What They Say:
A comedy manga, “Shonen Ashibe,” that follows the friendship between baby spotted seal Goma-chan and first-grade student Ashiya Ashibe. First serialized in 1988 and adapted to anime in 1991, the adorable Goma-chan created a massive following and a spotted seal boom. This spring, Goma-chan returns to “Tentere Anime.” A cute, pleasant story of Ashibe and Goma-chan and their unusual school and their neighbors. Sometimes endearing, sometimes bizarre, it’s a fun anime for the whole family!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the breakout stars of this series for me has been Peppeppe-san and that meant having a great episode previously focusing on her going very over the top. Much to my chagrin the series has been doing less and less with Sugao, which was the character that got me interested in it all in the first place since Goma-chan himself wasn’t that much of a draw. Thankfully, over time, the show has built up a solid supporting cast and each new expansion on their personalities is a whole lot of fun to see. I do lament what happened to Sugao in all of this but the less of his supporting cast the better at this point.
With this episode we’re back at the Chinese restaurant where much food is consumed. The problem is that Liangliang isn’t her usual self as she’s smitten and daydreaming by all appearances and acting out because of it, which means lots of little accidents. It’s definitely cute in the little montage we get with her and Hitoshi as they’re adorable and not what you’d expect coming from her, nor the way he wins her over by pulling things out and giving them to her – all while looking like a flasher. Since she wants to introduce him to her father, the group opts to take him to a stylist to get him updated, which means some good if simple fun there – especially since Ashibe gets to do the fashion gig as well. Riko’s comment about how they always look the same is spot on. A lot of it comes down to the way that Riko doesn’t get what Hitoshi is and why Lianliang likes him because of it, which is fairly standard story points.
Sugao Watch: Too much as it tries to run in parallel and focuses on the monk, which is one of the worst characters in the group. .
In Summary:
I always enjoy a good fashion montage and this one works nicely with Riko and Lianliang trying to get Hitoshi up to speed while Ashibe and Goma-chan join in. It’s not truly outlandish but it’s cute and simple fun that seeds the montage bit for younger audiences that will see it for years to come in all sorts of shows and movies. Hitoshi may not say a word here but you get why Liangliang likes him as much as she does and how she sees that special thing that makes him who he is. It’s a little beyond Riko but she gets the important part in how it makes Liangliang happy, which makes it a fun and cute episode overall.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
