Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru - Episode 7

No week is complete without another dose of Hotori Arashiyama's slice of life... thank goodness then for episode seven of Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru.

As this episode begins, it appears that Hotori isn't the only one to pay any attention to TV fortune-telling predictions, as Sanada dismisses a blood type-based piece of advice telling him to take a short trip with a loved one to cement their relationship.  This seems like a nonsensical thing to say to him on a school day, but when he bumps into a sleepy (and surprisingly early) Arashiyama on the bus only to have her fall asleep on his shoulder (a dream scenario in itself), he decides to take this advice and deliberately misses their stop for school to instead skip class and spend some time hanging out with Hotori instead.  This only serves to fulfil more of Sanda's dreams, as he gets to hold Hotori's hand while they explore the town at the end of the line they've ended up at (purely from Hotori's instinctive reaction on account of having siblings mind you), and it seems that no amount of punishment from the powers at be at school will dissuade him from having made this particular decision.

The second half of the episode finds Hotori's younger brother unable to sleep on account of some dodgy concoction providing to him by his sister, and so when he comes to her room complaining of said insomnia Hotori decides to allow him to wear off his excess energy courtesy of a late night walk around town.  While Hotori wanders around in the middle of night as though it's no big deal, her brother is amazed by this previously unknown world that he's suddenly been introduced to, finding himself fascinated by the smallest of things in these previously unheard of hours.

Although this episode didn't have as great a laugh to scene ratio as some of its previous instalments, it was nonetheless a very entertaining and amusing offering to watch.  There were certainly some simple pleasures to be enjoyed from both halves of this episode that proved to be evocative of memories from my own past, whether it's ditching whatever you're supposed to be doing to hang out with a girl you like on a whim or those heady days where you get to wander the streets in the dead of night for the first time - this is anime I can relate to, given an additional coating of humour thanks to the ever-wonderful Hotori's comments and behaviour to spice things up.  What's not to like about a series that reveals that the perfect crime can be committed via the use of a frozen banana?  In short, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru is continuing to exceed my expectations, and from some rather unexpected angles to boot.