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| *stare* |
This episode focuses on a classic slice-of-life topic: friendship conflicts. I found this episode interesting as it wonderfully illustrated the result of a fight between friends and how that affects the others around them. It was good to see that this episode also showed how the friends of the persons involved in the conflict saw the whole issue. In the end, the resolution to the whole thing was laid out in both a comedic and dramatic way. A Channel continues to meet my expectations though I would still like to see something that makes it unique from the other anime in this genre. There are still a few more episodes to go so maybe I'll get what I want.
It is the start of a new semester and all students at school seem lively. When the four girls finally meet up at the school gate, Yuuko unfortunately becomes the sacrifice needed to get past an ever-so lively Kitou-sensei who is forcing everyone she sees to greet her with an energetic ohayou gozaimasu. While Kitou-sensei is busy with Yuuko, Nagi and the other two sneak past, unnoticed. After successfully getting Yuuko, who was on the verge of breaking down, to give her an energetic ohayou gozaimasu, KItou-sensei walks into the staff room, pleased with her accomplishment. There, however, she is ridiculed by two of her colleagues for being too intense on the first day of the new semester. With one of them being Satou-sensei, it is quite obvious that some form of argument will ensue. As the two of them argue, Kamate-sensei looks on, quite amused at the entertainment she is receiving, and asks them, jokingly, why they aren't dating already. As if on cue, the two "lovebirds" temporarily stop their bickering and, at the exact same time, comment on how lame that joke is. Meanwhile, after Run and Nagi reach the second floor, a couple of boys, who I assume know Run, start talking to her. When Tooru, who is just one flight of stairs below them, sees this, she immediately rushes up the stairs and stands between the two parties, attempting to interrupt their conversation. Unfortunately, the boys don't see her as a threat and jokingly label her as "the tiny first year who loves Run". The "tiny" part seemed to bother Tooru because after hearing that, she runs off somewhere and returns shortly after, slamming a chair down in front of the boys. Then, she stands on it and leers at them, silently informing them that she didn't appreciate being called "tiny". After seeing that she is serious about separating them from Run, the boys reluctantly apologize and leave. As the boys leave, Yuuko finally arrives and, after telling them how horrible they are for leaving her behind, sees Run holding the chair that Tooru just used. Curious as to why, Yuuko asks her. However, being the airhead that she is, even Run didn't know why she is holding it.
Back in the first years' classroom, Yutaka, who has just open the door, sees Tooru and Miho talking. As she is about to join their conversation, she hears something about Japan's political and economic situation and realizes that it is too complicated for her. However, after Tooru starts talking about a television drama, Yutaka quickly takes the opportunity to join in, embracing the other two girls in the process. When class finally starts, the first years have to, unfortunately, put up with Kitou-sensei's hyperactive attitude. Meanwhile, Kamate-sensei's laidback attitude has Nagi's, and probably many of the second years', approval. During the first years' break, Miho attempted to continue the conversation she and Tooru had earlier but is rudely interrupted by Yutaka who begins to hug Tooru. After three minutes, the Three Minute Rule is enforced and Yutaka is forced to step away from Tooru. Shortly after, Kitou-sensei shows up at the door and asks Tooru to do a favor for her. Being the obedient student that she is, Tooru agrees. As Kitou-sensei explains the favor to Tooru, Yutaka comments on how it is unfair that teachers are immune to the Three Minute Rule. Then, as Tooru and Kitou-sensei finish with their conversation, Yutaka steps between them and attempts to reinforce the Three Minute Rule. Miho then makes the correct decision of restraining Yutaka so she doesn't cause any more trouble than she already has. Once inside the staff room, it turns out that Kitou-sensei had asked Tooru to help her carry some books. After Kitou-sensei stacks two large piles of books onto Tooru's outstretched arms, Kamate-sensei attempts to ask Tooru to also help her buy some coffee from a vending machine. Ironically, Kitou-sensei tells Kamate-sensei not to take advantage of the students. So, instead of asking Tooru, Kamate-sensei asks Kitou-sensei instead. After being refused, Kamate-sensei takes out a orange colored notebook from the large pile that Tooru is carrying. The notebook turns out to be a collection of seemingly embarrassing poems that Kitou-sensei wrote. Not wanting her poems to be leaked into the public, Kitou-sensei reluctantly agrees to buy Kamate-sensei her coffee.
During the time that Tooru is gone, Miho and Yutaka patiently wait. As second years walk by the window their class, Miho recognizes Run, Nagi and Yuuko as the senpais that Tooru is friends with. After giving Run and Nagi the nicknames of Fair-Skinned-senpai and Megane-senpai, respectively and praising each one of them, Yutaka and Miho come to Yuuko. After remembering what Yuuko did in the the last episode, the two agree that her nickname should be Mop-senpai. Down at the level of the second years, Yuuko suddenly sneezes twice, causing Nagi to ask if she caught a cold. After another sneeze, Run tells Yuuko that she knew how to get rid of constant sneezing. She then proceeds to describe the process of getting rid of hiccups, thinking it is for sneezing. Out of no where, a familiar voice corrects Run's mistake. As the three girls turn to face the source of the voice, they see as stack of books. Soon after, Tooru shows herself from behind the books. This whole scene once again emphasizes how small Tooru is as her body can be totally blocked even by a seemingly short stack of books. Seeing that Tooru is having a difficult time carrying the books, the three girls decide to help and carry the books the rest of the way for her. After this happens, the first years at the window are touched by the scene they just saw, calling it heartwarming. Unfortunately, Run starts talking to a boy soon after and the not-so pleasant scene that follows includes Tooru, a baseball bat and screaming. The distorted faces of Miho and Yutaka tell the story brilliantly.
The next day starts off strange for Run as Tooru is not see waiting for her so they can go to school together. At school, Nagi notices that Tooru hasn't come by today and asks Run about it. In response, Run tells her that she and Tooru are currently in the middle of a fight. After hearing this, Yuuko starts freaking out, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. A flashback brings the story back to the night before where Tooru prepares to leave Run's house. Since it is dark outside, Run suggests to Tooru that she walk her home in case there are some suspicious individuals roaming the streets. However, Tooru believed that she would be fine and didn't want to risk Run running into any suspicious individuals when she walks home alone. The "not wanting to risk the other one being unsafe" thoughts are what caused the fight. Now comes the anti-climax: in the end, the Tooru ends up sleeping over at Run's house. Throughout the day, Yuuko and Nagi notice how troubled Run is because of the fight just like how Miho and Yutaka notice Tooru's worries due to the fight. When the end of the school day came around, Run suddenly decides to make up with Tooru and runs to the school store with Nagi tagging along, not knowing curious about how going to the school store will fix the problems. There, Run grabs a few sweets and, when she brings them to the cashier, realizes she only has 5 yen. Because of this, Nagi ends up paying for the snacks that cost 200 yen. Poor Run (see what I did there?). Once they return to the classroom, Run notices a can of orange juice on her desk. After staring at it for a bit, Run realizes that it must be Tooru who placed it there so she quickly runs off, leaving Nagi behind. Confused as to why Run ran off after looking at the can of juice, Nagi proceeds to examine the can and finds ごめんわ written on the bottom of it. As the insert song for this episode plays (which I found really fit into the current situation), Run runs around the school trying to find Tooru. When she reaches the door the the roof and opens it, she sees Tooru. After Tooru turns around, the two see each other face to face. With the problem now solved, everyone from Yuuko to Yutaka and even Kitou-sensei all feel a sense of relief as things will now hopefully return to normal. After seeing such a touching reunion, Kitou-sensei can't help but write about it in her poem book. The episode ends with Kamate-sensei giving Kitou-sensei the coffee that she had requested earlier with 飲め on the top of the can. The next episode appears to be about a present of some sort with the time of the year being fall. Looking forward to it.
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