Oh, my poor, poor, Sugao…
What They Say:
“A Letter from Ashibe-kun”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With some simple but mostly forgettable material the last time around, we got some of what you’d expect from a kids show like this. Sometimes good things do happen just by being in the right place at the right time and watching as Ashibe gets caught up in this other family situation was cute. It was light on Goma-chan, which is a problem with the series as it seems like the seemingly main draw tends to be forgotten within it, but there are cute moments all around. But out of the run of episodes so far it was definitely one that wouldn’t stick with most viewers in the long run.
With this episode, I’ll admit that I was delighted simply because it takes us back to Sugao. His standalone episodes amid everything else just make me grin stupidly because they have such a design about them with how badly things go for him that I can’t help but to love him more. Here, we ge Ashibe sending a letter off to Sugao and he’s anxiously awaiting a reply letter from his friend that he’s worried has forgotten about him. Sugao’s definitely not forgotten Ashibe but he’s also deep in all kinds of training these days as we saw the last time around and that’s occupying a lot of his time – in between the tears, at least. Since Sugao’s also in the grip of a yeti, well, things are just naturally complicated for this family, though credit where credit is due as Sugao’s dad does try to get him some help in a creative fashion.
There’s a lot to like in seeing how Sugao handles all of this as he’s mostly just thinking of Ashibe, but we get others doing their best to help and get involved, such as his almost girlfriend that the yeti does his best to keep separated from him. The time with Sugao is definitely the plus here, though we get some bookend material with Ashibe and his parents with the mailbox that Goma-chan keeps getting himself stuck in, which has its own mini drama that runs across a couple of different things. In the end, it’s just the Sugao material that clicks the best and seeing the letter he puts together and how much effort he puts into things makes you love him all the more.
In Summary:
Shonen Ashibe has a pretty solid episode all around but it felt like it missed a few things it could have done with Sugao in regards to the letter and sending something back. Of course, you have to dash his hopes a bit but I just wanted a bit more. I liked what we got with Ashibe and his family since it was kept smaller but the yeti side with Sugao just isn’t clicking for me like the rest of his episodes have, resulting in it just not being quite as good overall. It’s still silly and fun, which is what I want out of it, and more time with precious Sugao is always good.
Sugao Watch: A very good dose of Sugao, but not a dedicated episode worth..
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
