, but Saku is less than happy to have everyone over and keeps them out of his room. His mother ends up telling everyone that they came back because of how Saku looked most lively while in this town, and she’s glad they made the change. When it’s time for everyone to go home, Saku’s mother sends her regards to Mihoshi’s parents, but Mihoshi pauses before acknowledging it. The group tries to go stargazing again the next day, and Hime prepares for what she envisions to be a romantic night with Saku, but it turns out to be just the opposite after Mihoshi forces her to change clothes and she has to ride on Roma’s bicycle. The other members enjoy themselves though, and Mihoshi gets to show her knowledge about the stars. Saku also gets a moment alone with Sayo and tells her that he’d probably be reading inside right now, unaware of the stars, if he hadn’t returned to this town. Sayo is just relieved that he’s not still caught up on what happened back in elementary school, and Saku is left feeling that this kind of night isn’t too bad.

Preview

I tend to think of this series as primarily a comedy, but this episode showed that it’s more than that. Certainly the humor was still good, however I ended up enjoying the stargazing scenes the most. They combine the perfect musical pieces with some astronomy and character reflection, and it ends up having a very serene quality to it that I can just sit back and take in. The manga just isn’t able to evoke the same feelings, and it’s exactly what I hoped the anime version would be able to accomplish after I saw the promo for the show several months ago.

The other noteworthy thing about this episode is the introduction of Hime, who’s voiced nicely by Tomatsu Haruka. I doubt she’s ever going to win Saku’s affections (and since romance really isn’t the main focus here, that may not ever even come up, or if it does, it won’t be for a while), but she’s a fun character to watch, especially when she’s excited and going up against Mihoshi. So all in all, I enjoyed this episode and the series in general, and I’m planning on continuing watching/blogging it, though this may be a guilty pleasure kind of show that I won’t be in a rush to write about every week.

25 Comments

  4. Outside of Nogizaka Haruka Season 2, this was my most anticipated anime for 2009.

    Hope this will kick-start the manga scanlations as they’ve reached chapter 5 in 2 episodes. For those of you who’ve read the latest volumes, does Saku get the full harem treatment? Personally, I prefer Saku and the SC Prez as an item, They have sooo much in common.

    Passingass
    Reply

  5. I like this series.Like it.A lot.
    If only the OP and ED wasn’t so bleh.Its definitely one of the better series this year(somehow).
    Too bad I know close to nothing about the stars,I might appreciate whatever was going on more.Too far away,don’t care.

    God~Knows~
    Reply

  6. Light humour in spades, fanservice carefully controlled, solid production values: looks like we have a winner! (Too early to say, of course, but so far so good.)

    After seeing this episode, I was sorely tempted to rush out and gaze up at the night sky in all its splendour – then I remembered where I was. Right smack within the borders of a brightly lit city where the only star most people pay any attention to is the great golden orb that shows up during the daytime. Pity.

    P.S.: The author deserves two thumbs up just for creating the Astronomy Club President. Best minor character I’ve seen in a while.

    Diego
    Reply

  8. Thank you so much for blogging this! I was thinking that this was going to be one of those little gems of a show that somehow get missed, and I know having it on here will help folks keep an eye on it.

    NaweG
    Reply

  12. I’m with you Onmi. I just watched the series yesterday and liked it very much. Mii-chan’s antics over Saku and everything around them makes it a guilty pleasure to watch.

    Syaoran Li
    Reply

  23. This series is proving to be very very funny! I love the part when Hime was getting ready to confess her feelings to Saku, but gets interrupted by Mihoshi. Classic!

    Either way, I’m still watching this series. It’s proving to be funny and scientific at the same time

    Black_Otaku
    Reply

  24. BTW, does anyone find it funny that Mihoshi acts similar to Saku’s mom?

    Also, this replaces SUZUMIYA HARUHI for this summer. Can’t believe I made that statement.

    Black_Otaku
    Reply

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