The relationships take some interesting and then supernatural turns.
What They Say:
Hazuki takes Rokka on their first real date to an amusement park, but without the ghost of Shimao looking over his shoulder, will he overplay his hand? And can Rokka forget about Shimao for one day, or is it impossible since they had gone a date at the same amusement park years before.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With events surrounding the trio having progressed slightly in some ways, you can definitely understand the problems that are still there within it all. With Hazuki having made it clear that he’s going to pursue Rokka to both her and Shimao, the reactions have certainly been interesting to watch. With some strong dialogue and emotion in the previous episode, Rokka is now trying to get on with her life and in her own way come “back” to life as well. For Shimao, as we see here, he’s feeling despondent about it because he sees things disappearing from him in a way, which affects his place and presence here. He’s tied for various reasons and it’s hard to say what it is that is really holding him here in a way.
With Hazuki having invited her to an amusement park, setting up the meeting for it and their plans for lunch while there is simple and straightforward. But there’s also the truth of the matter in that we see through a flashback how Rokka and Shimao were when she first invited him out to an amusement park and the way it was uncomfortable but exciting for him. While Rokka has been to this place before, it’s all new to Hazuki and it’s kind of amusing in that it feels very old style while mixed with some of the things of the present. As the date goes forward, it’s a little better than a high school date in a way though Hazuki does get the whole sweaty palms and real thrill from just holding her hand as they walk throughout the park. The two aren’t exactly awkward, but there’s something amusing about how almost stilted and strange they are, especially with her interest in the ghost stories place and her entire form of headwear.
What I like with the show is the way it lets these characters express themselves. While the two are riding high at one point and Rokka is quiet, she takes the moment to reveal that she’s really enjoying being wooed, something that she in a way feels that she shouldn’t. Hazuki’s kind of rough on this point, but telling her to not feel like an old lady about it because she’s not is spot on because she’s acting that way. He gives it a bit of youthful and sexual flair that works really well though and unbalances her, something that’s a bit dangerous when it comes to Rokka since she can jump all over the place with how she’s dealing with her feelings of guilt. The story as it progresses here is done quite well and it has some rather neat moments along the way, especially as there are certain issues to be had between them that are rolling around in their heads. To make matters worse, Shimao makes an amusing discovery with what he can do when it comes to Hazuki’s body that, while somewhat expected, makes me leery about what it’ll do.
In Summary:
With the series moving along very well in how it hits key character development and growth moments, dipping a bit further into the supernatural towards the end here is expected and could shift the dynamic more in the next few episodes. What I liked with this episode prior to that is that both Hazuki and Rokka get to express different things about themselves and for Hazuki to try and shake her out of the way she’s feeling like an old maid in a way. She’s far too young for that and he has far too much interest in her. His aggressive nature still feels off in some ways for a “real world” type series, but it’s welcome to see him trying to awaken her in this way and to get her to come alive anew.
Grade: B+
Streamed 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.