What They Say:
Episode 6: Metal Master
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the training camp continues Saki approaches Subaru after a meal as he is doing the dishes as she wants to apologize to him for her unwillingness to help the night before in the fight between Natsuhi and Maho. Subaru lets her know that it wasn’t a problem and when Saki talks to Maho later while doing some endurance building running she suddenly becomes curious as to what caused this change in attitude between her two old friends who were just warring and gets the story from Subaru. Once she knows the cause of the fight Saki arranges to have the three clean the gym together and to pressures Natsuhi into giving a formal apology so the dynamic between her friends will return to normal.
With one war settled another may break out as Subaru’s dinner plans cross a line he didn’t know existed and a new mood settles on the group. When it seems that the storm has passed after dinner a quick head count has two members missing and the rest of the group starts looking for them- have they have snuck off for a tryst or possibly some other motive. And what happens when some innocent-though seriously naïve at best or flat out comically stupid at worst-actions turn up the heat on this situation with these young men in the presence of these girls? Will there be any way to explain events or is Subaru heading down the path his former basketball team captain blazed and earning the lolicon title for real?
The episode really kind of follows a collection of ideas in that it initially fleshes out some of the character and background to Saki and also her path to joining the team. At the same time the episode also continues to show off the characters of Maho and Natsuhi as the events from the previous episode play out which allow Saki to reflect on her long friendship with them. This part as well as some of the change that comes over Natsuhi now that he no longer is in an active fight with Maho are rather welcome as they help bring a connection to the characters and their reasons for coming together in the manner that they have.
Where the episode goes a little sideways is when activities switch to the two boys as they try to deal with a piece of dropped clothing and then the final moments of the episode promise that tensions and misunderstandings will skyrocket soon. This would be on the slightly naughty side of things in a teen comedy, but when the fact that the girls involved are sixth graders is factored in once again one is left with the feeling that the writers don’t trust the material to carry itself and feel they need to pander-and boy do they in this episode- to a certain segment of the anime fanbase. This continues to be a point of contention that make one wonder if the number of people who are put off by this part of the material might not outweigh those it attracts.
In Summary:
Episode 6 spends time focusing on Saki, though it doesn’t turn entirely upon her. It builds off the character development in the previous episodes while introducing the depth of Saki’s emotions for her friends as well as showing a more passionate side of her as well. The episode though also allows for time to get into some of the questionable antics that can occur in a mixed camp with some seriously naïve individuals and the twisted thinking they can go through when they aren’t just able to figure out the easiest course of action in an embarrassing situation. It kind of feels like two non matching bookends placed together in the hope that since each one does have some appeal to certain groups the presence of the unmatched partner will be less noticeable. Which really doesn’t work that well unfortunately.
Grade: B-
Simulcast By: The Anime Network
Review Equipment:Toshiba 15.4” notebook
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