Starting off the episode with some Sakamoto love gives me the warm and fuzzies. Making a whole episode about them pretty much makes me swoon.
What They Say:
The kid is up to something ridiculous again. Your trick is out in the open! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Starting tomorrow, you can go to school.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
There’s something to be said about a cat that’s smart enough to see a trap and realizes that it’s worth it to get caught in it because the bait is worthwhile. It’s cute as he does so only to realize that the professor has made it more difficult than it seems, and painful in fact, which also ends up leading to an awkward moment where he’s blamed for all of it. You can feel for Sakamoto easily, but sometimes it’s even easier to feel for Nano as she has to deal with the professor more directly with things. Still, this trio together makes up a large part of what makes this show so much fun and even a quick opening sequence makes me grin more than I would have expected.
Thankfully, we do get a good bit of material with this group as there’s also a segment that has Nano going off to the market to get the new meal that they need for lunch and Nano decides to tag along. She’s such a child though that Nano really has to play the role of a mother here to keep her from being suckered into so many distractions and treats along the way. It’s times like this that we really do remember just how much of a child she is, to great effect, especially when she demands that Nano buy things. And like any good, worn down parent, she does exactly that.
The stories involving the school kids has Yukko going through some troubles, but Mio as well. The opening piece is cute as it has Yukko struggling through illness to come to school so she can show a magic trick she mastered, but she’s so completely ill that it’s blown from the start. And poor Mio can see it which has her panicking over it considering how much effort Yukko put into it. The two have an amusing relationship as it plays out and seeing how Mio really does try to do right by her friend, a friend that does on occasion actually beat on her a bit, is really cute and fun to watch.
The best materially really does some from the professor though and they really do dominate this episode. An extended sequence as the trio getting ready for bed at night in the midst of a big rainstorm outside, which creates a pretty fun atmosphere for it. But it’s problematic because the professor gets scared in the middle of the night and even has a cute Sakamoto dragging sequence. It’s very, very cute with them all sleeping together and with Sakamoto on top of Nano, and then the whole thing turning to the professor needing to go to the bathroom. It again shows her age and how she deals with things, but the interplay between her and Sakamoto is just so priceless in its simplicity that it makes you laugh out loud.
In Summary:
My Ordinary Life continues to be a series with segments that don’t do much for me, but an episode like this is just above and beyond fun as it focuses on the three characters I adore above all others. They have such a great dynamic about them that I can’t help but to be suckered into their world and the wackiness of it all, but also the quiet beauty of it too. You can feel like Sakamoto for much of it where you tolerate it, but you also feel like everything is right in the world because of it. The other characters make some minor appearances in here, and they have some cute moments to be sure, but largely this is all about my favorite trio and it makes the episode sing with how much fun it is and how much it made me smile.
Grade: A-
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
