Reviews: Asu no Yoichi Episode 2

My Thoughts
Well, to start off, the artwork this time was much better for this episode-which is a bit of an odd thing, as the first episodes usually get the best and most detailed work.

One thing that did annoy me was a rather gratuitous, unneeded and unnecessary change from the manga in the fight scene during the first act. That was shifting the knife which Washizu used to... giant, spiked metal balls.

Yes, he used maces, an incredibly odd choice of weaponry.

I was like "What is this?" when he pulled them out--for obvious reasons. After a bit of snickering, I once again focused on the anime and went about my business.

Now, for a comment on the character designs, I'm highly amused by the character design of Ayame. She's another anime character which reminds me greatly of my beloved wife--while she lacks the eccentricities of my girl, the character design is quite like her: blond hair, huge, blue eyes.

In the end I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the previous one; which is saying a lot.

Now, at this time, I want to put in my coin for Ayame winning the main protagonist. For a few reasons, one since she reminds me of my wife, she instantly gets rooted for. Second, she has that whole middle-child thing going on, and not only is she in the shadow of her elder sister, and not the baby as that's her two younger ones, but she is physically different from the other sisters as well. Frankly, being the middle child, and physically different from my brothers I can understand her angst at the situation; that feeling of not being quite good enough, and being compared to your siblings--and then couple that with an incredibly different physical appearance... *shrugs* let's just say that I can relate; probably the same as most middle-children.

Episode Summary
The episode starts out with Yoichi working out early in the morning, and then it continues with the standard misunderstandings which seem to power the series. This one involved Ibuki knocking Yoichi into Ayame's bedroom. After the beating and breakfast, the group then heads to school. An effective first for Yoichi as his school on the mountain was just himself.

Once there, Washizu, the deliquent from episode 1, shows up, and we learn that he has the hots for Ibuki. Various character building ensues, and then Yoichi and Washizu fight each other again. Yoichi because he's just that type of character and Washizu because he believes that he's fighting for Ibuki.

Next scene, Yoichi is sick with a fever. After being beaten into submission (yes, this less-than-subtle man bashing is a recuring theme) he finally rests and Ibuki heads off to do a bit of shopping. While this is going on, Ayame is making a mess of the kitchen trying to make congee, which is a rice porridge. After making the pot explode, Kagome appears and helps her.

During the cooking, Ibuki and Yoichi both come to the determination that they need to apologize to one another due to the various misunerstandings involving one another. So, he's waiting on the porch of the dojo when she gets back, and after a bit of arguing, they start laughing.

Which is when Ayame shows back up, with the congee. She sees the laughing and takes off, and we realize just how much of a middle-child syndrome she has going on. Yoichi chases after her, and she trips, almost spilling the congee.

Yoichi jumps after it, and catches it though he falls out the window he had broken that morning. This also notes the point where Ayame stops calling him insulting names (pervert, monkey, etc) and starts calling him "samurai."

She rushes downstairs to check on him, and he takes a bite to eat. He praises her and she's quite happy, smiling even--an event which her entire family takes note of.