“Oh yes, today is christmas”.
I find this a very typical line here. Christmas stands synonymous for a warm-hearted feeling, so I pretty much expected this show to fully use it. And then this episode came, and it actually showed that it doesn’t need it. This episode was charming beyond belief, even without the Christmas feeling.
I think that out of all of the characters in this series, the best developed one is actually Maon, and not Potte. Every character is of course very well rounded here, but Maon has this extra edge, where she actually managed to crawl out of her shell very believably. The whistling really shows this: in the second half, she only used it when feeling down. What once was the start of her development now has turned in this reminder to herself of how she should try out many different things.
As a writer, I could really relate to this episode, and what it means to keep living up to everyone’s expectations. A writer’s block is inevitable sometimes, and while at first it seems like just simply putting your mind to it, in practice things don’t go as easily. Personally I’ve found that looking at your work from a different angle works best, with the challenge being finding that angle. This episode portrayed it wonderfully. It was also a very un-typical story, and yet it was exactly something that you’d expect a high school girl to write.
And holy crap, this thing will end next week! Overall, I’ll be content if it ends there though. That makes this series short and sweet, unlike Aria, which requires a lot more effort to fully watch. If you add these 12 episodes to the four episodes of the OVA, you pretty much get the perfect length: 16 episodes. This is something that a lot of other producers should realize. Sure, it’ll probably be a bit harder with continuous stories and all, but what I’m saying: producers, be creative. You’re working in the anime industry, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find inspiration.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I found this episode a little weak as compared to the other ones out there but it was a good one.The character development of Maon was excellent and so was that of the other girls.
Finally the last episode next week…another great work of slice of life by Junichi Sato!
Interesting thoughts on how Maon’s character changed! I found her constant whistling in the first episodes quite annoying so I’m happy that she lost a little bit of her shyness.
My favourite of the four girls, however, is still Norie, Maon’s complete opposite, but this may be mainly for her looks and dresses. In this respect she reminds me a bit of Mizusu from Air. Although I also love how she picks fights with that grade school girl!
I find it a bit hard to believe that improvised storytelling by a high school girl fills a theatre, even in a rural place. I also never heard of anything like that public “exhibition” the girls plan. However, I quite like the idea.