Before I get into my episode review I am going to admit that I didn’t watch the entirety of this episode. The fourteen minute mark features yet another anime near drowning and I stopped watching. Going back I skipped forward a few minutes when the characters were back at the beach house. Given it is unlikely that there will be any future drowning incidents in this show, I’m sticking with it for now.
Review:
The first nine minutes of this episode actually did a very good job of making me like Yuu Huruna and seeing him as an actual person (which is something the previous two episodes failed to do). Part of this is because I could totally relate to not being good at dealing with people and really not being able to stand the kind that ask you to endlessly repeat things louder or casually slap you on the back.
So, that really helped this show work to win me over. Then of course, he get’s a pep talk from Fuuka and suddenly trying hard can help you overcome your inner anxiety and social issues in an instant so there goes any chance of this show actually intending to take the personalities of the characters seriously. We then have the cheap plot contrivance of nearly drowning a character (which I would have had issues with regardless) that only serves to force Fuuka and Yuu’s relationship to a point where it might actually matter that she later sees him with his childhood friend now idol. I’m not dropping this show, but honestly, the cliché laden opening with the characters running into each other was definitely a sign that the writers of this have learned about human interactions from watching other anime and not from reality.
On the bright side, other than a couple of close-ups of Fuuka’s bikini the amount of fan service in the episode was way down on episodes 1 and 2.
Fuuka is available on Crunchyroll.
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Pep talk to cure social anxiety. What a marvelous solution. Humanity is saved and I’ll stop with the lame sarcasm now.
I was never really taken with the premise of this show but it sounds like it’s getting worse as it goes. I’m sorry you had to see a near-drowning scene, especially one that’s a plot contrivance.
Cause you know trying hard overcomes all sorts of things including social anxiety? Even with the swimming sequence in this episode, Fuuka pep talking Yuu into a new personality remains the low point because prior to that I’d actually liked how they were showing him struggle working in a people orientated business. It felt fairly real and given how this show started some reality was definitely needed. And then it was like, okay, enough of actually having characterisation, let’s move on.
Sorry you had to see that. Hopefully they do steer clear of near drowning incidents in the future.
It probably doesn’t do anyone any good to take issue with fanservice on this one though. The series and manga are both tagged “ecchi” aren’t they? I’m not trying to be rude, but I think it’s of the goals of this show.
I think it’s the sheer ridiculousness of the fan service in episode 1 that annoyed people rather than that fan service existed.
Are we talking about the random “Oh hey my sisters are all hanging around the house half naked” scene? because outside of that, it was just a few panty shots which were fairly rote all things considered.
maybe i just know too much about where the manga goes with it, but i find these beginning scenes exceedingly cringey…
It must be a very different experience when you are watching something having read the source material (rather like seeing a movie when you’ve read the book). The set up of the love triangle was pretty cringey here.
I still prefer the manga though. ^0^;
Good to hear that there’s at least less unnecessary fanservice. I’ve yet to watch the episode but judging by how they seem to sweep Yuu’s most compelling character trait under the rug I now know not to get my hopes up.
I was disappointed that all it took was one pep talk from Fuuka and he was more or less over his issues dealing with the customers. Until then they’d been doing a nice job of showing what happens when you force a socially awkward person into an unfamiliar situation.