Fast forward two years later sees scenes reminiscent from the beginning as Mikan is late for school again, while being scolded on the phone for Mutsuki. This time though, she cannot help but laugh, after being intercepted by Manabi.

School council has a bunch of lively juniors, unlike when the times where Mikan was all alone. Graduation is here, and basically, thanks to Kyouko, nothing in Seiou has changed since the merger.

Everybody has their own plans going forward from here. Momo is going to a digital journalist school, while Mutsuki is joining a professional softball team, Mei is going to college, while Manabi is going to become a freeter, of all things.

Mikan? She’s going to America. Manabi talks about how Mikan is going there to search for excitement, even as Mikan herself think about how she has changed a little, even though Seiou didn’t.

Manabi holds a final reflection meeting after the graduation ceremony. In the end, Manabi reflects about how she caused everybody problems, just going forward towards her own goals.

Mikan closed by reflecting about how she always ended up following others, unable to move on her own. Suddenly the tears just flowed, and she started to entertain thoughts of not going to America. But Manabi insists that she should, and this isn’t an end. They will always be together no matter where they are.

On the day Mikan is supposed to catch her flight, we have everyone crowded into a car that Mei is driving, and stuck in a jam. (driving a manual car even though she just got her license too! cheap cheap! Engine stalls)

But they made it in the end. Final farewells with a forward go punch. No cliche crying or anything though! Just a very smooth goodbye.

Mikan returns 2 years after that, to see her friends all still waiting for her. Spray paint the school! (OP)

Thoughts

Lovely series that first got my attention by the character designs. But it was the themes that really kept me watching.

Speaking of designs, i love the mixture of cute, realism (what an accurate portrayal of the airport!)  There’s also always a punk rock feel to it all too.

Excellent job by the various seiyuus. Horie Yui, Nonaka Ai, Inoue Marina, Hirano Aya, and Fujita Saki.

In the end, Mikan was the focus of the show, the one whom everything was narrated through. It was quite a nice touch. Very sentimental themes of friendship, which can possibly induce tears of warmth at times. Where did my own secondary school life go to!

With Takako assisting, and after changes to the initial proposal, preparations for the school festival is underway!

Finally, it’s the night before the actual festival, and even as they stand at the school gate, Mikan mentions that she just doesn’t feel like going home. Staying overnight, visiting all the different stalls and crashing out on the roof.

Mikan questions about how Manabi sees the world – a roof top containing a school council room, where all 5 girls went through all kinds of emotions. It’s something manabi will never forget, and Mikan simply just loves everyone.

It’s the school festival! The council members are left to man the HQ though, unable to participate at all.

Except for Mutsuki, who does the job of security, even as some punks seem to be visiting the festival. Manabi’s bro arrives to save the day though.   At the council room, Kyouko arrives, only to have Manabi kick up a fuss. But even as they walk around the festival, the brother points out that Kyouko in reality did come as the principal. But Kyouko mentions that she has realised why the school should actually hold a school festival, that there’s actually meaning. She has been looking too far ahead into the future, thinking there’s no meaning at all.

Takano joins the school council members, even as they are forced to manned the HQ. But she tells them to close their eyes to visualize the school festival, something that she had learnt from manabi earlier.

All is not lost however, as close to the end, Shimoji and the school principal take over the HQ duties.

Momo forces Manabi on stage, where she has the final song.  She decides to sing the Seiou school anthem, before repeating a rock version of it. At the end, Momo lights up a bunch of fireworks.

In the end, the principal tells Shimoji that though the school festival is basically the same as last years, it’s still a very special one. Everything ends with Manabi telling everyone that she loves them all!

Thoughts

One thing I’m glad. They didn’t make a mess of animating the rock band. *good job!*

Overall a very nice finale to the whole theme of friendship. Though a bit boring this episode was, it did have it’s fun side. I thought having Kyouko really perks things up a little.

With a scene of other students helping out to get signatures for the petition, it might seem that Manabi and Co. are succeeding! But nope! They’ve only gotten 32% of the school population to sign!

As part of the merger, the old clock tower is being torn down and rebuilt, but obviously nobody really cares. (note dead pan faces) Until a very obviously Manbi voice rings out pretending to be the clock fairy wishing to attend the very last school festival. (Nobody believes kiddish things like this, except for Mika)

Do silly things like that, and there might be divine intervention!

Clock tower suffers an explosion that night, and for reasons that can only be divine, only the school council room is damaged. *doom*

In the end, Shimoji obtains permission for the school council to use the old dorms as the council room. Everybody runs away at the sight of the dorms initially (haunted house!), but ends up cleaning it in the end, with momo providing the crazed entertainment.

Night time comes, and a debate arises about whether to continue cleaning, as Manabi wants to finish up and get back to to petitions tomorrow.

But that’s not quite important thing is it. As Mei rightly points out, the students do not quite yet understand the concept of fun. Only the council members can appreciate what it means to become buddies from friends, and to enjoy.

Yet suddenly, the carpenter group that first helped out in the first council room, came to offer help again! It’s not long before news spread and many groups arrive to help out as well. Basically, a fun time cleaning the whole dorm together!

well… fun for everyone cept for Momo who is depressingly rejected for a high-5 by Mei. As well as Shimoji, whose words about youth! falls on deaf ears.

In the end though, with the fun cleaning the dorms, Manabi and Co. succeed in getting 76% of the votes. The school festival is on!

Thoughts

Did anyone think that Manabi would fail? I did… for a little while. The starting scene was really depressing.

Shimoji was really the hero of the day… getting the permission to use the dorm, as well as the generator for the lights at night. Even though he’s just some old fuddy hanging out with young girls.

Momo was utterly hilarious. Nearly died laughing after she got rejected by Mei. And Manabi can only be played by Horie Yui. She’s so darn good in this kind of role.

Think it’ll be such a pity for the dorm to be torn down.

Life is never about how tough problems are, or how fun activities are. It’s always about the people you do them with.

The episode starts with a flashback to the time when the school principal was still a student, the very first day where she arrived at the school dorm and was warmly welcomed by her seniors. Meanwhile, things arn’t going well for the petition signing, leaving everyone frustrated. Even momo finds that she can’t report about strong opposition to the school merger as compared to reality.

Shimoji finds the school principal, who recounts about the time when the dorm was closed. It was her last year of school, and there were less and less students staying. They tried to organise a protest, but to no avail though. In the end, only the school principal was left. However, Shimoji questioned whether the school principal felt that the protest was meaningless.

Silly ideas are thrown out at the school council meeting, like manabi’s dolphins and Mei’s illegal pyramid scheme. However, things remain bad, especially as students are more excited by the new school uniform. In the end on day 3, Mutsuki decides to go for softball meeting instead, while Mei gives the council meetings a skip too. This causes Manabi to remark that things seem to be back to how it was at the beginning, when it was just manabi and mika. In the end, mika could only excuse herself to cry at the council room while Manabi waits for her at the front gate. Her lonely figure can only be watched on by the school principal, and momo as well.

Lunch time special the next day had a preview screening of the new school song. However, midway through, the screening was hijacked by a supposed alien. But obviously its momo, thanks to the identifying cockroach feelers. Instead, she plays a film of the school council. It’s a mix of candid shots, as well as the members doing silly introductions of themselves (candidly), with the old school song playing in the background.

Momo is soon “arrested”. But not before the video leaves mika in tears. Mutsuki and Mei too are inspired, and decide they should be in the council room, not in the classroom. Sprinting to the council room, they zoom past shimoji, and momo, before a wonderful reunion take place in the council room.

Everybody is re-energised. But there’s still work to be done though, and petitions to be signed! It was here, that the principal gives an answer that her protests 30 years ago was not totally meaningless, for she still remembers the names of those who protested together with her. Thanks to momo’s broadcast, some students decide that the old school song is quite nice too, and finally, a group of students start to sign. But is it enough?

Thoughts

I think many people will be very happy that Momo saves the day. haha. She did a very good job as well I must say.

Focusing on the episode, I thought the pacing and atmosphere was outstanding. When shimoji asked about the failed protests of the principal, I thought it was some foreboding of how Manabi and Co will fail too.

And you can just sense how Mutsuki and Mei and everyone was just getting discouraged. And as an audience, you just feel like telling them “okie.. it’s enough.. you’ve tried your best… but it’s going to fail, so don’t keep pouring so much effort in”. The part where Mikan ran to the council room to cry…. awwww!

Well… but Momo saves the day!

The video collection was another well done part. Even if it didn’t work to inspire the students, it worked to inspire the council members. And it’s so happy to see them get back together!

I still can’t tell whether they will succeed in the end. I guess they will just like a fairy tale ending, but even if they don’t, we sure learnt alot about friendship from them.

It’s not easy being the teacher who supervises the student council.

Poor Shimoji… tortured even though the teachers themselves didn’t know about the school merger until the official announcement was made. The principal talks to the student council though, blaming herself for not being more active in improving the school, dwelling on traditional stuff instead. On an ending note, she also mentions how sad she is, for she was a student council president previously as well. Manabi calls Takako for help, but Takako explains that she has already tried persuading her superintendent earlier already.

 

Manabi being manabi, starts talks of revolution and rebellion. she gives a moving speech just like any revolutionary fighter would. Until she gets whacked on the head by mei. Mei thus organises an out all plan to bring the student body to their side, petitions and all, determined not to let what they have been doing go to a waste.

It starts well at first, even as they had fun photocopying their own faces in the photocopying machine. But by the next day… their audience has disappeared. Even mutsuki’s friend accidentally angers her saying that it’s good that the school fair has been cancelled, for the softball team needs her. Everybody says that there are still fun stuff around town, so it doesn’t matter too much that the school fair is cancelled, even though they looked forward to it.

 

Manabi returns home to find that her brother is now attached. She is suprised that the new gf knows her name too! Until she introduces herself Aikoh’s superintendent. Manabi promptly leaves home and chooses to stay with Mika. Over dinner, Manabi’s brother explains to his gf that Manabi has been moving around alot, and explains that school is very important to manabi. Meanwhile, Manabi is also upset that the superintendent did not mention anything about the school festival to her brother. But Mika gently explains to her that this are two different matters.

 Thanks to the talk over dinner with the brother, the superintendent does an about turn and agrees to a meeting with Manabi. She starts off all friendly and teasing about the brother, causing Manabi to turn violent. After lots of debate, the superintendent finally says that the rest of the school body are not too concerned, and that it’s only the council that wants to hold it. Deep down, Manabi knows that is true too.

 But she gives the council a chance though. Get 70% of the school population to sign the petition, and they’ll have their school fair. The fight is now on.

Thoughts

There were quite many good elements in this episode, which made it one of the better episodes.

Manabi’s kick at Shimoji, Seioh’s principal being nice, Manbi’s revolution talk. Oh, and there’s Mei constantly hitting Manabi with a white fan. Chidori of FMP anyone?

And Aikoh’s superintendent being oh so hot. haha. She is voiced by Aya Hisakawa, and is drawn surprisingly pretty. Before this, she was pretty much hidden, and I was kinda expecting some evil queen. Having her as manabi’s future sister in law was another very cute twist as well.

Amidst the sounds of crickets, a visibly tanned character steps through the school gate, even as the entire school council is hard at work.

It’s Momo! She returns from her month long vacation at Hawaii, showing off the souvenirs that she got. However, everybody is hard at work and basically ignores her. (which becomes a running joke through the whole episode.)

Mikan remembers that at the end of the last semester, they had announced to the school that when school reopens, they would be ready with brand new plans, and it’ll be the start of the student body’s participation. However, now that vacation is almost over, they are far from complete and everybody is stressed.

Mei starts by shouting at the crickets to keep quiet. And proceeds to start slapping Mutsuki awake. Manabi then breaks down too, and starting ranting about having to remodel the room, and chating “forward go!” She even ends up punching Mutsuki repeatedly when Mutsuki tries to stop her. Mei says she’ll stop everything, but weirdly ends up slapping Mutsuki repeatedly again. (poor abused Mutsuki)

Mikan is horrified at what’s happening, and finally ends up breaking into tears. This snaps everyone awake, and everybody gets back to work as per normal, and ignoring Momo as usual.

Mikan suddenly tries to mention about Summer vacation homework, which they all haven’t done. Of course, everybody interrupts her before she can. In the end, everybody goes back to the roof to sleep and rest, after it’s obvious that they were zombies now from lack of sleep.

Mikan dreams of being seperated from the group, who leaves her alone at a train crossing. After several scenes of being alone, Mikan finally finds the group waiting for her outside the school building. The joy that fills her cannot be described. It showed on her face too, as everybody decides to let her sleep a little longer.

The episode cuts to a scene of Takako arriving on the bus. Coincidentally, she runs into Mikan who is shopping for fireworks. Mikan cannot help but praise Takako’s beauty as well. With Mikan’s help and advice, Takako buys the favorite snacks of everybody in the school council, and we are given a scene of manabi totally enjoying her icecream.

With Takako asking about their school festival plans, Manabi brings her on a tour around the school. When Takako mentions that she’s very surprised that Manabi can remember all the details, Manabi explains that she’s able to visualise everything, and she tries to project the same image to Takako.

Manabi thanks Takako for igniting the fire within their school council. However, takako thinks back to a conversation with her school board’s chairwomen. Apparently, her school is going to take over Seiou High as well, and they are thinking of cancelling the school festival. This is because as students who chose to go to school, rather than drop out and have fun, something fun like the school festival should be meaningless.

At the end of the day, Manabi explains to Takako that it makes them happy to see the students being delighted in all the preparations they have made. This keeps them going. Sitting at the busstop, Something finally clicks in Takako’s mind, and she makes a call to her school’s chairwomen.

At night, everybody gathers at the pool for fireworks and much play. Mikan thinks about how everything isn’t just a dream, but instead the hapiness of being together will continue for a very long time.

Thoughts

I must admit, there were some parts of the end that I didn’t understand. Specifically what exactly clicked in Takako’s mind, and how she is going to explain to her chairwomen.

The whole episode was interesting and different though. It was supposed to have a sombre feel, which it did. Yet the humour wasn’t left out.. and was brought to you by *drumroll*…. Momo. Who can forget the scene of Momo calling Mei a tsundere.

Two other points. The injection of the softball scenes with over drama cliches, were meant to put in more humour, which I though was well done. In fact, I was quite intrigued with it’s use, and when all the softball scenes appeared.

Secondly, the scene of Manabi projecting the school festival image was quite interesting as well. Seemed like a good experiment with the use of softball scene, water droplets from the tap, and the clouds. Seems like we can expect big things from the studio next time.

Don’t miss out on the shots of Momo in Bikini!

First joke. It’s exams! And we see Manabi showing off her magic pencil which includes a random generator to help pick answers. She insists that it must work because the monk she bought it from had said that it’s made from wood from Mt Fiji. Momoha comes along and after examining it, reads out “Made in China”. Manabi is crushed…… cept she now thinks that China has a Mt Fiji as well.

Anyway, progress on the school festival goes well. Especially thanks to mysterious viral brochures and a website done by Mei, who apparently codes websites in BASIC. The website allows for submission of School festival plans, and also allows for much interactions, including winning clothes for your avatar. (Think maple story and stuff) In fact, everything is enough to excite even the school admin.

Before leaving the student council room the next day though, Mika sees that the Softball tournament was actually over. Mutsuki seemed very down, and can’t even win at lucky draws. Only while chatting over an ice popsicle, did Mutsuki mention that they had actually lost in the softball tournament. Only later at home, did Mika read back on a news article that they actually lost because of a mistake Mutsuki made.

Mika starts blaming herself for not realising what happened earlier. Through a flashback, Mika remembers that on the first day of school, Mutsuki was the one who offered a hand when she tripped, and coincidentally, they had entered the same class and became close friends, though Mutsuki was always the one teasing Mika. A scene shows a drenched mutsuki and mika in the school council room. (What happened is not revealed yet)

In the end, Mika decides to pop by Mutsuki’s house to accompany her to study, where we’re introduce to the mess that is Mutsuki’s house. Only after the intervention of the Mom, did they finally settle down to study.

However, as both of them has the same brain level (i.e. zero) they soon end up sneaking out to play. Drinking at the cafe, ktv, playing at the playground. The might not have any same topics of interests, but that won’t stop them from being great friends.

Of course, they end up bombing the exam. We find out what happened at the school council room previously. So it happened that the senior batch had graduated, leaving Mika alone. But Mutsuki had gone to the effort of going around asking people to join, even making herself drenched with water.

So that’s the history of their great friendship, and we see Mutsuki joining the school council as well.

Thoughts

The fanservice was disturbing.

I know it’s summer, and girls like to flap their skirts in summer. But having constant skirt flapping for no reason through the episode was just weird. And what’s that scene of Mutsuki eating popsicle supposed to imply. (Random Curiousity and 2D Complex has an animated gif of it)

You might argue that there’s nothing wrong with fanservice. But in a series where the characters are drawn to look real young and cute, and with serious themes like friendship, the fanservice is just disturbing and jarring to me. Unless maybe you’ve got a perverted mind.

Great episode on lesson of friendship though. It’s not the similarities and interests you have with your friend, but rather the amount of effort you put into it that determines whether it succeeds.