A post-Christmas bit of confusion.
What They Say:
Anna is filled with questions about Natsuki’s mysterious actions on Christmas, but he doesn’t remember a thing.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Rainbow Days had a pretty conflicting episode for me the last time around, though the positives won out more than they should have overall. I disliked how Anna acted during the early part of it since it just made things more difficult than they needed to be overall in terms of what she did to Natsuki. That things turned around at the end was no surprise nor that Natsuki ended up being a bit more bold than he usually is since he’s definitely into her in a big way. That helped a good bit as did the time with the other characters in seeing how they’re handling the holidays and enjoying time with each other or their significant others. Holiday episodes tend to go in familiar ways and overall this one was no exception, right down to Natsuki getting sick and passing out at the end.
Naturally, the gimmick used here is that because of how he was feeling and passing out, Natsuki doesn’t remember how he acted nor what he did, which brings its own layer of complications since Anna herself isn’t quite sure what it all meant. She wants to know, but she’s concerned about his health after that in the usual respectful way and then dealing with figuring out how to ask him about it only to discover that he doesn’t remember. And, as expected, Mari is pretty much upset about how Natsuki treated her in general and is only all too eager to create a little division between her and Natsuki in whatever what she can. I mean, I really like Mari as a character and her interactions with everyone, but the way she is with Anna just grinds at me and is like a big black mark as to how a best friend should be. Her feelings toward Anna have been a bit mixed to be sure, depending on where you’re coming from, and the longer it plays out the more awkward it is.
Natsuki, for his part, has been out of it for five or six days of bedrest and fever and is only now starting to come out of it and feel better. His lack of remembering what went down just makes him feel even more out of place, especially when he realizes he never even gave Anna her present. His reactions are cute, especially since he’s mid-call with his friends, as he begins to feel really bad for what he’s done in disappointing her for Christmas. There are some nice moments for this overall and some additional cute bits tossed in with what Matsunaga has to deal with when it comes to his sister and his best friend, which ties in nicely with the new year’s shrine pilgrimage that adds a little more emotion to the moment. The cast works for me here because we see them in different configurations and going through their lives without thinking constantly of the others. They feel more fully formed as they go through what they’re going through because of it.
In Summary:
Rainbow Days doesn’t get to dig too deep into the ramifications of what happened on Christmas Eve because of what Natsuki went through. I liked his confusion and how he’s reacting to letting her down, not realizing what state of confusion he’s thrown her into because of the actions he forgot. The show plays to most of the characters well, even if they get brief nods like Tsuyoshi and his significant other, but that continues to be one of the big pluses of the show. This is a solidly put together cast that may be going through familiar motions, but they’re executing it in a really fun and engaging way with the right kind of polish and humor to get it to stand out all the more.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Funimation
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.
