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Summary:
When Kenji arrives at school one day, Tae asks to see him, and only him, after school. He shows up, but finds only Sakura Hiromi waiting for him. Hiromi tells him something, and Nanami notices that Kenji’s acting kind of strange afterwards. However, he doesn’t tell her what happened. The next day is the day of the school trip. Suzuka asks Nanami to sit with her on the bus, and Kenji ends up sitting with Hiromi. Nanami gets a bit jealous every time she sees them together, from the bus ride to when Kenji takes a volleyball to the face in order to defend Hiromi during some fun and games. However, Nanami quickly gets Kenji’s attention back by playing with him in the water.
After a spicy curry dinner courtesy of Hikari and Misora, the class gathers around the bonfire for the folk dance. Before Nanami can say anything, Suzuka invites her to dance, leaving Kenji with Hiromi. The two dance, and, when they have to switch partners, Hiromi bids Kenji goodbye. By the time Kenji finally gets paired with Nanami, the dance is over. That night, Kenji and Nanami both have trouble sleeping. Nanami wanders outside and finds Kenji by the waterfront. He finally tells her what happened: Hiromi confessed that she liked him, but also that she’s moving soon. Tae had requested that Kenji make some memories with her, so he did. Nanami seems relieved, and leans onto Kenji as they admire the view.
I was not expecting a Hiromi episode, so this is a pleasant surprise. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the one person who can potentially spice things up a little. However, she only offers a small bit of conflict to the plot (seen in Nanami’s jealousy), and that’s only temporary since we learn that she’s moving soon. She seems to know pretty well that Kenji’s feelings lie with Nanami, and bows out gracefully at the end. I guess this series really is all about Kenji and Nanami’s relationship.
Animation this episode is surprisingly consistent and good, though the character designs are noticeably different (in a good way though). And despite Hiromi’s goodbye, it seems that we’ll get more of her in next week’s episode when she actually moves.
Closing Thought: It seems that the typhoon everyone was talking about is coming in episode 11.