I must say that this episode was pretty amusing. Okay, we now know that the third girl likes Shinichiro as well, but that was of course to be expected. Noe’s antics proved to be quite interesting for this series to work with. We also learn that Noe has a brother (whom Shinichiro mistakes for her boyfriend), and she also forces the guy to give her a piggy-back ride by faking an injury. I especially liked how everyone reacted when the two entered the gymnastics-room in that way.
It seems that in terms of romance, Shinichiro and Hiromi both like each other, though Hiromi doesn’t want to admit it. At the end of this episode, we see Shinichiro overhear Hiromi say this, which leads to the cliff-hanger. I can see where Noe fits into the picture, but I’m not sure what Aiko can add to the scene. It would be interesting for her to go after Miyokichi in the later episodes, though. I really must praise the guy. Most “best friends” in similar series make me want to punch their eyes out, though Miyokichi has been really enjoyable up till now.
We also see a small flashback. It turns out that Hiromi has been living with Shinichiro’s family for quite a few years now, and it seems that she once got lost during a festival, and got helped by the younger Shinichiro. We indeed seem to be dealing with yet another childhood crush, though this one is so much better than the standard protagonist who meets a bunch of random girls in his past, and these girls end up still loving the guy even ten years afterwards.
Very well written characters. I think credit should be given to the writers & seiyuus. Its incredible how well the lines are delivered particularly Hiromi-seiyuu. Complicated character. Great ambient noise background. I’m seriously loving just the technical aspects of this anime. And the dialogue/reactions seem more cinematic then some of the other harem anime. Though story line fits more as slice of life/self-discovery with some romance than full harem.
Aiko will obviously be there to ruin the relationship between Miyokichi & Shinichiro. Since Miyokichi obviously is obsessed with Aiko, that when he sees her flirting with Shinichiro, he will get mad & ruin the whole “best friend” thing.
It’s ironic that things like faking the injury that make the character more ‘unlikeable’, in a sense, is the thing that makes it so promising. I’m sorta turning into a fanboy here which is worrying…
Well, the piggyback thing is a bit of an anime cliche, but otherwise so far so good!
“It turns out that Hiromi has been living with Shinichiro’s family for quite a few years now”
Hiromi only moved in a year before after her parent(s) passed on in high school. It’s important detail because it was mentioned this ep that she sealed her previous relationship with Shin away after moving in.
Just curious, do you catch this series raw? 🙂
lol I’m praying for a shinXnoe ending!
Stripey: yes, I do, so I indeed didn’t understand the episode perfectly. ^^;
no, at the end Hiromi admitted to liking number 4, aka Noe’s brother. that’s why she wanted to be friends with Noe, which answers the question from Shinichirou and Aiko’s conversation from this episode of who Hiromi was trying to get close to by befriending Noe.
and Aiko is Miyokichi’s girlfriend
http://www.truetears.jp/character/
asdf: actually it’s quite the opposite. It’s a plot device to give credibility to Hiromi’s lie.