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Now in Japan
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Friday, 18 May 2007 17:00 |
 Sunao seems to have stopped trying quite so har to get Erika to approve her drama club, and is instead concentrating on Leo. Or perhaps on trying to avoid him. Or punish him for calling her a daikon. Or maybe... well, does Sunao even know? Probably not. Her unintentional mission to make friends of every other member of the Student Council seems to be going well, though...
5 - Part-Time Job Has The Smell Of Danger
Despite not having the go-ahead for her drama club yet, Sunao's already thinking about what equipment she'll need. First on her shopping list: lighting. You can't have a leading lady without a spotlight to hog, can you? Only problem is, lighting gear is expensive, so Sunao takes on a part-time job at a local restaurant to try and raise the cash. Seems like a good idea - until she finds out that Kinu's her new boss...
6 - Washed Away...Ikashima
Ryuumei's Student Council is on a survival trip - allegedly to help improve their personal bonds - and somehow Sunao's found herself hauled along for the experience, thanks to a little misunderstanding by the principal. The trip involves the gang being left on a deserted island to cope for themselves for two days, but with Erika in charge things take on more the feel of a holiday camp. Sunao soon begins to feel a little left out though, as Erika hasn't included her in any of the activities, and she soon becomes determined to make herself useful. Easier said than done, but at least her efforts bring her a little closer to Leo...
7 - Showdown! Test! GO!!
After their time in the shark-infested ocean, Sunao's become a little nervous about being around Leo - especially after Kurogane hypes up the part he played in saving her life. In truth, she's beginning to fall for him, and just doesn't want to make a fool of herself, but figuring out how to avoid that isn't easy. It's not her only worry, either - exam season has arrived, and anyone scoring less that 80 on their tests will have to help one of the local stores promote their new range of daikon products - and we all know what Sunao thinks of daikon. The idea's Erika's, of course - and in a fit of rage Sunao vows to make Erika's class wish they'd never been born. Let battle commence...!
Episode 5 gets two big thumbs up just by virtue of being Kinu's feature episode - she's easily my favourite of the student council girls, so seeing plenty of her here is fanboy manna from heaven. It helps that the episode isn't half bad, either - not the best of this bunch, by a long shot, but far from being a waste of good airtime, either. Unless you fall into the group that believes the whole of Tsuyokiss is a waste of good airtime.
This is also the last of the episodes that have Sunao busy making friends, for now at least - after this, the show moves on to the relationship (or lack of one) between Leo and Sunao, with the girls beginning to gang up on her and trying to get the two of them together. The whole daikon thing gets in the way, of course - Sunao sees it as an insult, Leo meant it as a compliment, but he's got some serious grovelling to do before she even starts to come around.
Shifting the competition between Erika and Sunao into the background a bit (it's not gone completely) was definitely a good idea - strange contests are all very well, but it's dangerous to build a whole series around them as they do get a bit tired after a while. Moving the focus of the series onto Leo and Sunao gives you something more to watch the show for, and makes it a little easier to connect with Sunao's character now that she's got something else to think about than her drama - it makes her less of a 2-dimensional character and gives her some much-needed depth. It's just a shame that Leo seems to have come from the same stereotype mold as just about every other anime lead male - he could still use a little work on the personality front.
But picking at character and story depth with a show like Tsuyokiss is kinda missing the point - it's a shallow comedy, not Gankutsuou, so the key questions are: is it funny? Does it make you laugh? Yes, and yes - and that's all I'm really looking for from it. As a show to watch when you just want to kick back and enjoy yourself, it does the job nicely - if that's what you're after, give this a look. |
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