Are you serious girls? Durian ice cream is damn delicious. Durian is THE KING of fruit. Not kidding!
Now that our girls are heading out of their nest, and literally in the middle of their journey, it’s obvious that Universe need to create some kind of conflicts for the girls. But I say this, Universe knows how to pull a compelling little drama, mostly because those dramas still focus on developing the core members. While I’m not too fond with the end result where everything reverses back to status quo, the way Universe explores the relationship between my girl Hinata and Shirase through their contrasted stubborn view is so well-developed. The tale of this week is one of the most common situation first-time travellers find themselves in – lose their passport or their money. Actually, the show is pretty spot on in detailing many pitfalls new travellers always make: making noise in the airplane, buying too much souvenir stuffs, eating overpriced foods, storming into tourist spots… I have travelled a fair bit myself and I have been in Singapore a few times so I’m happy to see that Singapore’s many famous attractions are accurately portrayed and all the details (like the flights, the hotel) are depicted exactly like in real life. And yes, durian is a big thing here in SEA countries. Don’t judge.
The conflict arises when Hinata can’t find her passport (in one of the show’s great quirk about Yuzuki can see through her friends whenever they’re lying or hiding something – must be because she’s an expert of acting), which might lead to the delays on their next flight to Freemantle, which in turn could result in them not be able to get on the ship on time. Although there’s no denying that it’s a forced plot just for the purpose of creating some conflicts, what grab me into this little drama is the two girls act the way I WOULD ACT if I fall into either one of their shoes. Shirase tends to freak out when her plan doesn’t go the way she wants, and going to Antarctica has been her top priority. Hinata understands that and she doesn’t want to bring her friends, or her pride, down because of her own mistakes. Even me in real life I have the same kind of mentality like Hinata, where I feel uncomfortable knowing the others being considerate of me instead of what they really want because I can’t tell what they think anymore. It’s like a veil of friendship’s obligation that cover the honesty and then things just become more complicated than it should be. Of course it isn’t that strong a reason enough for me to quit school (Hinata has balls), but I can get behind her decision not want to be a burden to her friends.
But being said that, I totally feel for Shirase’s side as well. Obviously, setting foot into Anartica is important, and they’re so close to achieve that dream, goddamnit; but it’s not the only important things for Shirase. Going there together with friends worth so much more and what is a more meaningful way to spend a million yen over a friend’s bad deed (and yes, Shirase’s argument has more weight because she has a big stack of cash and a big stack of cash does solve everything). For me, the show comes up with the best option for her to use what she had been saving up for years in an anti-climactic yet wholly satisfied fashion. So imagine my disappointment when the money eventually got back to Shirase in the end. Never mind, while this episode is clearly just a stepping stone for a big journey coming, I’m still happy with what we have here. Seeing Singapore in anime is a huge delight and Universe never forgets to throw our girls into some kind of trouble, because simply overcoming those troubles will make them more mature, and what doesn’t kill them will make them stronger.
