Review: Asu no Yoichi episode 5

My Thoughts
This episode revealed a lot about the dynamic between Ibuki and her feelings. The ones she hides and the ones she shows to everyone.

Frankly, there is something serious, psychologically wrong with Ibuki. My guess is that she suffers from an extreme bi-polar disorder, as one moment she's happy and smiling, and the next she's smacking the tar out of Yoichi.

That aside, I had to feel a bit sad for her at the end of the episode. She had forgotten a salient fact of the episode, and one could tell that she was shocked and hurt by the sudden reminder.

Additionally, one of the scenes gives her the shadowed eyes which is a standard anime trope for dangerous, deranged or evil characters. Of course, you're supposed to think of the dangerous aspect of that, but in light of her violent mood swings in this, and earlier episodes, it sets off the deranged flags in my head.

Finally, I must know... how was the sanjegun hidden under the skirt?? The character design for all the girl's school uniforms have the skirts at mid thigh at its longest. Now, a sanjegun is a Chinese weapon which is basically three staffs, each of them ideally the length of the welders arm, and connected by a chain.

I mean, it's physically impossible that that weapon could be hidden under the skirt--especially the front of the skirt the way it's shown.

I know its anime physics that we're talking about here, and this is a series about a guy that uses the wind from a wooden sword to beat people up, but still, one would think that they would at least attempt to keep things in touch with reality at least in concern to where weapons are hidden.

Episode Summary
Yoichi and Ibuki are walking to class, when a freshman girl, Hinagata Yui, runs up and hands Yoichi a letter. Much to the dismay of the male classmates. So, the two make it into class, and Ibuki reads the letter revealing that it is an invitation to a date. All the while Yoichi mistakes the invite for a duel challenge. Ibuki's bi-polar disorder flares to life as she tries to explain things to him, and then she storms out of the class. As she's stalking the halls, she realizes that Yoichi doesn't know anything about dates, and might damage the Soaring Wind's reputation. So, she runs back and invites Yoichi on a practice date--much to the dismay of their male classmates.

Once home, Ibuki is trying to determine what would look best to wear on the "practice" date when Chihaya and Kagome enter her room and surprise her. Flustered, Ibuki rushes from the room, and falls down the stairs.

So, Ibuki and Yoichi return to the shopping/entertainment district from the first episode, and the first thing he does is challenges the shoppers to a match. An action which brings forth the swift and terrible retribution of Ibuki. Then she forces him to change into "normal" clothes and off they go shopping. One of the stops is a toy shop, where she's all but jumping up and down in child-like glee over a stuffed cat. Yoichi admires the girlish/childish Ibuki, and she instantly stops and leaves the shop.

While this is going on, we discover that Ayame and two of her friends are clothes shopping. One comments about Ayame's breast size, which invokes an almost Ibuki-like reaction on Ayame's part. Then Ibuki and Yoichi are noticed, and Ayame abandons her friends to follow the pair.

The next part of the date is bowling. Yoichi's first try, he throws the ball hard enough to break the wall. After that fiasco, Ibuki takes a stronger hand in teaching him how to bowl, at least until they realize how close they were and both become embarrassed. Which causes Yoichi to drop his ball on his foot. He rolls about on the ground, and when he opens his eyes, both him and Ibuki realize that he's staring up her skirt. She punishes him for that, and eventually get in trouble by the workers for bother the other customers.

At the same time, Ayame is watching the pair, and wondering when they had grown so close. Then she realizes that Chihaya and Kagome were there watching the date as well. Once she realizes that, she decides that she doesn't want to get in Ibuki and Yoichi's way so she leaves; while the other two stay and continue observing the date.

As Ayame's leaving the bowling alley, Washizu and his Toady see her looking all sorts of dejected. Torikaya (the toady) starts chatting about how she is second string to Ibuki, and Washizu sticks up for her, because he sees her as a potential sister-in-law.

After the bowling, Ibuki and Yoichi are walking through a park, and Ibuki tries to hold Yoichi's hand. Before she can get it though, he turns around and she jumps back, shy and scared. In the process of stepping away from him though, she trips and falls into a fountain. Yoichi, attempting to save her, falls as well.

They get a water-covered, laughing moment, and then Yoichi gives her the stuffed-cat thing she had been admiring in the toy store; immediately before reminding her that this was a "practice" date.

Startled, Ibuki, rushes off to buy drinks, and we find that Chihaya and Kagome had been hiding in the bushes all this time. And since Ibuki had stepped away, it was the perfect time for Hinagata to show up. Since she was there, Yoichi went ahead and gave her an answer to the date invitiation by turning it down because he didn't know her.

This of course is the time when she yanks out a sanjegun from beneath her skirt and attacks Yoichi.

And since this is these two, while Yoichi is getting attacked, Ibuki is being harrased by 2 men who want her to drop Yoichi and hang with them.They knock the cat out of her purse, and activate Ibuki's bi-polarness.

Switching back over to Yoichi, he disarms Hinagata and breaks off a section of the sanjegun turning it into a kind-of-boken which he uses to attack, and his wind-based strike ruins her uniform. She calls him mean and then runs away.

Yoichi calls out to Chihaya and Kagome, revealing that he knew they were there the entire time. Then they here Ibuki's raised voice, and rush to help her, only to find that she's beaten up the pair.

Final scenes were just clean up, such as that Hinaga would not be getting any money since she failed to defeat Yoichi and Ayame learns that the date in this episode was just a "practice" date.
The last thing, is a scene between Yoichi and Ibuki, where he tells her that he turned down Hinagata's request. He then muses how he will probably never find anyone that would love him, which in turn makes Ibuki scream at him that he's a pervert and a failure, but someone likes him all the same. Then, embarassed, she turns and walks away.