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Rating: 9.5/10

Impressions:

Ack another horribly late entry, but I’m trying my best to catch up with all the series I’m blogging. In the meantime: Asatte no Houkou! And what an amazing show it is, for it’s become one of my favourites now. Oh, who am I kidding, it has always been one of my favourites. I simply love the beautiful art and character design; both Shouko and Karada are getting cuter every episode! I can’t believe how moe Karada is when she’s trying on Shouko’s old clothes. Shouko’s attempts at helping with the cooking screamed kawaii too. Speaking of her cooking, it’s hard to believe that a girl like her, equivalent to some 20 years of age, doesn’t even know how to melt butter. Or sift flour. Or slice strawberries. The burnt turkey is reasonable, though everything else is highly unrealistic. However, it does contain significant symbolism that not everyone would’ve picked up. Shouko, while still having lingering desires for Hiro, has grown quite attached to Karada, as shown by her automatic indication that Karada is her friend.

However, at the same time she must envy Karada for her closeness to Hiro as well. The long flashbacks have a meaning too. They all depict Shouko screwing up her turkey and taking Hiro out for dinner, but then he goes and says he would have been happy with a home cooked meal. But of course, Shouko is a crap cook, while Karada is simply amazing in that field. Flashbacks of Shouko being this way, combined with Karada making such a delicate cake for Hiro is an indication that the happiness will not last forever. It is especially important since both happenings are on Hiro’s birthday, and Shouko is quite anxious to tell him that she helped with the cake as well. And of course, this comes true as the story folds into quite a predicament, and with perfect timing as well. The few episodes where everyone is happy must be the calm before the storm. Just as everyone is accommodating to their new lives, something happens, causing Karada to run off, thinking she will cease to become a burden, allowing Hiro and Shouko to mend their relationship.

However, I believe that is more of a mature action than people believe. What kind of 10-year-old would run off to a large city with no means of surviving? A true child would most likely cry or beg, express their feelings and try to drive the threat to their family away. Either that or bottle everything inside without taking any drastic actions, before letting everything out on a particular night. Hopefully these turn of events will provide satisfactory tragedy, since the show wouldn’t do too well if its plot remained as smooth as its been throughout the rest of the series. I also wonder how long this incident will last. It will either be a short one- or two-episoder, or something that stretches out to near the finale. I can already predict some rapists or average thugs hitting on Karada, who wouldn’t know how to act in such a situation. A vast number of things could happen to her in such a large city, and all of it will most definitely be excellent drama. Whatever the case, I am highly confident that this show will not disappoint.

Preview:

Next episode – #8
Karada alone in the big city…

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