Anne Happy – 11

You’re watching this show, RIGHT?

Time for the summer school session. Can we see any progress for the unlucky ladies?

Getting Better All the Time

cuuuuuuute

I start off asking about progress, and I think the cold open actually shows a lot of progress for some of the characters in the show. Hibari is not nearly as embarrassed to be found saying goodbye to Sign Guy, and instead of denying or blushing, she just smiles and moves on. I don’t know if Hanako and Botan are doing much better, falling in holes and collapsing, but Hibiki is also showing improvement. Even when Ren tells her to go ahead, Hibiki admits that she can’t get there without help. Her stubborn streak is tempered at least a little when it comes to her biggest problem. For her part, Ren doesn’t really seem to think she has much of a problem with luck, so maybe that split between “bad luck” and “choices” comes into play with all of these characters.

Hibiki wants something that Ren’s just not thinking of

I don’t think that anyone but Hibiki is surprised that Hibiki and Ren are put in a group of 5 with Hibari, Hanako, and Botan. But I like that Hibiki raises the question of how the groups were picked. One would think that Hibiki might think she’s getting a bit of a raw deal, having to be with the absolute unluckiest person in the class in Hanako, and with Botan who might be even more useless. How much of her grade has been harmed by being with the group that never gets things done? Or are they accounting for that, and it’s more that she can’t get time alone with Ren (although she does seem to get plenty of time to not make any progress with Ren)?

Extreme Happiness Training

It’s the “ahhhh” moment

After some typical class trip activities, like crafting (although carving a block of wood? That’s pretty extreme for crafting, and taken to whole new levels by Hibiki) and dinner with feeding your friend using the “ahhhh” method, it’s time for bed, and even though Hanako holds Hibari’s hand, Hibari just can’t sleep. That doesn’t mean that the meaning of the gesture is lost on Hibari, tho, who is really learning the happiness that can come from having friends that close. The incidences of her smiles have really increased in the last few episodes, and the number of disturbed faces has gone way down. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone, especially when the day barely dawns before they’re chased out of bed by Miss Kodaira’s personality shift. And since all the teams make it on time, they get to find out that they’ve gotta play tag against Miss Kodaira and the Timothy Army and Air Force.

Only Hanako could have a carving actually explode

It’s the thought that counts

And I think it proves how much the girls have improved that they manage to get away and not get caught at least until the end of the episode. But they do get split up, and have to figure out what they’re going to do on their own. Just to keep them from keeping their heads down and hiding out, tho, they’re given a bonus mission to find their carvings and meet up with the rest of their group. Can this group manage to do it? Or will that be what gets them caught?

The stuff of nightmares

This whole episode and storyline is feeling like the payoff of a great setup from the whole rest of the series. There hasn’t been a single moment where everything changed for this group, but it’s more gradually that they’ve become more capable, more able to deal with the things that come their way with the help of their friends, and you only really see the difference when you look back to how they all were at the beginning of the series. I think we’re going to have a really nice finale next week, and this show will hopefully be one that people can remember for a few years.

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!