“Drowsy and Peppy”
What They Say:
This country girl is ready for the big city! Well, at least she thought she was. Mitsumi’s dream is to attend a prestigious school and make the world a better place. But when she finally gets to Tokyo, it turns out she isn’t exactly prepared for city life. Luckily, she runs into Shima, a sweet and handsome classmate who becomes her first friend! Can she make it in Tokyo with Shima by her side?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series so far and Mika continues to be an interesting standout character for me as we see how she grapples with the pressures of the modern age on young women and her frustration in seeing someone who is generally outside of it blissfully unaware in many ways. It’s not exactly a fair thing, as Mitsumi has her own pressures and fears as well, but it’s an area so rarely explored that seeing it done like this and so thoughtfully is quite welcome. And when you mix it within a group that also includes Yuzuki and Makoto who have their own struggles and pressures as well, it allows us to see the way they both keep things hidden but also lean on each other for help.
This episode has Mitsumi heading back home for a bit to see family and deal with things there and it has a very neat “quiet” cold open as she goes back alone with all the thoughts in her head. We haven’t had much time with her family or hometown since the series launched with her going to Tokyo but this is a really nice mellow exercise for the show. Engaging with her and her family shows another side of her in a good way and the kind of comfort level she has. Plus the “simplicity” of rural existence and its quiet, which is a hugely noticeable element. And it’s good to see that Mitsumi gets to hang out with her friends quickly as well. While family is important, you know she wants to get out there with them and we get some very enjoyable montage moments with them hitting the beach and just being all together again. It’s so simple but highly effective in showing a different kind of relaxed Mitsumi, one that’s a lot more calm than we usually see her.
The back half brings her back to Tokyo and she ends up seeing Shima first, which she says out loud is a good sign and that makes things easy between them. What this leads into is getting to the school and having the play be the thing and seeing how Shima is being drafted into it even though he’s not keen on performing, which confuses Mitsumi still. But that’s just the prelude to her seeing the rest of her friends and enjoying catching up with them and their busy lives in Tokyo while she was away. There are a lot of little things going on here as we see the school festival deadlines approaching and everyone getting in the right mindset for everything. There’s a lot of fun in Mitsumi’s excitement over it, which she shares so easily with Shima, which she understands how he may be jaded by it whereas it’s so big and new to her in a way he may not get. It’s endearing to be sure and helps to show him more of who she is, which she is quite eager to share.
In Summary:
I do wish we had more time with Mitsumi and her family and friends back home but I’m far happier that it was a good experience and not something with forced drama or trauma that had to be dealt with. And she handled it well! I also liked seeing how her Tokyo friend group is when she gets back and the way she basically code switches between locations and adapts to who she wants to be. Both are her but she’s aware of where she is and what she wants to be in that area. It’s a lot of fun and getting a bit more into Shim and what he’s coping with, even briefly, helps to set up what’s to come in the next few episodes I suspect.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
