Welcome to Winter Watch, a look at the latest anime season. The third series of the Please Teacher franchise hits its midpoint as the characters confess how they truly feel. Some of the confessions are not what you expect.
Episode 7: Senpai's Feelings
Summary: The members who slipped away from the filming return, and the movie is underway again, though the atmosphere is awkward. Tetsuro is sent running as Chiharu chases after him, while Kanna consults with Remon. Finally, Kaito receives a message left at the hotel by Kaori...
Air Date: Feb. 22, 2012 / Available on CrunchyRoll for Free Users: Feb. 29, 2012
Run Time: 23:43
Warning: This article may contain spoilers. We recommend watching the episode HERE first.
I can't believe we are halfway through the series! After last episode's dramatic buildup we finally get a resolution to most of this "love polygon". The movie's filming continues with Remon on the director's chair. Tetsuro and Mio run out on Chiharu, who just fell on top of poor, cute Rinon. Kaito just rejected Kaori, and Ichika was there to witness it all. According to Ichika's inner monologue, this is the moment she realized she had feelings for Kaito-kun. The filming ends for the day and the character's endeavors continue. Tetsuro continues to run away from Chiharu, Kanna continues to fawn over Kaito and Remon films quietly in the background. Am I the only one who thinks that the final product might not be a movie about this fictional alien girl but rather about a simple, and dramatic, summer vacation?
I didn't expect to ever say this, but the most interesting section of the episode was the love triangle between Tetsuro, Mio and Chiharu. In last episode's article, I mentioned that "just as Chiharu is about to make a move on Tetsuro, Mio stops them in panic". I kind of left out how that happened.:Chiharu pinned Tetsuro down on his bed, but Mio pushes her aside. When she does that her skirt reveals more about her than you would imagine. In this episode, Mio confronts Chiharu telling her that Tetsuro doesn't like how she treats him. In her defense, Chiharu calls Mio an exhibitionist for not wearing any underwear. This is when Mio confesses something totally unexpected.
I questioned before why Mio spend her days at home naked. In tears, Mio admits that her family spends time naked at home, and she grew up with the idea that it was something normal everybody did. She is not an exhibitionist, but rather a nudist and sometimes she forgets to wear certain pieces of clothing. It's stupid, I know, and Tetsuro agrees with me.
At the same time, Kaori confronts Ichika about Kaito. She calls Senpai into the city to explain why she was crying in the woods. It was not because of Kaito's rejection, instead it was because she had just broken up with her boyfriend. When her ex broke up with Kaori he used the same words Kaito has said to her reminding her of the reason she had run to Okinawa in the first place. How could this girl be best friends with a girl who acted like a child these past two episodes. I really disliked Chiharu!
Kanna seeks for some advice from Remon, but Remon uses this as an opportunity to have some fun with her. Chihara flees from Tetsuro after Mio talks about her (naked) upbringing. Kaori leaves Ichika just as Kaito arrives because of a note that Kaori had left for him. The note asked him to meet her but instead he found Ichika. Mio was completely embarrassed by her confession, but Tetsuro comforts the crying girl by telling her that she only needs to be honest and her friends would help her. Mio decides to put all of her cards on the table and admits to Tetsuro that she is in love with him. After a romantic sunset that Kaito and Ichika spend together, they head back to their hotel. Just as Kaito and Ichika were about to kiss Kanna interrupts them. Under the influence of Dynamite Drink, Remon made Kanna wear a maid outfit so her actions were, in a sense, drunk.
Verdict
Sometimes too much drama can be really bad! Yet, this anime has been mostly good about balancing out the funny, the drama and the sci-fi. I liked this episode because there was character development on most part of the cast. The scene between Kaori and Ichika was one of my favorites visually. The animation, colors and tomes were perfect, plus Ichika and Kaori are not hard to look at. I'm beginning to think that Kanna might be left relationship-less by the end of the series. Especially, because of how Tetsuro treated Mio. I've learned that anything can happen in the Onegai franchise, so I'm not writting Kanna off just yet. Of course, my main interest in this whole episode was Rinon. Did anybody else notice the sudden activity in Ichika's ship during the previous episode? Notice that Rinon is freaking out about it here. What could this mean?
-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @Geo_sorathekey
It really is a nicely paced romance show but now the question is how will all of this end.
@metalsnakezero: I mentioned in the article that I thought Kanna would be relationship-less by the end of the series but Kaito might too since Ichika is bound to leave sometime.
I love this series, it's nice to see so many characters actually acting on their feelings instead of doing nothing at all. I thought the nudist thing with Mio was pretty interesting and suddenly all that walking around her room naked makes sense. I originally thought that was just a bit of cheeky random fan service but apparently not, doesn't seem to be that sort of show really.
Also, Dynamite Drink is a welcome addition to any episode in my book.
I'm starting to think that this might have been better as a live action. Something about the animation, voice acting, eyes and constant blushing and "huh?"s are getting at me.
I think early on I thought this was going to be more serious than it turned out to be. I've commented before how the story is very straight forward, and almost cliche at times. But I feel like I'm going to have to shift my expectations before I watch the remaining episodes. =\