Bakuon!! – 04
Hayakawa might as well be a cardboard cutout for all the attention they pay him
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I said in the FI that I thought the main bit in Bakuon!! was going to be the road trip of the week, and this week we get our first focus episode for just that topic. So how is it getting to Hokkaido? |
Rebels without the Badness
Jeez, Rin, We know Hane’s drawing is bad, but that’s a little much
Summer break! Time to do something fun with your friends! And when you’re a motorcycle club (or, thinking like Hijiri, a wannabe “gang”), what do you do for fun? Take a road trip! But because the idea started with Onsa, Rin’s gotta put up her token resistance to going with the group. That doesn’t last long, tho, as they all decide that a trip to Hokkaido is a good idea when she suggests it, and starts recounting the tales of her trip there with her dad when she was little. Of course, this is another story that ends up with him in traction, this time with a parasitic tapeworm to boot.
“Come on! You can make it! It’s just a little jump!”
So it’s off to Hokkaido, via Oarai because there’s a ferry that leaves from there for Hakodate (I find it interesting that when Rin mentions it, they identify it as leaving from “Ibaraki”, the prefecture, rather than from the city of Oarai. Just seems a bit non-specific). But as expected, things don’t go as planned when they all get the time of the ferry wrong by 10 hours, and just miss the Evening trip. Except for Raimu-senpai who makes the daring jump. But now everyone’s separated, as Hijiri and Hayakawa have to get a new bike after dumping theirs in the ocean. But rather than wait for the ferry (which it seems would be a few hours, since there is a 1:45 AM departure), Hane has the brilliant idea to take another ferry… from Aomori to Hakodate. But that’s 700 km away. But hey, it’s fun! Road Trip!!!!
And who doesn’t want to meet Motorcycle Jesus out of gas by the side of the road?
Beware of Flying Witches and Talking Bears
Spreading the Suzuki Gospel
I thought the show was going to go into a problem with Hane falling asleep on her bike, but thankfully it didn’t do that. Instead, she meets Motorcycle Jesus, pushing his Suzuki Intruder (not a Harley) because he’s out of gas, a theme that would hit almost everyone, since Hane recognizes the “flowy-blinky pattern” as being almost out of gas, and Onsa herself forgets that she already switched to the Reserve tank, being left behind by Rin… at least temporarily. The “Motorcycle Sisterhood Code” says that she must be left behind, but really it’s more of a guideline, and we know that Rin and Onsa really do like each other. So of course they arrive together. But a surprise awaits because Hane got a miraculous boost from Motorcycle Jesus (voiced, funnily enough, by Rikiya Koyama, the leader of the Fallen Angels) to get to Aomori without actually riding there. I love how Hane is able to just be the most rapt listener, because she doesn’t understand what anyone is talking about. She’s just the right level of ditz.
No clue what sign Hane is trying to make here. None at all.
And you thought Rin’s pink Suzuki leathers were obnoxious…
And since now they can get to Hakodate, they meet up with Hijiri (and Hayakawa), who get their own parade of stereotypical Ducati fancy-boy riders complain about the sidecar. Another chance to pick on Ducati’s less-than-stellar track record for maintenance (I mean, they ARE Italian). Which leads to some delusion on the part of Hayakawa, who claims that when his Ducati breaks down, his life will end. Conveniently, there are plenty of things to blame when a bike breaks, and if you just ignore the helicopter delivering another one, you’ll never have to face the reality of Ducati frailty.
Totally a turn signal issue
I don’t know if we’ll have more of the Hokkaido road trip next week, since they left off with them still there. So maybe we’ll get more northern island incidents to talk about in the next episode. But the show seems to leave no sacred cow unpoked in its brand discussions, and has a fun time getting from A to B, which is really the point of the journey.
Oh, and there was an onsen (probably NSFW)…
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
The onsen scene was… racier in the manga. The girls seemed to care very little about keeping their legs closed. And Hijiri had a camera. Also more hijinks. But still, barbie-doll anatomy and censorhip saves the rating.
Still, this was a fun episode. These girls are just fun to watch.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 261 comments
About the Weirdo who rides the Suzuki Intruder, I would like to call him NMPF Stand for Notorious Motorcycle Prophet Freak! Seriously What a Weird Freak he is… 😛
And… “Beware of Flying witch and Talking Bears…”
They might also beware of “The Unfortunates” “The Pain Dwellers” “the Lost People” and “Those Weird Freaks who really wants to Eats all for no good reason…LITERALLY” Gosh really!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
..and like Kyon said of Hauruhi, he was like a sack of potatoes…
..and if you could have a chopper deliver you fresh Ducati, wouldn’t you?