I’m not a fan of Riku as a character, but she was right about one thing. This friend group is pretty saintly all things considered. It starts with Raidou and Aharen of course (whose level of mutual consideration is right off the charts). But it extends to all of them, even Oshiro who started off as a semi-antagonistic character. If anything I wonder if this series hasn’t gotten a little bit too nice, which in turn has made it a bit less funny this season (which it is). But there are signs of a bit of disharmony (or at least frustration) in certain quarters.
It’s time for the class trip. And I’ll give Riku this too, that is a nausea-inducing prospect for the socially awkward. Because the rules say groups of five, that means someone is going to be left out (and Riku assumes it will be her). Ishikawa-kun takes one for the team here, volunteering to be the one who goes elsewhere. He has plenty of friends, he says, and this is certainly a nice thing to do. But his ulterior motive confirms what has been hinted at for a while – he doesn’t want to be a third wheel with Reina and Matsuboshi. And let’s put it this way – the reason suggests Satou will ultimately be disappointed.
If we’ve been told where Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is set I don’t recall, but it’s obviously not Tokyo as that’s where the trip is headed. The group gets to choose where to head on their free day, and at the roundabout Raidou-kun suggests “DesinySea”. The girls are surprised but, he says, he remembered Reina expressing a desire to go there once. Matsuboshi really is, like, a perfect romantic partner. He’s sensitive, he’s selfless, and he has a memory like an elephant (well, for most things). You certainly don’t have to twist four teenage girls’ arms to go to Desiny anyway, so the suggestion is met with no resistance.
To be honest, there really aren’t many laughs in this episode. But I did enjoy that gag with the many Tokyo trees (including “Crytree” and “Goldeneye Tree”). After a relatively uneventful first night (though it did seem as if the boys were going pretty hard with that pillow war), the gang heads off to Denisy the next day. Except Raidou has forgotten his ticket, especially embarrassing as Riku notes that would be an incredibly kodomo-poi thing to do and merit a spanking (to which Raidou is willing to submit himself).
Reina’s dream of watching the Denisy parade with Matsuboshi appears to be up in smoke, but after racing back to the hotel and finding his ticket in his suitcase, Matsuboshi gets a lift back from the teachers in time to splinter off from the group with Reina for some pair fun. Most notable here is that Reina is so jacked up she’s actually talking at a normal level – that’s how much she wants to share the experience with her bae. There may not be enough comedy this season, but there’s no denying these two are still one of the winningest couples in anime.
Ishikawa flat-out admits to Hanako-san that he’s competing with Reina (and basically giving up), though I’m not sure she’s ready to accept that reality yet. Back at home souvenirs are shared out to siblings (just what the heck those are – some kind of “Twisted Wonderland” send-up? – I’m not quite sure). Raido-imoutou is actually sweet and caring to her brother for once – though she goes back into full tsun mode as soon as she extracts her omiyage. And considering that Matsuboshi is just as considerate of little sisters as girlfriends, remembering her fondness for a certain moose (definitely not Mickey), he probably deserved a lot better there.
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