Porfy no Nagai Tabi – 10

Honestly, the level of nostalgia for this series is starting to get overwhelming. This series is even giving Seirei no Moribito a run for its money in terms of realism! Why the heck have I been the only single blogger who said anything about this series? Okay, I can understand the ones who are dependant on the subs, but even the raw-watchers didn’t even post a first impression. In any case, this series seriously needs to get lisenced. It’s just what the western anime-industry for kids (especially in the Dutch case) needs to get back to the level it was fifteen years ago, before all the shounen-crap like Bedaman came.

The episode starts with Porfy waking up, and heading to his the car repair station. In there, Christopher is already busy with one of the jobs that he got from the Americans. Christopher reminds him how he should wake up early now, and it turns out that in the last episode, Porfy decided to leave taking care of the goats to Mina, so that he could concentrate on helping and learning from his father, which was explained in the bit I didn’t understand. In any case, this has given Porfy obviously a lot of appetite, so he’s getting all excited as he tries to stuff his mouth with as much bread as possible.

Christopher notes that thanks to the Americans, he suddenly received a lot of different jobs. Obviously, Porfy can’t resist boasting about how he was the one who made sure of that deal, but he quickly takes back what he said after he sees the faces of everyone else. Later that afternoon, we see him study hard, and fixing things under one of the cars that Christopher needs to fix. He’s so worked up in it that he bumps his head when another car arrives.

This car belongs to the father of John and Tom, who has a few more jobs for Christopher. Of course, when John and Tom found this out, they kept asking him to take them to Porfy and Mina, so the rest of the episode basically is the two of them having fun with Porfy, Mina and Zaimis. Porfy does have a few doubts in the beginning, as he is leaving his father with a huge amount of work, but his father just lets him have fun.

Porfy first shows the two siblings around his house, and they’re really surprised by the authenticity of it. There, Mina sits and is busy sketching a picture of Apollo. The latter also comes and greets Tom, who clearly is afraid of it, and it was probably the first owl he saw in his life. Next up, Aneke treats them to a few snacks for lunch and Porfy goes to play catch with Tom and John, while Mina watches and sketches some more. John, can’t resist to confuse Porfy with a curve-ball. Zaimis then passes by along with his father, and he too gets permission to join with Tom and John, while his father takes off to go and do his chores for the day.

A few attempts are given to invite Corrina to play as well, but she, stuck up as ever, declines with the excuse that she’s got piano-lessons. Meanwhile, Christopher gets yet another job. This time it’s from Corrina’s father, who’d like to have it delivered back within a day so that he can take Corrina out. This means that he’ll have to work till late at night, especially now that Porfy’s gone for the day.

Porfy and Mina then decide to show John and Tom their favourite place: a tree with a fantastic view, though John declines to climb the tree, in the fear of being scolded by his mother. That, or he was scared at the time to climb it. So, next up is a fishing lake, where Zaimis teaches Tom to bounce stones over the water, and Porfy and John both try to catch a fish, but pull it in too much so the line snaps. John also explains that Tom is a bit afraid at times, but he’s very good at studying. Porfy asks John which kind of country he’s liked the best (hoping of course that John would answer Greece). John answers that the United States, Italia and Greece all have been fun, but he can’t really come up with a concrete answer. When Porfy pushes him even more, he just answers that the place you grew up in will always be the best. Oh, and by the way, Mina is still sketching.

Porfy then strips and takes a dive, and the others soon follow him. And yes, they all do this in front of Mina. That was one cultural difference I didn’t see coming. You also know when an anime doesn’t try to rely on fanservice when all the guys get nude, yet the girls remain fully clothed. 😛 Mina just makes a random jealous side-mark and then leaves it.

Later, a fisherman named Tony passes by, and shows his latest catch. It shouldn’t really be a surprise that Porfy’s goofing off causes the fish to end back up in the water. He tries to jump after it, but by then it’s already enjoying its freedom, and Porfy tries to apologize with a strange voice. Later, Porfy has dried up, and John is passing out cookies. Porfy ends up stealing Mina’s share when she’s not looking, so they end up chasing each other. Seeing this, Zaimis notes how great it must be to have a sibling. John says that Porfy told him about the sister or brother that Zaimis was to be expecting. And proposes that once it’s born, it can go and play with Mary (the baby from last episode)

Before they all head back home, Tom still wants to go to one more place: the tree with the view, and he’s finally gotten the courage to climb it. The view indeed is amazing, especially with a sunset that’s about to happen. Porfy points out to his and Zaimis’ house, and tries to guess where John and Tom live in the distance. After that Mina has finally finished her drawings, and hands them out to the four guys. She’s a pretty good drawer, especially considering that she’s so young. I’m not sure whether this was a conscious decision or just lazy animators, though. Let’s just attribute it to the fact that Mina can draw well, though I wonder why her room doesn’t have many drawings hanging. When I was a kid, I would have covered the entire walls with them if I could draw as well as she could. 😛

In any case, when he sees the sketches, John and Tom’s father proposes to take a photo of the four of them. During this, John gets a suggestive blush on his face, and Porfy is way too concentrated, trying to force a smile and look perfectly (which, of course, backfires horribly). That evening, Porfy just can’t stop telling his father about the things they did, so Aneke really has to force him to eat his dinner, to prevent him from getting distracted.

When Porfy and Mina are asleep, Christopher returns to his job, as he still needs to get Corrina’s father’s car fixed. Only deep in the night, he manages to get it working. The next day, Porfy obviously is the first one to arrive in the shop, and he jokingly notes how Christopher has turned up late, as a reference to what happened back at the beginning of the episode.

Well, I think that now that we’ve passed episode 10, the countdown for the earthquake has begun. This episode still didn’t give any indication as to when it will happen, but then again, earthquakes usually come with an element of surprise. My bet’s currently on episode 13, which allows for just enough time for one more small arc before the story will shift its focus entirely, and turns from a realistic slice-of-life series to a travelling-series. Unfortunately, it’ll also mean that Christopher and Aneke are going to have to die to make that happen. 🙁