The mood for this episode was a tad bit more serious and less peaceful due to the chaotic dashes in the middle of the show. Nevertheless it was a wonderful episode again, this time keeping me stuck in my seat due to the faster pacing. Well where do I start? Right, here we are looking at [...]
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I was going to give this episode a 9.5/10 but decided that it was about as perfect as an episode can get so what the hell, right? Seriously though, this episode was magnificent. I haven't cried watching an episode in the middle of a series in...ever. There's only more sadness to come I bet, and I wonder if the anime can manage to get even better than it is now. Who needs pansy Kanon costco burgers, when you've got AnH Kobe beef shipped straight into your mouth from a farm in Japan. Yeah, this anime is all sorts of awesome, just like Kobe beef. Btw, the tissue is for CRYING not for FAPING, thx.
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Rating: 9.9/10 Impressions: I can’t believe this series is STILL getting better. You’d have thought it’s reached its peak, which it won’t touch again until the finale, but it looks like the ride will be thrilling until the very end. Now wait, how many episodes is this again? The episode count seems to have been removed from [...]
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The day was Hiro birthday. Karada and Shouko decided to give him a surprise by baking him a cake. Shouko recalls her own experience in America when she was dating Hiro. She had tried to prepare a meal for her boyfriend but since she wasn’t good in cooking, she end up with an overcooked chicken and had to result to throwing it away. When Hiro reached home, she had brought him to an expensive restaurant to have a meal instead and remained cheerful for Hiro.In this episode, the two girls were helping each other in baking the cake, although as expected, Karada was the one who did most of the job while Shouko tried her best to help but end up creating a mess. While on their way back to Karada’s house from Shouko’s apartment, Shouko and Karada noticed that there were a few villages talking about the pile of wishing rocks. Someone had played a prank and changed the wishing rocks with some ordinary rock. This had caused an outrage among the villagers. Karada and Shouko in the library looking for cook books..The two of them had gone to the town library to look for a cake baking tutorial. They got one and headed to the supermarket to do some shopping for the ingredients and equipments required to bake a cake. The two of them then went to Shouko’s apartment together carrying the stuffs while Shouko complained that cakes are heavy...Shouko unpacking some books.In Shouko’s apartment, she had unpacked a few boxes of things which hadn’t arrived before she shrunk. She took out a few clothes and given it to Karada to try. They were also beautiful accessories such as ear rings and a picnic hat. Shouko also took out a few books in English and put it on the table... Karada asked whether Shouko had a boyfriend, and she told her everything about him: lazy, liar, irresponsible, etc. The only vital information which she omitted was not telling her that it was her Hiro-nii.Shouko about to add the butter into the water.They started to bake the cake. Shouko tried to help by melting the butter and sifting the flour, but she melted the butter inside the water and spilled the flour on the table. Karada said that it was okay, and that she should go cut the strawberries. Once again, Shouko did not do a good job, but Karada nevertheless said that it could still be used. Shouko became exhausted after all the work and slept on the floor.After finishing, they put the cake into a box and cycled home to Hiro’s place.Hiro trying the cake they made for him..At home, Karada cut the cake and Hiro took a piece. It was delicious. Shouko smiled. Later on, Hiro went out to buy some cigarettes with Shouko following him. A photo?While they were out, Karada tried on the earrings which Shouko had brought back for her. Suddenly, she noticed a photograph sliding in between a book in Shouko’s bag. She took it and had a look. It was a photo of Shouko and Hiro together while in America. The very next day, Karada woke up early and left for the railway station. It seems that she was about to leave Kanou-chou to another place. It’s The End for this episode. The preview of the next episode shows that Karada is living on her own trying to start a new life. My final thoughts/predictions: Karada. It’s her turn to get emotional. I didn’t notice that she never knew Shouko was Hiro’s ex-girlfriend. Now that Karada had left them behind in pursue of her new life in order to not burden Hiro anymore. However, she doesn’t know that she might make Hiro and Shouko worried about her. It seems that the story isn’t going to be as simple as I have thought it would be and rather complicated. It’s quite impossible to tell what would happen next. It might be a whole new life for Karada if Hiro were to fail to find her, and Karada might end up meeting a boyfriend or something along that line and have children and live a happy life; or the mystery of the wishing rock were to be revealed and that Karada and Shouko were to return to their normal state, and if that were to happen, Karada might come back to them. On the other hand, accidents might happen to Karada and I sure hope that this would not happen. This leaves my mind really heavy of thoughts that my head started to hurt with all the thinking. It’s really going to be ‘The Direction of The Day After Tomorrow’. I suppose this would be the climax of the story that I was talking about in my last summary of Asatte no Houkou.Last but I don’t think it would be least, I think I’m starting to like the ending theme. I don’t really understand why, but I guess it’s because I am starting to get the meaning of the song. The translator for ureshii had done a good job in translating the lyrics for the ED that I can actually understand bits of the lyrics. The whole song was like Karada, wearing a shoe she wasn’t used to, then going around, and then coming back home exhausted but happy. This could reflect the outcome of the anime. The shoes reflect the harshness of the world that Karada would be going through leaving everyone behind. What was it called again, Metaphor, yeah...
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I'm going to start giving Asatte no Houkou 9's and above because I feel that I haven't been giving it the credit it deserves. In fact, I may go change their ratings when I have time. This show is such a treat to watch that I look forward to it every week with MUCH anticipation. It's one of the only shows I've forced myself to watch regularly, even with my rough school schedule these past three weeks, and I'm not regretting it. I'd recommend it to people but they probably wouldn't be reading this if they weren't already watching it, and then they'd already know it pwns. Believe it! (wait...wrong anime. Crap)
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Rating: 9.5/10 Impressions: Ack another horribly late entry, but I’m trying my best to catch up with all the series I’m blogging. In the meantime: Asatte no Houkou! And what an amazing show it is, for it’s become one of my favourites now. Oh, who am I kidding, it has always been one of my favourites. I [...]
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“I never saw her as my sister…. At the funeral, she bore the pain and tears alone, then it came to me“ I’ve never liked Hiro. He appeared too laid back and unkempt (haircut dude! haircut!), plus the supposedly callous treatment of Shouko turned me off. But the flashblack in Asatte no Houkou 08 changed [...]
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This is why I say, that simplicity is still the best. Whether be it happy or sad endings, I’m sure the outcome won’t be extreme anyways in this anime series. If Karada and Shouko were never to return to their usual state, people surrounding them would have got used to them by the end of the series. Indeed, summer is short, and in this series’ case, 12-13 episodes. We’re already halfway to the end now and it should be around the climax already; however, stories like these do not seem to have a climax. What I meant was this sort of “a-slice-of-life” story is indeed a slice of life that it’s a story randomly taken out from someone’s life, and it tends to be boring. I have really like Asatte no Houkou all along until now despite being my first “a-slice-of-life” anime because of its soothing OP, slow pace and moderate story, art and character. Take Shouko as an example, I really disliked her during the start, but I guess I had started to like her slowly. Life is mysterious, I suppose. Talking about mysterious, the “girls with secret are more attractive” phrase which originated from Kanon came to work in this episode, in where Karada decided to keep a secret on where she had been to the whole morning. Now, isn’t she attractive? XDTetsu at the door at the Iokawa's.This episode started as usual with Hiro going out to work. Shortly, Shouko went out to go to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping. Karada did her usual house keeping after she left. Suddenly, someone’s at the door. Karada thought that it was Shouko, but instead, it was Amino Tetsu, Karada’s classmate who had a crush on her. “Who are you” was the first question he asked. He asked whether Karada’s around. Karada, in her adult form, couldn’t tell the truth as it might shock him. So she said that Karada had gone to a relative’s house.Karada following Tetsu from behind, hiding every now and then.Tetsu didn’t believe what Karada had said. He left the Iokawa’s and headed for the children’s playground. Karada slowly followed him from behind."Do you want something from me?"In the playground, Tetsu caught Karada. He then asked her whether she wanted something from him. Karada then said that she had told Tetsu that Karada had gone to a relative’s house, so why did he still look for her. Tetsu then said that somehow he had a feeling that Karada is still somewhere around in the city. It’s just a feeling he had. Tetsu started walking as Karada followed him from behind. Shouko met with Kotomi who was looking for a mailbox.Meanwhile, Shouko had just finished doing her shopping. She saw Kotomi at the entrance of the supermarket. She was looking for a letterbox. Shouko led her to one. Kotomi then told her that she’s writing a letter to her father. Shouko wondered why didn’t she use the phone, but Kotomi said that letters are better. Karada started to laugh silently while Tetsu noticed her laughing.Tetsu had brought Karada to their school and they had had a look in their classroom in where Tetsu had introduced where the usual Karada had sat and that she was too short that sometimes she couldn’t see the blackboard. Then Tetsu went outside to the cooking room as Karada followed him. He told her that this was the place that Karada had given his “Crispy Amino” nickname. Karada couldn’t help but laugh silently. Tetsu blushed and started walking away."I tried to look for Iokawa during the summer festival..."They came to a bridge in where Tetsu told Karada that there is an annual summer festival in the town, and Tetsu had been looking for Karada in the earlier festival. Karada was exhausted climbing the stairs.Karada drinking some water in the shrine.Later on, Tetsu had gone up a hill by walking the steps as Karada followed him. Karada appeared to be exhausted. But nevertheless, she continued to climb the steps despite being almost breathless. Once she reached the top, she collapsed to her feet, kneeling on the floor. She started to drink the spring water as soon as she got to the shrine. This is where Tetsu recalled that the Karada he knew would do the same. They started talking about Karada, and Tetsu said that she was far more mature than him, despite being small sized. But he just couldn’t ignore her. This is when Tetsu asked the adult Karada to follow him.Tetsu offering a hand to Karada.They were going into the woods, climbing higher up the hill. Karada was exhausted and again she fell to her knees panting. Tetsu offered a hand to her, saying, “Come on, Iokawa.” She responded by thanking him and started to let out her hand... but this is when she realized that this had happened before. Again, she realized that she had been tested. Tetsu’s face changed and he let go of his hand. Karada continued to follow him. The source of the water and it's surrounding.They reached a rather small cavern with two planks indicating no entry is allowed. Tetsu kicked the sign and pulled away the planks and started to enter it. Karada followed. There was light at the end of the cavern. As Karada put her first step outside, she noticed that it was a paradise out there. There’s a river with water sprouting out. Tetsu then explained that that is the source of the water she had drunk earlier in the shrine. He had tried to bring the little Karada here but she fell down went home. Karada said once the Karada he knew returns, he should bring her here, and Tetsu replied saying, “You bet!”Back at the house, Hiro and Shouko were waiting for Karada to return home. At night, Karada asked Shouko, what would she do if she want to make up with someone but couldn’t say their true feelings easily. Shouko, remembering Kotomi earlier, suggested writing a letter. Karada, thinking of it, came up to an idea.Tetsu smiling while looking at Karada's postcard.The next day, at Kotomi’s place, Tetsu was reading a manga as Kotomi slide a post card to him. He had a look at it and became as happy as a kid receiving the Christmas gift he had always wanted. It was a postcard by Karada.My final thoughts/etc: The part where Tetsu tested Karada reminds me of Detective Conan, in where Ran had tested Conan whether he was Shinichi. Ran was about to force Conan to admit that he is Shinichi when Prof. Agasa called using the voice changing bowtie. In Asatte no Houkou’s case, Karada had sent Tetsu a letter to convince that she was in her relative’s house. So much for size changing, eh? I wonder when Shouko’s turn would be. I wonder whether somebody from Shouko’s side would suddenly appear and Shouko would have to cover it up like Shinichi did. lol. XD
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I'm sorry for the late entry but I forgot that I already promised to help a friend to move house today. I'm a bit tired as a result, so I'm afraid the rollover comments on the pictures won't be added in until tomorrow. Anyway, with only 3 or 4 episodes left, I wonder how the writers are going to wrap up this series. So far the story seems to be mostly focused on Karada especially after she runs away from Kanouchou. One thing that I wish will be addressed before the show comes to an end is what happened to Shouko prior to her arrival in Kanoucho. But at this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to see this since it'll probably take at least one or two more episodes to end the Karada running away arc. That leaves us with either 1 or 2 episodes to solve the body swapping problem. I think this is one of the rare cases where I don't want to see a 'life goes on' ending with Karada and Shouko still in their transformed bodies.
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No Shoko-episode this time, surprisingly. Most of the episode actually follows Tetsu, when he hears that Karada has disappeared, and starts to search for her. His part in the episode was fairly light. He runs into Kotomi, the two of them start to pass out folders with Karada’s picture on it till the sun goes [...]
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Well... I don't know where to start talking about this episode. I mean, every second in every minute of this episode was meaningful. There's a quote in this episode which made me thought deep. "While it's good for parents to look out for their children's future, what's important is right now and deciding what you want to do at this moment." The character who said that was Shionzaki Kotomi, a teenage girl who is only two years older than Tetsu, and according to Wikipedia, she hadn't appeared in the original mangas by J-ta Yamada, and therefore she's an original character of the anime. The quote made me reflect on myself, in where I'm currently on the waiting list for next year's science stream. It would depend on my UEC Science and Math result whether I'll be able to enter science stream. I know that I hadn't done well in UEC to be able to enter science stream, and so, my father had said that I might as well re-enrol into another government school where I might be able to directly enrol into science stream with my PMR forecast result. However, I do not mind going into Commerce/Art Stream even if I fail to get into Science Stream. That's what I'm planning now. Now, back to the summary of this episode.Karada preparing breakfast.Continuing from the last episode in where Shouko had agreed to stay with Hiro and Karada. Morning came and Karada had awakened. She was preparing breakfast when Shouko and Hiro woke up. She cheerfully greeted them a good morning. Hiro had helped Shouko who is still not used to her short self with her mattress into the cabinet. Karada had got herself a chair to stand on to turn on the air-ventilator when she realized that she didn’t need one due to her habit. After breakfast, Hiro went out to work. After Hiro had left, Karada started to do chores while Shouko sat around bored. Karada suddenly said that she’s glad that Shouko had decided to stay with them, and Shouko replied saying until she gets used to her size. And before she can finish what she was saying, the washing machine finished it’s watching. Shouko went over to the kitchen to collect the shirt but Karada quickly went before her and said that she’ll do it. Shouko looked on bored while Karada hangs out the clothes to dry. Shouko then noticed a photo with an adult on top of the shelf. She then started to ask questions about Karada’s parents. On the way to the library, Karada told Shouko about her parents who had always talked about Hiro-nii that when she had met him for the first time, she felt that she had knew him. Shouko couldn’t help but feel pity that Karada didn’t knew that she wasn’t related by blood with her Hiro-nii."You are not being honest to yourself!"So, while Shouko was browsing the history section of the city in the library to find something related to the wishing stone, Karada was browsing the children’s section. After that, Karada went home alone while Shouko continue to look for more clues and had visited the wishing stone shrine once again. She then walked to a park in where a few kids were playing Daruma-san ga Koronda. She recalled her own past in where she was left out in games by kids her own age then. This is when a teenage girl with brown hair appeared and startled a daydreaming Shouko. The unnamed teenage girl who appeared to be cheerful started asking questions like, “why are you not playing with the others?” Shouko’s excuse was that she had just moved in recently. The teenager then told Shouko that she was had also moved back recently, that her parents are constantly moving around, she’d come back to this place where it was her birthplace. She then shouted out to the other kids that Shouko wanted to join them. Shouko’s respond was being surprised, and after being pushed continuously by the teenage girl, she became mad. The girl was surprised by her attitude. Shouko apologized to her, and then walked away angrily. The girl then told Shouko that she wasn’t being honest to herself. Shouko ignored her and said to herself that she was too old for such games.Hiro had went to the café where Touko was working in and told her that he’d found Karada in a relative’s house. Touko wouldn’t believe what Hiro had said because she knew well Karada’s nature and had asked when she would be back. Hiro kept silent for a moment, and then he said, “at least not this summer,” On the other hand, Tetsu was being lectured by his mother for going out to the festival a day before without her permission that she is raising him because his father is busy working… (What a mother?!)Shouko bringing his dishes to the basin.Back at home, it was Hiro’s turn to prepare dinner for them. After dinner, Shouko had wanted to clean up her dishes, but Karada insisted that she do it. Hiro told Shouko that it’s the house’s rule that the person who had not prepare the meal to clean up after meal. Shouko felt uncomfortable for being a freeloader the whole night later. The next morning, it’s Hiro’s turn to prepare breakfast. Shouko was preparing the plates and glasses and serving them on the table. Karada who had just woke up saw Shouko doing it, immediately wanted to stop her, but instead, Hiro stopped her from stopping Shouko.Shouko talking to Hiro.After breakfast, Hiro went to work. Shouko had followed him as she wanted to speak with him. Shouko then told Hiro that she had found nothing in the library about the wishing stone. Hiro said that he knew it too since he had also went to the library a day earlier after work. He then continued on saying that he is glad that Shouko had agreed to live with them that he was unable to continue living on with Karada. Shouko told him that Karada had told her the same thing he said to her. After saying “is that all?” she ran off as Hiro told her that she hasn’t changed by not being honest to herself and being mad. Shouko said that she also heard the same thing from another person a day before and ran back home, in where she had thought to herself on how she wasn’t honest to herself."You've grown too big!"On the other hand, Kotomi, the teenager which Shouko got to know earlier appeared in Tetsu’s house, and that Tetsu’s mother almost wasn’t able to recognize her since she had grown a lot since the last 4 years. Meanwhile Tetsu’s mother had complained that Tetsu wasn’t doing his summer homeworks, Kotomi said that she had also never did her homeworks diligently. After that, Kotomi had followed Tetsu into his room where Tetsu had took a book and started to do his homework. At once, Kotomi was able to sense that Tetsu wasn’t in the mood. She then playfully suggested that they sneak out through the window and play, while Tetsu sadly announced that he had already been caught once, and even more, it’s recently, that his mother would kill him if he were to repeat it again. Kotomi then said "While it's good for parents to look out for their children's future, what's important is right now and deciding what you want to do at this moment.”. "Yup, got your shadow!"Meanwhile, Shouko was walking around looking at children playing with each other. Suddenly, a little girl invited her to play together with them. Shouko tried to turn her down, but before she could, a boy had said that she wouldn’t want to play with them. Shouko was heartbroken and she started to leave, but the little girl just now had stepped on Shouko’s shadow and said that she is now an oni. Shouko then started to feel like wanting to have revenge that she had lied that there is something in front of her. The little girl interestedly went over to Shouko and Shouko took the opportunity to step on her show and announce that she had become the oni instead. In the end, Shouko had lots of fun.Karada was already worried about Shouko that she hasn’t returned home after this late. Shouko then reached home shortly after Hiro.
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Rating: 9.2/10 Impressions: The mood has suitably changed to a light and cheerful one after the initial shock that arises from the age swap phenomenon. The watercolour backgrounds, bright settings and constant use of streaming sunrays turns this slice-of-life/drama into a fantastic feel-good episode. It was vastly enjoyable, though this new mood is bound to deteriorate back [...]
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Shouko is cute. I just thought I’d say it right off the bat while I’m still thinking about it. Damn, she really is cute, even when she’s pissed. OKAY, anyway, I was supposed to blog this ytd but I didn’t cuz I forgot to download the torrent… sorry XD. This episode, we deal with Karada alone, [...]
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That was truly excellent. This really has been one of the more awesome episodes of Asatte no Houkou, and that has to say something, with such a high-quality series. It mostly follows Karada, who has run away from home, because she discovered a picture of Hiro and Shoko together. Therefore she figured that she’s a [...]
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Rating: 8.5/10 Wow, I’ve been just ITCHING to use that damn title and finally an episode presents me with such an opportunity. Yeah, Toko is hot as hell and she’s wearing an American-colored top. She’s not really in america, but she owns my pants hardcore style. Not only does she own by sporting [...]
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I'm sure you guys know a little bit about how I feel about DRM. It's fucking bullshit is how I feel about it and I could go on insulting it for days. What does this have to do with the title of the post that indicates that we will be seeing some schmexy Asatte no [...]
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This was unbelievably good. I always knew that there is something special about this series but the writers took one step further and made an episode that is near, if not as good as one of those Honey and Clover episodes. The segment featuring Karada's childhood is absolutely beautiful. The combination of Suara singing Kasa and the top notch storyline took me by surprise. I find it hard to believe that there are only 4 more episodes. But I suppose it's better to end it while it's still good than to go on and on without any kind of direction. Anyway, I'll be back later to expand the summary and add in the rollover comments. In the meantime, enjoy the insert song. It comes from Suara's new single, Hikari no Kisetsu, which is also this series' OP theme. If you can find the time, however, I'd recommend watching this entire episode. Suara - Kasa (320kbps MP3, 9.81MB)
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This episode started with a recall of Karada’s memory of going to the summer festival together with Hiro-nii. In the memory, Hiro-nii brought Karada up the hill to have a better look at the fireworks which was going to play. At the top of the hill, Karada was still too short to see the fireworks and Hiro-nii carried her on his shoulders. In the end, it was a great memory for Karada.Later on, the episode continues from the part where the last episode had ended. "I've become a child, and Karada has become an adult."That girl, is Karada?"Hiro refused to believe that the tall, orange haired young lady was his sister, Karada. He had uttered the words, “That girl… is Karada, right?” Karada’s heart was badly hurt as she hears her brother saying those words and locked herself in a room. Hiro’s respond was that ‘that girl’ didn’t like him and started to leave the apartment. Shouko followed him from behind and into the lift. She then told Hiro what he had done wrong. Hiro kept quiet all the while and replied, “What is it you want me to believe?” after the lift reached the ground floor. “I can’t even believe that you’re Shouko.” Shouko then ran over to Hiro and gave him a kick on the leg. She then ran back into the lift and before the lift doors came together, she shouted the words, “Baka! You’re a big fool!” right at Hiro’s face. Hiro started to walk out of the apartment building, but then stopped at the entrance.Shouko trying to comfort Karada.Shouko tried to comfort Karada by saying that it was her fault for bringing Hiro into her apartment so suddenly. Karada then cut in and said that it was her fault instead because she had made the wish to grow up. Shouko replied softly while putting one of her small hands on Karada’s shoulder, saying, “It is okay; he’ll believe you sooner or later. Right now, he’s confused. There are a lot of things that only you know… and a lot of things that only you can do…”Hiro is a chain smoker...Hiro having his breakfast prepared by Karada...Meanwhile on the door is Hiro. He came back. He then stayed in Shouko’s apartment while smoking the whole night till the next morning. When he awakes, Karada was preparing his breakfast, rice with a few simple dishes, including a really salty egg roll which Karada knew was Hiro’s favourite. Hiro pretended that he was still sleeping when Karada served the food on the table in the living room. He then stood up, walked towards the table, sat down, said “itadakimasu” and started to eat.Tetsu blushed!A photo of Karada hidden under a book.On the other hand, Tetsu was in his house studying, as he moaned. Shortly, Touko then reached home. She went into Tetsu’s room to have a look at her brother whom she knew wasn’t studying. Touko tried to tease Tetsu as she saw a photo of Karada which he had hid underneath a book. Tetsu blushed. Touko then told Tetsu that she is going to get a yukata for herself for the summer festival that night which she’ll be going with some of the regular café customers. Tetsu thought about the festival as it would have a lot of people going, he might see Karada. Touko laughed. She then whispered something into Tetsu’s ears. Then while Touko’s mother advised her against going out with customers, Tetsu escaped through the window.Hiro speaking to the phone in the pharmacy he's working in.Shouko phoned Hiro who was working in the pharmacy. She had borrowed her yukata which had never worn to Karada, who was uncomfortable with the fact that she would be meeting Hiro-nii forcibly like this. She said that if she were to continue moving around, the yukata would never have had the chance to be worn by anyone. She continued by saying that it’s the same between Karada and Hiro, as, if no one tells her to, she’ll never meet him.Tetsu looking around for Karada..It was almost time for the festival as Shouko brought Karada to the festival venue. Meanwhile, Tetsu wasn’t able to find them. Karada felt that she shouldn’t be doing this, but Shouko insisted that she meet Hiro. Hiro was waiting while smoking a cigarette when the two of them saw him.Shouko buying takoyaki...Shouko went a different way...In the festival, Shouko started to ask questions like “You two come to this festival every year, right?” and “What happened last year?” to convince Hiro and to make Karada say something to proof that she is his sister. Karada replied saying that they saw fireworks together and had takoyaki. Shouko then asked Karada to buy some for her while she says something to Hiro. When Karada returned bringing back some takoyaki, Shouko took it from her and started walking a different way from Hiro. Karada quickly made up her mind to follow Hiro-nii."You have to look at where you are going.."As Karada tried to catch up to Hiro-nii, she accidently knocked against some people. Hiro-nii looked at her while recalling his memory of him telling Karada that it is dangerous if she doesn’t watch where she’s walking.Karada cried while the fireworks are being played.At the top of the hill, Hiro asked Karada, “Do you know this place?” Karada replied, “Yes.” Hiro then continued, “I watched the fireworks with my little sister here,” “My little sister is short and couldn’t see, so I held her on my shoulders,” “My sister bumps into things a lot… and is a crybaby.” Karada’s response was “Yes” all the way. It was then the fireworks started to play. Everyone looked at the firework, amazed at its brightness, although it’s only temporary. Hiro continued to question Karada on why she had wished at the pile of green stones by the road and why did she wished to be an adult as the fireworks play. Karada slowly said, “…because I was a burden. Because I was a burden to you!” She then started to cry. “Even though I’m this big, I’m still causing you nothing but problems.” She repeated “I’m sorry” a few times. Beautiful fireworks continue to fill the dark night sky. Hiro walked over to Karada and said for the first time, “Karada-san.”Shouko walking away from Hiro and Karada.The festival slowly ended. Everyone started to leave. Karada together with Hiro caught up with Shouko. Shouko was glad that Hiro had believed Karada and started to leave them alone. Karada immediately stopped her by grabbing her arm. Hiro invited Shouko to have takoyaki together with them, but she refused. Karada insisted that she join them, and Shouko had no choice. “Let’s go home together.”
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The first four episodes of Asatte no Houkou have been really emotional. Right now, we’ve got ourselves three episodes, which are about the opposite, as they’ve been really peaceful, and because of that really great to watch. The next episode, the emotional scenes will probably return again, as Karada discovered that Shoko and Hiro were [...]
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This is another pleasant episode for the series. As usual, however, I can't exactly pinpoint what is it about the series that I like. Maybe it's because the laidback setting reminds me of the town where I used to live for 3 months while I was in Japan. Or maybe it's just the general simplicity of the series and the nice background music that comes with it. Judging from the way the story unfolds, however, it seems this may change very soon. The ending of this episode suggests that the writers are planning to progress the plot now that the series is halfway to its completion. I'm looking forward to what they have in mind and can't wait to see the background drawings that the animators will come up with for the new setting. It'll also be interesting to see the characters dealing with new environments. Hopefully it'll be as good as it is now. Anyway, I'll be back to flesh out the summary and add the rollover comments after I finish a few chores.
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