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Rating: 9.2/10

Impressions:

The mood has suitably changed to a light and cheerful one after the initial shock that arises from the age swap phenomenon. The watercolour backgrounds, bright settings and constant use of streaming sunrays turns this slice-of-life/drama into a fantastic feel-good episode. It was vastly enjoyable, though this new mood is bound to deteriorate back into drama before long. I suspect it will start falling in terms of mood in the next few episodes, falling into a deeply depressing tragedy, before rising again for the finale. At least, that’s what I hope will happen. This happy-type of episode is good and all, but it can’t sustain interest if this is all that happens for the rest of the series; following the main characters around, cycling through their different lifestyles and such. A romance should also develop, and I’m really hoping for Tetsu and Karada, despite their large age difference. They’re the same height anyway, and you wouldn’t be able to tell that they’re probably 10 years apart in age. Currently, my feelings are inconveniently tangled regarding whether or not Karada and Shouko should return to their initial lives. Karada would turn out for the better that way, having experienced adulthood and matured vastly, though Shouko would be plunged back into her depression and hard life (or so it seems). Since last episode, Shouko has accustomed to her new life and finally made some friends (though she denies this, I’m sure the kids she played with would allow her to join in again).

Karada too has adapted to her new life, though she has a lot to return back to. She would need schooling above all else, but her relationship with Tetsu needs to be mended. It’s a given that he will find out about Karada sooner or later, though I’m interested in seeing how he feels about her when he finds out she’s become a woman. Would he continue liking the young Karada, fall for the grown one or develop conflicting feelings for two bodies of the same person? As Karada’s and Tetsu’s relationship complicates, Shouko and Kotomi seem to have become friends, or at least are acquainted with each other. The relationships between the characters now have become rather tangled, as each person is related to another, yet not to everyone, thus forming a sort of ring of associations. The grown Karada would be considered connected to Hiro, Shouko and now Tetsu, while Shouko is also acquainted with Kotomi. Tetsu and Kotomi are connected though only Tetsu has relations with everyone else. If I delve deeper into this issue, then the remaining relationships yet to form emerge rather easily. Kotomi and those on Hiro’s side need to meet, while Karada’s secret will soon be revealed to those on Tetsu’s side. Touko is still in the dark on everything, so she needs to come to terms with things soon. There’s also Karada x Kotomi and Testu x Shouko, though there really isn’t any reason for them to meet (unless Tetsu falls for Shouko while Karada and Kotomi become hot lesbians).

Preview:

Next episode – #7
Ooh Shouko is cute!

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