“Candy Apple Hammer”
What They Say:
The childhood friends Akkun and Nontan are boyfriend and girlfriend. But Akkun is always saying ridiculously harsh things to Nontan as well as being cold with her and is frequently moody. But that’s just how Akkun expresses his love for Nontan. This is a high school love comedy about Akkun and Nontan, who doesn’t seem to care at all about how Akkun acts toward her.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After some fun at the festival the last time around, this one shows us how Chiho is struggling at times there with the crowds. Matsuo ends up seeing her and helping her out a bit which includes giving her a really delicious looking candy apple. Those two are fun to watch but it’s also enjoying seeing more of Akkun with Nontant as he draws her out from the festival to a nice quiet overlook to share the fireworks with her. It’s a moment of softness, in his own way, toward her and it just reinforces her interest in him all the more as she enjoys the experience and the knowledge that he thought about this ahead of time.
In Summary:
Sometimes the simple stuff can help smooth things over in a way and we’ve had a couple of episodes over the run that doesn’t paint Akkun in such a terrible way. He’s still kind of blunt in a bad way here and we see how Nontan views it, which doesn’t always help. Between that and some fun time with Matsuo and Chiho, the back half of the fireworks storyline draws to a close as expected and it just seems to help soften the show just enough but still leaves you wary of what kind of message it’s trying to send.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll