…Nothing else needs to be said, does it?

Okay, well…another one of those lighthearted episodes, but I’m a little less tolerant at this point.  Yes, it’s only the second episode, and I said I was okay with it if there had to be some transition, but there’s a problem with that:  Unless by the end of this two parter there’s another light ball in the Illusionary World that shows up, there’s really nothing that really advances the main plot in any way.  Reintroduction is done, so I’d really like to see them start heading beyond School Life.  With all of that out of the way, the episode itself was very entertaining, though I must say that Sunohara abuse is a bit redundant if it’s played during a Sunohara-centric episode…

The episode revolves around Sunohara finding someone will play the role of a fake girlfriend in order to stop teh imouto from worrying about his future.  I was looking forward to who might step up to the plate to do so, and found it hilarious when it the end result:  none of the main harem would, except for Kotomi, but that apparently held disastrous consequences (they could’ve just told her not to play the violin…poor Kotomi ;_;).  Even Ryou and Yukine, who makes her reappearance, aren’t able to be goaded into it.  It’s almost as if they were saying “This is Tomoya’s harem, do not touch” (Fun fact, in the VN, Kyou’s Bad End is basically a Ryou end, while Yukine was originally supposed to be one of the heroines);  I was halfway expecting Fuko to make her reappearance as well, seeing as how she’s one of the few characters Mei hasn’t met.

…Nothing else needs to be said does it!?  ^o^

Imagine my surprise when after the painful consequences of asking the girls in his grade, including asking a random girl to under take in a “good part-time job for you,” that the final choice would be…Sanae!?  With Sunohara still under the impresssion that she’s Nagisa’s sister, we’re reminded of the magic of anime wherein adult women are so hot they can pass as a high schooler despite being over the age of 30 (not that women over that age aren’t hot, mind you), as well as the Superman logic of “Glasses = perfect disguise.” Given Sanae’s kind nature, I find it hard to believe why I hadn’t been completely enamored with her up until this episode, as she seems to be another great example of waifu material (there are other foods besides bread ^^;), and I can justify Akio’s jealousy and subsequent acts of Sunohara abuse when he finds out this entire plan, as well as Sunohara’s feelings of disappointment when he most likely asks for them to be lovers in reality. ;_;

If anything, this episode is big “D’AAAAAAW!” fest. ^^;

With that in mind, Mei didn’t look to pleased at Sunohara having a girlfriend, contrary to the thought that her thinking that would make her worry less.  Was Episode 24 from last season foreshadowing something?  Is it possible that Sunohara will be able to achieve a(n) wincest END?

Hawt Bedhead Nagisa is hawt.

Speaking of jealousy, it’s nice to see Nagisa showa bit of insecurity about her relationship with Tomoya (being attracted to her mom no less!), though this was apparent last season as well when she started freaking out that he wouldn’t like her anymore just because of the little incident with Mei.  Eventually, the relationship will develop so that it won’t happen anymore, so take these little moments in while you can!

…There’s a horrible song about brushing shoulders off, isn’t there?

Random Tomoyo paragrah!  For a second, I kinda thought that she would indeed be the one to go along with the plan.  And for some reason, although it was in no way explicitly stated, I had the feeling there were some conflicted feelings with Nagisa when the two talked, if we go ahead with the implication that Tomoyo was a bit disappointed in seeing Tomoya being interested in Nagisa back during the tennis match;  like that match, however, if she did then she does a pretty good job in hiding it in public, keeping a smile on her face, and I doubt she has holds any resentment towards Nagisa at all, indicating that she doesn’t mind and has moved on (apparently she’s stopped waking up Tomoya in the morning, though him moving into the Furukawa bakery is probably the real reason).  I doubt this will get touched on again( unless Tomoyo’s arc here says otherwise), so I’ll leave it at that.

“Look!  I found actual food!”

More Illusionary World stuff…I’m not really sure what the little goat(?) were supposed to represent, and am actually surprised that they were there at all;  I was under the assumption that both the girl and the little robot were the sole inhabitants of the world.  If anyone’s got any theories feel free to share.

PREVIEW

Too much conflicting drama, cannot make witty jokes. ;_;

Next episode is called “Hearts that do not converge.” I’m thinking the scenes with Sunohara’s weird mannerisms could actually take place after the little scene where he seems pretty pissed off, perhaps after a rejection from Sanae?  Mei didn’t look too happy when saying “Enjoy your time with her” either, but maybe her being hugged will change that?

Sidenote:  I’m sure most of you have found out by now, but the opening to After Story, “Toki wo Kimazu Uta” (Song to Pass Time),   is a faster, vocal version of the song “Onaji Takami e (To the Same Heights)” from the VN, but was also incorporated into one of Kotomi Arc episodes from last season.  For those interested in comparisons, I’ve included the video below.

Singles for the OP and ED come out November 14th.