What They Say:
Aoi is looking forward to her upcoming trip to Mt. Tanigawa… but she promised her mother she’d conquer her mountain of summer homework first, a prospect that looks bleak when she hasn’t even touched it yet!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The growth of Aoi as a character has been decently done over the course of the series, especially if you include the short form series. With her friendships tested, her climbing ability tested and now having seen her get a job so she can get money to really pursue her enjoyment of climbing, she’s definitely moved into that proper teen category. With some decent things from her friends complementing the growth, as friends are hugely important, it’s worked out well and made her really fun to watch even if in some ways she’s a little bland and a touch of a cipher that makes her accessible to viewers to view the series through her eyes.
As their preparations continue for Mt. Tanigawa as things are reserved and dates are made, Aoi is definitely getting excited about it all. Unfortunately, she’s forgotten about her summer homework in a huge way and has a lot to get done, which her mother reminds her about since Aoi hasn’t done any of it since she’s been a little preoccupied elsewhere. Even worse is that she can’t do it after the Tanigawa trip as her mother wants to see her progress before she goes. It’s a typical storyline to be sure, but it’s also fun to see the normal life aspect of these girls and Aoi struggling with work and homework at the same time.
Her struggles are pretty normal, but it’s also fun to see how her friends ty to help a bit but end up with their own issues. Kaede’s attempt to help has her feeling like she doesn’t know any of this herself, which is comical since she’s supposed to be the really proper older student. Overall though, it’s just pleasant to watch Aoi really do her best here and work hard at it as she essentially crams it in through her last days before the Tanigawa trip while also dealing with work. Sometimes with friends, sometimes by herself, she works hard and it fits her personality well. Naturally, it all concludes well, but like a lot of stories in this series it’s all about the journey rather than the destination – especially when it doesn’t involve climbing itself.
In Summary:
The summer months are almost over and the last mad dash to get things done before the Mt. Tanigawa climb are underway. For Aoi, it’s fun watching as she realizes she hasn’t done anything at this point with her summer homework and all of it is a struggle since she’s been doing so many other things instead of keeping up with her studies. There’s some cute bits with her and her mother at first but it also works well as she’s on her own or off with Kaede doing her best. The work material is thankfully kept thin as I wouldn’t want a lot of it, but it’s good to see that it does make an impact here. Light, fun and simply smile inducing.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
