In essence, what this preparation seems to involve (particularly in the Kiyosumi team's case) is lots of frolicking at a swimming pool in bikinis to ensure the maximum possible level of fan service, complete with references to water melons, blobs of fat and other such wonders - No need to write answers on a postcard for whom such phrases may be discussing there.
If the first half of the episode focuses on the "ooooh", then the second half if all about the "ahhhhh", giving us some of Koromo's cuteness to be enjoyed via the trip to Japan she had with the Ryyuumonbuchi high school girls the last time they qualified for the team tournament. There is just one last little feather to this episode's cap, in the form of some brief appearances which bookend this instalment of an ace Mahjong player who has (although she denies it) a younger sister...
Although there are a few important little snippets littered through this episode, it would be hard to define this instalment of Saki as anything other than both filler and gratuitous fan service... I suppose they had to find a way to write a beach/swimming pool episode into this series somehow. Perhaps the brief break from all that tense and exciting mahjong action was much needed, but at least it appears that we'll be moving on to the individual tournament from this point forth - It'll be interesting to see how (and perhaps even if) they can squeeze it into the final six episodes of the series.
Well this was different from the usual tile slams and evil auras! But enjoyable, none the less. Saki not knowing how to swim was pretty cute, if I say so myself....
ReplyDeleteNodoka's boobs are once again mentioned, the President tries to bring a mahjong table into the pool (WTF?!?!) and Kyouta is in paradise....
I personally enjoyed this ep because, as much as I love their awesome mahjong action, you have to have a beach/swimming pool ep in EVERY anime. But the smart writers set Saki up for an exciting last few eps... which is a nice marketing strategy...
And on the next ep I will probably have a new fave character! Teru and her cluelessness about her sister just made my day. And ended Saki on another cliffhanger. There will probably be a mahjong battle b/w the 2 demonic sisters which is the part that I'm looking forward to the most.
Sadly, this might be the last few eps before we have to wait for another season to come out. So, honest to God, I'm gonna be waiting for and watching this anime every week!!!!
First off, I laughed sooo hard when Kyou turns around and they did the sparkles on the girls in swimsuits. This was probably one of the more fun parts of the episode where the beauty of said girls have to be shown in swimsuits.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a filler but still a refreshing and fun one but i can't say that my hopes weren't raised when the pres tried to bring a mahjong table in. I was actually really hoping that they would play and that it was another one of the pres's brilliant plans to make them relax while playing mahjong. Unfortunately there wasn't any of that action but it's still all good.
The penguin beachball was cute but it's ironic that their's a beachball and a pillow that is of the same character. But who knows.
Meeting ryoumbuchi was also ironic but it added a fun twist to the story and I loved the restaurant scene. Because it gave us another interesting insight to the past of Koromo.
Overall, even though this episode was a filler and your right probably fan base. It was still refreshing and entertaining. Not as much as the actual mahjong action but it was good to take a break. And I'm happy that they didn't put too much swimsuit scene and actually did some other story (the koromo story) cause I would have been bored watching girls swim and splash each other the whole 25 mins.