Hanamaru Kindergarten Episode 10 Thoughts

SNAPSHOT OF THE EPISODE

"Hanamaru Cheering Squad"

PART A - We have seen the obligatory slice-of-life "Summer Festival" in episode 7, and now we are treated to Hanamaru Sports Festival. ^^ In the first half, we get to meet Koume's brother, but I don't think his name was mentioned because I don't remember it. Anyway, my first impression of him is...
"not another Tsuchida", which thankfully isn't the case. *Phew* The truth is he is a really good brother.

Koume's brother and Koume stole the first half of the show with their bond. The scene where Koume struggled to make the finish line while her brother cheering her on was heartwarming. She actually had the lead for a good while, and I actually thought she would come in first, but of course that would have been unfitting for Koume. Anzu, Hinagiku, and Hiiragi got a medal, though.

Back at Koume's house, her brother awards her with a homemade medal for effort, and that concludes part-A. But I really have to ask "where are Koume's parents?" and "why didn't they show up for the sports festival?" I guess it's not that important, just curious is all. As far as Hiiragi goes, she cosplayed as a green Ninja. And Hiiragi blushing when cheering on her slave, Kenji was adorable. ^^

"Hanamaru Confession"

PART B - Now it's time for the obligatory slice-of-life karaoke episode. Hehe. In this second half, we are given a look into how the teachers relieve stress on their off time: by getting totally wasted, of course! ^^ Kawashiro sang the OP theme to "Shaman King", which is appropriate considering director Seiji Mizushima has worked on that and Hanamaru. Okay, sorry back to the episode.

So the teachers are wasted, including Yamamoto which is a surprise, and doing karaoke. What is left to do when drunk? Pressure Tsuchida to confess to Yamamoto, of course! I really thought his confession was really sweet, and from I can tell Yamamoto thought so, too. Then they literally hopped around town like drunken rabbits. Hehe. This scene was so funny.

The next day at work, Tsuchida is hungover and nervous about finding out Yamamoto's reaction to his confession but he doesn't have the courage to confront her at first. But with the push of Kusano and Yamamoto's fashion wedding picture, he finally finds the courage to ask Yamamoto about his confession from the night before. As expected from Miss Clueless, she simply thought it was a line from her current favorite manga called "Ren'ai Step". Ugh, poor Tsuchida! You have a tough road ahead of you and I'll be cheering you on.

Feeling devastated by Yamamoto, Tsuchida again goes on a drinking binge with Kawashiro and Kusano. He is really losing it because he is found sleeping in a pile of trash the next day, by Anzu and her mother Sakura. Sakura's strong point is encouraging Tsuchida, so she does exactly that by giving him a wrestling lock move similar to Baka Test's Minami.

The ending theme for this episode seemed like a tribute to classic horror flicks such as Frankenstein, Vampire, Jason, etc. The song featured Tsuchida's voice actor Satoshi Hino. I enjoyed the animation clip as usual, but the song is definitely my least favorite so far. Impressive as always, though.

Thoughts?

This episode was really outstanding and it is definitely one of my favorites: it was heartwarming, the adults were more entertaining than usual, it had tons of hilarious scenes, and the suspense of Tsuchida's confession was engaging. It seems like they're finally getting comfortable in fleshing out both the kids and the adults, which is really good news but the bad news is the series is almost at an end. ; ; I really hope this isn't the last of Hanamaru Kindergarten after this season because, in my opinion, they are really hitting their stride with incorporating everyone into the mix. Oh, well.. at least I have the manga to look forward too! ^^ Also, it's probably just me but Koume's brother at the beginning with his fur jacket reminded me of Izaya (Durarara!!). XD From 1 being garbage and 10 being a masterpiece, I would have to rate this episode somewhere between 8 or 9.