What They Say:
It’s bad enough when Hinata’s carelessness gets Aoi publicly embarrassed. But when Hinata messes up Aoi’s precious knitting project, a simple apology isn’t enough. How can she make it up to her?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The climb up and down Mt. Mitsutouge was definitely fun all around, with the challenges of each side of the climb presenting something different while also having plenty of payoff for both. It also got a little awkward with the whole hot springs thing as it went the predictable route instead, though with a lot more humanity about it as Aoi was struggling with the fact that she really doesn’t like being in those situations. It was all a simple fanservice event, something the show doesn’t need, but they at least managed to put a real struggle into that rather than the usual gimmick of everyone being all for it and stripping down easily. Not everyone is wired for that.
This episode moves us forward from all of that and we do get some different simple goodness as the girls just hang out together after school and enjoy each other’s company and stories. Of course, Hinata’s one that finds new ways to accidentally embarrass Aoi, which includes a trip and skirt pulldown sequence that is utterly adorable with the reactions of it. Hinata does her best to try and fix things, but it’s cute to see just how mortified Aoi is over the whole thing when Hinata shows up at her house later. The theme that surfaces is how Hinata has always been this way, since she was a little girl. And it’s something that Hinata proves easily enough as she ends up looking around Aoi’s room when Aoi goes to get the drinks and she ends up destroying a knitting project she was working on. Hinata tries to cover, but the damage is fairly significant.
With Aoi ignoring Hinata for a few days over it, there’s a decent and natural rift that comes up over things, especially with what Hinata learns that the knitting project was all about. But as we see, once these things are in motion, it can be hard to stop to some degree and reconnecting can be hard. Even when Hinata comes by after several days to make piece, Aoi is still standoffish, even though she wants to make amends. The girls bonding experience is what the series is truly about, though most of it is done over the shared experience of mountain climbing and all that comes with it. Thankfully, we also get these kinds of moments, which are certainly sweet and welcome additions to the show in the end.
In Summary:
Skipping the climbing aspect or anything related to it this week, we get a nice and simple little character bonding story between Hinata and Aoi. Kokona does make quite a few appearances in it, but mostly to the side and partially to nudge events along in the right way. It’s definitely one of those episodes that you really enjoy because it’s simply nice. You see how these kids are going through things that most of us go through and the way it can mildly spiral out of control, and the difficulty in putting it all back together again. It’s a welcome in-between kind of episode from the climbing itself and all that’s involved with it.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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.
