The underclassmen get their chance to shine as the seniors are off on a trip.

What They Say:
The older students are off on a school trip leaving Akari and a needy Chinatsu alone. Nadeshiko watches Himawari and Sakurako fight and remembers them as children.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As is often the way with this series, it’s not that hard to separate up the cast of characters depending on what needs doing. This typically can work well when it focuses on the core group in different dynamics, but it loses its appeal to me when we get the secondary group of friends mixed in doing their things. Though they’ve been around for awhile and play off of the core group well enough, I’ve never really latched onto any of them as real favorites or look forward to when they appear. For this episode, the upperclassmen of both groups are off on a school trip where they get to have their adventure and that leaves the first years at school doing their own thing while coping with the loss of their senpais.

While there’s a mix of stories going on here, the main one in the first half has Sakurako and Himawari off on a walk and a daytrip of sorts themselves, which leaves them having a spot of fun as they take in the autumn weather. It’s pretty nice in general since Himawari is the balanced one of the two while Sakurako is the outgoing and child-like one in many respects and they both have their own bits that works well to highlight their personalities. The two don’t exactly get lost along the way, but they end up further than they usually do and aren’t quite sure where they are, though it has a comical outcome when you get down to it. It’s a pleasant bit between the two with some grins but nothing significant.

With the second half, things get back to “my crowd” with Akari and Chinatsu spending time together, though Akari is getting nervous. Chinatsu’s fascination with Yui is pretty intense and she’s missing her a whole lot so it ramps up to a whole other level. Akari does manage to get her to change gears a bit though so that they end up doing stuff together without focusing on Yui, but that’s almost worse when Akari realizes what she’s gotten into. There’s some real disturbing cuteness and fun here, though it doesn’t last as long as I would have liked before we get more time with Sakurako and Himawari. Which also has its moments but again feels weaker than other parts of the series. I had grown to like Sakurako a bit in a recent episode but this doesn’t help her.

In Summary:
With Yui and Kyoko out of the picture, it’s a chance for everyone else to step up a bit. Which can be hard since both Yui and Kyoko are my favorites in the series in general. While they and the other seniors have some brief moments here with their trip to Kyoto, the majority is really given over to Sakurako and Himawari. And while it has its moments that are cute, it’s pretty much just spinning the wheel until something else happens. Even the pairing of Akari and Chinatsu has a few better moments, but that’s kept relatively short overall in comparison as the real focus is on the other two. With the way the show changes dynamics so easily when shifting characters it focuses on, it’s not a surprise that an episode can be hit or miss or even just there. This one is just there.

Grade: B-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.