Can the run of interesting a deep episodes continue? I see swimsuits in the forecast…that’s not necessarily a good sign.
What They Say:
Episode 15: “His Uncertainty”
The summer break is finally here. North High’s Literature Club sets out to vacation at the Tsuruya family’s summer house on the beach. Can Yuki spend time alone with Kyon? Will Kyon be able to get over his awkward feelings towards Yuki?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
So, after all of the heartfelt drama of the past few episodes, we’re at the summer break at school, so does this means it is time for a deep and engaging summer romance story? …apparently not. Instead, we look headed for a garden-variety beach episode. But is this just a feint to throw us off our game? Or will this be a bland beach episode?
For the opening half…that is exactly what it is: a bland and uninteresting beach episode. Sure, it’s nice and all to see the girls in swimsuits…but there are Megami magazine spreads from last decade that accomplish exactly the same thing. After the usual montage of beach events, the upshot is that Ryoko manages to get Kyon and Yuki to be alone for a moment, for them to get over their discomfort with each other. The plan doesn’t fully work as Kyon’s little sister butts in and both creates and ruins a moment for our not-very-successful couple.
The second half gives us the old standbys from summer activities in the Haruhi-verse, as there is bug hunting and a test of courage on the mountain top. The test of courage, of course, provides yet another opportunity for Kyon and Yuki to be paired up and left alone. But all that managed to accomplish was to create another few moments of mutual awkwardness. Only at the very end does it appear that something that could be called progress is achieved.
In terms of this series, however, this is not what I would call progress. It’s not that this episode was categorically bad. It’s a perfectly serviceable beach/summer in the mountains episode that would fit well in any generic high school rom com. But…that’s exactly where the episode is a letdown in comparison to what it had managed for a brief while before: this is just another cookie-cutter anime summer vacation episode, whose only “unique” features, if we can even call them that, were callbacks and references to “Remote Island Syndrome” and the summer activities of “Endless Eight” from the main Haruhi universe. Sure, the in-jokes are amusing to Haruhi fans but…what else is there to draw a viewer’s interest?
The answer, sadly, is “not much.”
In Summary:
With summer break comes free time. While Haruhi is trying to work out the Literature Club’s plans for the summer, Tsuruya-san comes and offers to let everyone stay at her family’s beach house. So, it’s swimsuits all around. Then, a trip into the mountains to yet another Tsuruya-family house where they can go bug hunting and have a test of courage. It’s not a test of courage to sit through this episode, but it might be a test of patience unless you really love your anime beach episodes and minimal romantic forward movement for Kyon and Yuki.
Episode Grade: B-
Streamed by: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard