The acceptance period is drawing to a close and the chips are falling all over the board.
What They Say:
Manaka is waitlisted for his top-choice, Izumizaka High School. Tojo and Nishino are both accepted to Izumizaka, but Nishino says she won’t go to the same high school as Manaka and Tojo…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With all the studying that was done, it all comes down to waiting on the notices to see who all got accepted to their schools of choice. Manaka’s worked hard along with Nishino and Tojo to get into Izumizaka but there’s always that air of uncertainty. What becomes amusing is that Manaka manages to get in at the last minute by the use of the wait list while Tojo gets in very easily. Others aren’t having as much luck in doing so, with Manaka’s friend on the wait list but not getting through just yet, so there’s a lot of nervousness on the part of some people as the closing ceremonies on their middle school plays out.
In an interesting twist, Nishino took the entrance exams for Omi High School, where Tojo was originally planning to go, and she ended up getting in there. Since the entrance exams, Manaka has been thinking of Tojo and what she revealed to him and Nishino is fully aware of that, which is why her choice of school is a curious one. She does reveal to Manaka that she’s done so because she knows she can’t compete against Tojo right now based on the way she and Manaka want to make movies together so she intends to go where she can compete against her. The study sessions paid off handsomely for Nishino and she intends to better herself and keep at winning Manaka over, even though she’s obviously aware that Manaka has an interest in Tojo. It’s surprisingly mature and done without a ton of drama.
Strawberry 100% does add a new girl to the mix with this episode as we see Yui arrive after the ceremonies are over and Manaka is thinking his life is moving forward. Yui’s a childhood friend from where Manaka lived prior to moving here five years ago but there are still strong bonds between the family. She’s come here to go to high school instead of out in the countryside because she’s young and wants to experience life and she’d have to do the whole dorm and away thing even out there, so why not here. She picks up easily where she left off with Manaka, much to his frustration, but it’s interesting that you don’t really feel a vibe of romantic interest here, but more of a sisterly thing without the creepy factor. I mean, it is creepy that she’s doing the whole back wash thing and climbing into bed with him, but it’s not in the “my sister has the hots for me” creepy that we often see. She adds another bit of hormones to the show though depending on where she lands an adds a few more bonds to be built.
In Summary:
Strawberry 100% is making its way along here in a way that’s somewhat surprising. We have the romantic triangle and they’ve shaken it up a bit by moving one of the characters off to another school, though she still intends to pursue him. You have Manaka in the position of now realizing who the strawberry panties really belonged to and starting to understand that he might really be attracted to her in a much stronger way. And you have Tojo who is dealing with her own issues and wanting to get closer to Manaka as well to make some memories. Throw in a childhood friend into the mix that’s moving into town and it’s blossoming in a way that’s familiar yet not exactly. The show has a nice sense of pacing to it, though bringing in Yui at this point feels a touch rushed, and it’s keeping me interested in seeing where it wants to go next and if it will surprise me some more.
Greade: B
Originally Streamed By: Hulu
