Nijiiro Days – Episode 12 [Amusement Park Shenanigans]

When the episode opens, Mattsun is on his way to meet up with everyone; today’s the day they’re headed to the amusement part. En route he bumps into Natsuki, who’s exhausted and has huge bags under his eyes. Yeah, we know why you were up late Natsuki and Mattsun does too. ^_~    Mattsun tells Natsuki about a heart-shaped car on the Ferris wheel that’s rumoured to bring long-lasting relationships to couples who ride in it together. Natsuki now has a new goal for their timeat the amusement park: get Anna to ride that car on the Ferris wheel with him. Good luck Natsuki!

vlcsnap-00007When everyone is finally gathered together, Mattsun is surprised to see his younger sister Nozomi. Apparently she’d snuck out of the house early that morning and avoided him, so big brother wouldn’t know she had been invited by Yukirin. They board the bus and Nozomi complains about not being able to sit next to Keiichi, but Mattsun tells her basically that he wouldn’t have allowed it anyways.

Once they drop off their bags at the hotel, they’re ready to tackle some rides! Whoo! Yukirin and Tsuyopon want to watch the concert, so they leave together in order to get a good seat while everyone else in the group makes plans for which ride they want to try. Mari reveals she’s never been on a rollercoaster before, but she’s sure she’ll be fine.

Once they get to the roller coaster, Nozomi starts to have second thoughts. However luckily Keiichi is able to talk her into trying the ride, and hot damn the look on Mattsun’s face makes this scene hilarious. Actually watching Mattsun get bent out of shape over Nozomi’s attraction to Keiichi was probably the highlight of this episode.

The group continues to try the different rides and attractions, but have to stop when Mari’s [thisclose] to blowing chunks everywhere. Anna accompanies Mari to the washroom, while Natsuki, Mattsun, Nozomi and Keiichi head elsewhere to try another ride.

While everyone’s occupied, two rambunctious looking guys approach Anna. Actually rambunctious is too nice a word – stalkers would be more appropriate. They tell her about the amusement part supposedly having a medical office, and Jerkface #1 all but drags Anna away while Jerkface #2 waits for Mari outside the washroom.

When Natsuki and the others get off the ride, they see Mari screaming at Jerkface #2, with Anna nowhere to be seen. For once Mari’s aggressive personality comes in handy, so Mattsun heads over to help her out while Natsuki chases after Anna.

Mattsun’s intervention coupled with his scary facial expression chaces off Jerkface #2. Mari changes her target to Mattsun, who gets (rightly) pissed off that she doesn’t even thank him. However Mari gets herself worked up enough that she starts to faint, and while Mattsun manages to catch her mid-fall, his hand lands in an inappropriate place and his reward is a smack across the face from Spit Woman. Sigh.

Natsuki meanwhile manages to find Anna and Jerkface #1 at the Ferris wheel. Anna is clearly uncomfortable but doesn’t know how to get herself out of the vlcsnap-00017situation. Natsuki races towards her, hoping he’s not too late.

My thoughts: I continue to hate Mari. While she made herself useful for about five seconds while berating Jerkface #2, that little blip was not enough to make me like her. Her constant fighting with Mattsun is also super annoying as well. She could definitely at least been grateful for his assistance with chasing away Jerkface #2, but noooo god forbid she ever show gratitude to someone other than Anna. *rolls eyes*

You know what? While they may seem like a mismatched couple on the surface, Tsuyopon and Yukirin have a pretty solid relationship. In this episode we got to see the depths that Yukirin would go to in order to do something nice for her boyfriend (and their friends by proxy). During a flashback we see that during one of Tsuyopon’s visits to Yukirin’s house, he accidently discovered how many chocolate bars she had to buy in order to get a chance to win the trip to the amusement park. Later at the concert, they hold hands while enjoying the music and goddamit they are just so cute together.

I’m still trying to like Nijiiro Days. The addition of Nozomi has spiced the show up a little, but Mari still drives me nuts as a character. I hope that the hot springs scene Charibo alluded to in her review will bring Anna and Natsuki closer together! Or maybe it’s a Nozomi x Keiichi moment? Fingers crossed for either or both!



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