We’re back to a full episode in Episode 5. We’ve already seen a lot of Suzu, and we’ve gotten some information now about Ayane, Machi, and Rin in some of the past episodes. This time it’s Yukino’s turn to be in the spotlight.
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| Jam | |
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| Yukino Drops In | Suzu wants to do CPR again |
This episode starts out at a shed. Inside the shed are racks of Jam. Suddenly, a bear paw reaches out for one of the jars. Meanwhile, outside Yukino looks for Kuma-Kuma and notices the door to the shed is open.
Yukino goes into the shed to find…Kuma-Kuma’s mouth covered in jam, and a whole slew of empty jam jars. Yukino gets mad at Kuma-Kuma and says if she (Kuma-Kuma we find out is female) keeps eating jam like this, she’ll become like Suzu when it comes to Mame Daifuku (see the previous episode).
Next we see Ikuto and Suzu fishing in the river. Suzu enjoys a nice catch of hers when Yukino decides to fall off an embankment above them, landing on Ikuto. Suddenly a bunch of Yukino’s animal friends come out after her and get her off if Ikuto. Suzu, seeing that Ikuto is knocked out, decides that she’ll try her hand at CPR again. However unluckily (or perhaps luckily – see episode 1) for Ikuto, he wakes up before Suzu can try.
Ikuto and Suzu go over to where the animals have taken Yukino – and have started a fire (which I think Ikuto finds a little weird, but doesn’t say anything about).
Suddenly, Yukino and Suzu start holding a conversation with the animals. Obviously Ikuto is totally lost as to what the animals are saying, seeing that he doesn’t have a clue what they’re saying. However, Suzu and Yukino are shocked that Ikuto doesn’t understand. Ikuto gets shocked further when the animals prove that they can not only talk in a way that at least Suzu and Yukino can understand, but that they can write as well.
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| Suzu talks to animals | Ikuto: ashamed that he can’t |
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| It’s a date! | Never insult a bear |
Suzu notices that Kuma-Kuma isn’t with her, so Yukino decides to go looking for her and wants Ikuto to come along. Yukino tells Suzu to look with the animals, so the animals take off with Suzu, leaving Yukino along with Ikuto, who immediately declares the outing a date.
So the pair starts walking through the forest, following some tracks. Soon they find a bear and Ikuto asks if they are Kuma-Kuma. Yukino says that, no, that bear isn’t Kuma-Kuma since she is totally different from “that uncle.” The bear, not appreciating being referred to as “uncle,” takes his wrath out on the two.
After that, Yukino and Ikuto travel around, running into all sorts of bears: greedy bears, beautiful bears, bishounen bears….
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| It’s Beautiful Bear | It’s Bishounen Bear |
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| Yukino meets Kuma-Kuma | Yukino meets Kuma-Kuma II |
After running into several bears with little luck, Ikuto decides to take a break. Yukino remarks that bears with a crecent moon shaped scar on their chest are rare. Of course Ikuto gives great appreciation about not being told this piece of identifying information much earlier.
During their break and while eating lunch, Yukino tells Ikuto that the real reason Kuma-Kuma ran off is because Yukino told her off for eating all the jam.
Yukino also tells Ikuto about how she met Kuma-Kuma and how they grew up together and how that friendship got her to be friends with many other animals as well.
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| Yukino meets Kuma-Kuma III | |
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| I must be in this episode! | No you don’t |
Meanwhile, Suzu and the group of animals detect something sinister in front of them and they all prepare to fend off whatever it is. Suzu throws a ball (or something) at whatever the sinister thing is out and pops…Ayane, yearning for yet another battle with Suzu.
However, Suzu says she’s busy but Ayane will have none of it, and starts flying around Suzu, boasting that she’s moving so fast that no human can keep up with her. Then promptly, the duck-thing going along with Suzu puts out its wing and knocks Ayane out of mid-air, thus ending the short and pointless fight.
Next we return to Yukino’s and Ikuto’s search. Ikuto draws a drawing of Kuma-Kuma on a piece of wood to help in the search. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Ikuto is repeatedly pummeled by bears, as well as a squirrel. He also happens to run into a walrus who apparently has a love-in-first-sight moment with Ikuto. Finally a raccoon points them in the right direction.
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| When Animals Attack | When Animals Fall in Love |
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| I don’t believe this bridge is entirely stable… | It’s not London Bridge, but it is falling down |
After running a while, the two reach a bridge over a very deep canyon. Ikuto, not liking heights very much, is hesitant to cross the bridge, so Yukino decides that she’ll run across first. However, the ground around where the bridge is attached on Ikuto’s side starts to give way, causing the bridge to start to fall.
Ikuto grabs the end of the bridge just at the nick of time and catches Yukino by the ankle just as she’s about to fall into the canyon.
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| I’ve caught me a loli! | Bridge with no attachment to land = bad |
The two think they’re safe when the land around where the bridge connects on the other side starts to crumble as well. The bridge gives way and the two start to fall…upwards. Once they land they see that Kuma-Kuma saved them by grabbing the bridge before it fell and flinging the two to safety.
Suzu then shows up with the other animals. Ikuto remarks on the discussion that Kuma-Kuma and Yukino are having when Suzu points out that it seems that he can understand what the animals are saying now. Ikuto runs off, not wanting to admit that he can no understand the animals.
Finally, later while taking a bath, Ikuto remarks that even though he can still understand all the other animals, he still can’t understand Tonkatsu. Suzu says that she can’t either. Ikuto then realizes that Suzu is in the bath with him…again, and has another massive nose bleed (come on, it’s been a while since he’s had one).
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| Kuma-Kuma saves the day | I don’t really understand animals…I don’t really understand animals… |
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| Isn’t he used to it yet? | |
I think, in the end, this was a pretty decent episode. We’re at least having episodes dealing with different topics and situations, even if the overall excitement level is lacking in this series. So, who are we going to have an episode on next? Chikage?
