[W] Summer 2011: Weeks 6-13
Is this late? Yes and in fact, a year late (ok almost a year late). I kept telling myself that I will get this done before summer 2012 season starts yet here we are, one day left until the summer season begins.
This will be the last of my weekly episode blogging because I can’t keep up with it along with my schedule. All but 3 shows were dropped from blogging in hopes of getting this out faster but obviously that didn’t do anything. The new format I plan to use will only cover the start and end of each season, similar to my winter 2012 quick peek and end of 2011 posts. Anyway, lets get this post moving.
The iDOLM@STER
Episode 6:
Seeing the Ryuuguu group perform on TV has the producer fired up and motivated to work harder but unfortunately he makes a mess out of it. He’s lucky to have a couple of dependable girls under his care to help fix things up.
Episode 7:
Iori lives a very comfortable life which is quite the opposite of Yayoi’s. She gets to see just how hectic things can be for Yayoi with a little bit of sibling drama thrown in but it is nothing that Iori can’t handle.
Episode 8:
At a wedding photoshoot, Azusa gets mistaken for an oil barron’s runaway-bride and gets abducted by the oil barron’s security. It’s up to Producer and Makoto to rescue Azusa while Miki holds down the fort with the photographers.
Episode 9:
After the Ryuuguu Komachi girls finish performing in a murder mystery drama, Iori wants to celebrate by eating a special pudding she saved in the office fridge. Unfortunately when they get back to the office, it is gone and now it is up to Mami and Ami to find the culprit among their fellow idols.
Episode 10:
765 Pro is at the the entertainment industry sports meet to compete against other idol groups for bragging rights. Though they are not favored to win and Iori and Makoto aren’t getting along with each other, the rest of the girls are doing their best to get the team to first place.
Episode 11:
The girl from 765 Pro (not counting the 3 in Ryuuguu Komachi) are getting ready for their first live event. Everyone is working hard on getting the dance routine down until Miki hears some bad news.
Episode 12:
Depressed about not being able to join Ryuuguu Komachi, Miki decides to skip going to practice. The other girls decide to keep practicing with the hope that Miki will return while Producer tries to convince her to come back.
Episode 13:
It’s finally the day of the live event and the girls are getting nervous as the start time gets closer. Ryuuguu Komachi gets stuck in traffic due to the weather and the rest of the girls are forced to work around that and try to entertain the crowd until they arrive.
Mayo Chiki
Episode 6:
School festival time but unfortunately for Jirou, Subaru’s fan clubs are at war with each other and he is at the center of it. It doesn’t help that Kanade is fanning the flames for fun. Hopefully Masamune might be able to help Jirou calm the clubs down.
Episode 7:
It’s time for a beach episode. Kanade gets Subaru to spike Jirou’s drink so that she can abduct him to their beach inn. It just so happens that Masamune, Kureha, and Nakuru are at the same beach after getting separated from their upperclassmen during a club training camp. In order to avoid raising suspicion, Subaru pretends to be a cousin of Subaru named “Punyuru” and even keeps the act up when her father Nagare arrives to pick her and Kanade up.
Episode 8:
Still at the beach, Nakuru gets manages to get Subaru to read one of her BL fanfiction of Subaru and Jirou out loud before Subaru tosses it out the window. After visiting the grave of Subaru’s mother, Jirou finds himself in the middle of a battle royale where the winner will get a kiss from the winner of the yukata contest, Subaru.
Episode 9:
As a thank you to Masamune for helping him with his summer homework, Jirou is doing part time work at the cafe where she works part time. Kanade happens to pass by and starts trolling Masamune while Subaru on the other hand gets mistake for a butler at a nearby bulter cafe. Things get crazier for Jirou as Nakuru and Kureha are called in as new part time employees due to lack of staff.
Episode 10:
It’s Kureha’s birthday and she’s spending the first part of it with Masamune and Nakuru at Masamune’s haunted apartment. The second part of her birthday is back at the maid cafe where Kanade and Subaru are waiting for her. On her way back home with Kanade and Subaru, Kureha recounts her previous birthdays and how Jirou forgot her 15th because he went to a live concert with a friend. Thankfully this year he remembered.
Episode 11:
Second semester begins and what better way to start it off than to have your younger sister beat the crap out of you. How about Kanade adding getting Subaru drunk by using white wine for flavor in the bento she made . Or even better, when Kanade gets the case of hiccups, she tends to at ‘nyu’ to the end of her sentences. Of course it’s not all fun and games when Subaru fails to protect Kanade from a sprained ankle when she falls down a flight of stairs. This does not bode well for Subaru’s career.
Episode 12:
Because Subaru failed to protect Kanade from injury, she finds herself out of the job and unsure of what to do next. Subaru and Jirou decide to spend the night at a nearby inn which causes Kureha to think that her brother is turning gay. Back at school, Subaru’s fan clubs are in despair at the news that she was transferred away but Jirou sees a ray of hope when he finds out Punyuru transferred in. She admits to Jirou that while she gets along with her classmates, she feels lonely and wants to return to being a butler. With the help of both fan clubs, Jirou launches a petition to reinstate Subaru back to her butler position and by the next day Subaru is back and Punyuru is gone.
Episode 13 (End):
This could have easily been a DVD extra but it was aired during the regular season. After getting asked out by a guy from school, Nakuru can’t help but wonder if her breasts are the reason guys are attracted to her. She tries to ask Kureha and Masamune but she phrases it in a way that made them not very receptive at the question. She decides to get Jirou’s thoughts on it by asking him to go on a date with her. She tells him about her predicament and challenges him to prove that men wouldn’t fall in love with her just for her chest using his body. In the end she realizes that he looked cool helping her out and runs away because she might be falling in love with him.
Usagi Drop
Episode 6:
Daikichi offers to plant something for Rin to commemorate her starting elementary school. Daikichi tells her about his fragrant olive tree at his parent’s house that was planted when he was born. Rin is sharp and wonders if a tree was planted when she was born. With some information from Masako, Daikichi goes to his grandfather’s house and finds Rin’s tree. It turns out that it is just the same as his, a fragrant olive tree.
Episode 7:
Daikichi’s cousing Haruko runs away with her daughter Reina from her in-laws because she couldn’t stand the pressure they were giving her. He helps her get her bearing straight and she eventually goes back to her home.
Episode 8:
Daikichi and Rin pay a visit to his grandfather’s grave and they discover that Masako had just been there. He offers to let her see Rin while they paid their respects. When Daikichi and Rin visit his grandfather’s house, they discover that the bell flowers were gone. Rin is not sad about this because some of those bell flowers were now at Daikichi’s house.
Episode 9:
In contrast to Rin’s more mature nature, Kouki is a typical boy who likes to goof off at school and gives his teachers a hard time. The only person who can keep him in check is Rin. Due to the typhoon, Kouki walks home with Daikichi and Rin with Yukari meeting up with them later. Yukari manages to get off from work early and they end up having dinner at Daikichi’s home.
Episode 10:
Some of Rin’s baby teeth have become loose and she can’t help but poke at them. During the cultural festival at Rin’s school, Daikichi becomes friends with other fathers and Yukari tells him about how worried she gets during flu season because of taking too much time off. On their way home, they discover that Rin is sick. Yukari helps Rin get better with some rice porridge that she made and by the next day Rin is feeling better. Later on, Kouki tells Daikichi and Rin that Yukari got sick.
Episode 11 (End):
It doesn’t take long for Yukari to get better and a day or so afterward, Rin, Kouki, and two other classmates, Nobu and Sayaka, go to a park with their parents to practice jump roping. Sayaka is reluctant to join in because one of her front teeth fell out. The next time they gather together at the park, Daikichi tells the other fathers the story of how Rin came to be with him as well as his worries about being a parent and not having any time for oneself. When he goes to visit his parents, Daikichi chats with his sister about her getting married and how she’s not too keen with the idea of having a child because she doesn’t want to give up her personal time. He reassures her that she’ll manage.
Wow that took a long time to finish. I’m quite happy to finally get this out of the way. If you’re curious to see just how long my original draft got, here it is, just beware of spoilers:
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That draft stayed like that for almost 10 months before I started working on it again. Now all I have left to do is my BWE2 post, Spring peek, Winter + Spring wrap-up, then I’ll be ready to work on Summer.
Oh boy…