Ano Natsu de Matteru - Episode 3

Mmm... cup ramen

Another episode that, although had some sci-fi implications, mostly consisted of enjoyable slice-of-life content. Two of the girls start making their moves in an attempt to get their love interest's attention while another observes and enjoys the action from afar. Add a tiny and comedic misunderstanding in the end and that's basically the episode. But if you look closely, you'll see that there were a few messages hidden within the seemingly simple dialogue in this episode that may be indicators of possible happenings in the future.

Even though it's quite obvious that Ichika is not from Earth, some of Lemon's words and actions in this episode also hint that she too may be from a distant place. First off, there is a scene where Lemon says something along the lines of "It must be nice being young" to Ichika. When you think about how both girls are "supposedly" the same age, doesn't it sound weird for one to be saying that to the other? This leads me to believe that Lemon is actually older than she looks. A slightly less questionable point of interest is how she managed to obtain what looked to be expensive filming equipment. It's probably possible if she's from a rich family, but generally speaking, not many high school students have access to that type of monetary funding. Finally, when Mio and Tetsurō were talking alone in the classroom after school and all of a sudden you see Lemon standing near them, the idea of her having teleportation powers crossed my mind. Despite all this, whether she is human or not does not matter to me. I wholeheartedly believe Lemon is the best and most unique character of the series. Her cunning plans to film the love polygon that is slowly taking shape, as well as her awesome "ふふふ" laugh, makes her my favorite character of Ano Natsu de Matteru.

Aside from Lemon, Kanna and Mio had their fair share of the spotlight in this episode as well. Both girls were evidently trying their best to make a good impression but, in the end, it looked like their efforts were mostly in vain. In a way, I feel sorry for both of them as their love interest is undoubtedly fixing their eyes on someone else. I'm sure there are many people who can relate to the pain they must be feeling and it's definitely something that is hard to overcome. On the other hand, instead of experiencing heartache, Kaito manages to get himself into an embarrassing situation. After he was "rejected" (or so he thought) by Ichika the day before, he spends the entire day moping around, thinking about every possible situation that could happen now, only to end up inadvertently confessing to her later at night. A perfectly placed cliffhanger leaves viewers knowing that Ichika has most likely realized that Kaito likes her but does show her answering him. Only another week before we find out if Kaito got rejected (again?).

As a side note, I'm pretty sure many people caught the Men in Black reference. For those who didn't, Men in Black is basically a story about two men who are part of a secret agency whose goal is to keep an eye out for extraterritorial beings. You can read more about it the movie adaption on Wikipedia.