The hassle of moving and a changed routine also had a strange side-effect - since Rho and I only see each other for a few hours each day (despite living together, oddly), we just had no time to watch Nichijou. But that changed; I grabbed her this morning and we watched ep23 and ep24 back-to-back. One less thing to catch up on!
This episode was incredibly big on the continuity, in a strangely
School Rumble manner. A rather large scene later on in the episode was comprised on many smaller scenes, occurring with quick switches between characters that were all located at the same venue. The episode began with Yukko being the first in class (interestingly, with a bandaged hand from the dog bite in the previous episode) and doing some strange things (like pretending to be a stag beetle). Getting caught by Takasaki-sensei took the wind out of her sails and she ran out furiously, begging for confidentiality, just as Nano (running out of air) came out of her hiding spot in the curtains. I surmise she had also been doing strange things; it must be a necessity for those that arrive early.
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| So many injuries... |
In the first scene after the OP, Mio once again fell prey to her elder sister's antics, with taste-tasting some freshly-made jam. However, it turned out to be so awful that it burned out Mio's senses. In an attempt to clear her palate, her sister offered her some steaming hot milk, which only really served to burn her tongue (and, after a moment of pondering, Mio realized that the coffee was just awful as well). After an accident involving having more of the jam (which was deceptively stored in an empty milk container in the fridge), Mio came to the understanding that the jam was made from fermented fish. (How disgusting... I mean, really.)
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| Absolutely. Who is this "president" whose office this is, anyway? |
Sakurai-sensei's "good-natured" attempt at cleaning her younger brother's bedroom was halted quickly and suddenly with the discovery of an "adult magazine". Now, to be fair, I guess I can understand her thought process, but
wow. She started flipping through it, even. When Makoto was confronted about it, he freaked out and started making up strange excuses, finally cumulating in the lie that it belonged to the club president. What is the basis of Sakurai-sensei announcing that he was too young for such things, anyway? I thought Japan was better with the repressed sexuality business; has it all been a lie?
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| Too eager, run slower! |
This episode's Helvetica Standard was quite hilarious, seeing as I'm remembering the sports festival from
The iDOLM@STER. It's really not fair to be passing a strip of cloth instead of a baton; the wind resistance turned out to be quite difficult. Speaking of shorts, though, this episode recalled the old shtick of featuring a specific location for a few seconds throughout the episode. This one was a riverbank, and the occurrence was that Yukko arrived to draw, with an easel and everything. There wasn't anything particularly funny about it, though (maybe I just didn't get it).
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| I wonder how long a dog bite takes to recover from. |
The beginning of the next scene featured the classroom, potentially during a break between classes. Yukko and Mio approached Nano to talk about what had happened in the previous episode, with Professor and the dogs. (The continuity was quite interesting. Throughout the episode, Mio and Yukko were both seen with bandages wrapping their wounds.) Anyway, this conversation focused momentarily on Mai, though it wasn't touched on until much later.
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| Takasaki-sensei just wants whatever he can get, doesn't he. |
A shift to the hallway showed Makoto questioning why Takasaki-sensei wouldn't be the advisor for the club, seeing as how he had won the challenge from a prior episode. Takasaki-sensei insisted that it was a draw, to which Makoto once again blackmailed him by threatening to announce the teacher's feelings for his sister. Takasaki-sensei went all the way to the clubroom with Makoto (where they found Daiku and Sekiguchi making a banner), but then once again chickened out and ran away.
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| I agree; he does look pretty weird without a mohawk. |
The scene shifted to another part of the school, where Weboshi and Fecchan were on their way to the classroom so that Weboshi could confess to Nakanojo. As they spoke extensively about how great mohawks were, Takasaki-sensei and Makoto ran passed them towards the rooftop, where the camera also went. Makoto managed to bribe the teacher with a photo of his sister from her middle school graduation, appealing to the "hungry wolf". The scene slowly went back to Weboshi and Fecchan (while Daiku and Sekiguchi were seen parading outside in the rain with a recruitment banner), who were in for a special surprise since Nakanojo had effectively become bald once again.
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| I get that the seat was stolen, but why they did have to leave a stalk of broccoli? |
I considered this scene to be the final amusing scene, which catalogued a very terrible day for Yukko. It started off minor, but then became really serious - sitting on wet paint? having your bicycle seat stolen? people falling asleep on you on the train? I didn't particularly understand the part with the kite, though... If the episode had ended here, I wouldn't have minded. Instead, I had to sit through a very confusing scene involving what may be my least favourite character - Mai.
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| ...I just don't get it. |
So what is her deal anyway? After hearing earlier in the class what fright her dogs had caused, she went to the Institute to make amends with Professor. She seemed to try really hard, not giving up until she succeeded in giving the little girl a present (a picture of a shark). She quietly left after that, going at "Mai pace" as always. I don't understand her at all. The scene wasn't funny; it was just a little heart-warming, at best. But I didn't expect that from Mai. What is going through her head?
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| The controller of a nation, 300yen. |
This episode was interesting and, nearing the end of the series, is showing its similarities to
School Rumble way too much for me to look passed it. It's not like all the scenes were funny; the interesting story-telling and continuity kept some slower scenes going (much like it's "predecessor"). I'm not adverse to seeing more of Mai, but I really couldn't stand her scene this time. I hope her next appearances are better.
~Aaro
