#Mitsumi Town in Tokyo

[dylanandmiyu-sl-photography]

The Cabal

[itachis]

I'm Iwakura Mitsumi, fifteen years old. I came here from a tiny remote town on the border of Ishikawa Prefecture. I want to be a government official, which is why I applied to a Tokyo high school. I've run around in circles and screwed up bigtime, but I've found wonderful places, wonderful things, and wonderful people that I love very much.

SKIP AND LOAFER / スキップとローファー (2023-) for @animangacreators spring 2023 challenge! ♡

[otsuki-mii]

#スキップとローファー • Skip and Loafer 🌸

Author: Misaki Takamatsu Publisher: Seven Seas Tags: Seinen, Iyashikei, Coming of Age

~~~

"Excellent student Iwakura Mitsumi has always dreamt about leaving her small town, going to a prestigious university, and making positive change in the world. But she’s so focused on reaching her goals that she’s not prepared for the very different (and overwhelming) city life that awaits her in a Tokyo high school. Luckily, she makes fast friends with Shima Sousuke, a handsome classmate who’s as laid-back as she is over-prepared. Can this naive country girl make it big in Tokyo with Sousuke by her side?"

~~~

I started reading this around the time when the 2nd or 3rd volume released in Japan. At the time there were only a couple people who knew about this gem in the western fandom and I always wondered if or when we'd get an official english license for it.

Today the manga has won several awards for its amazing storytelling and there's even been an anime adaptation! I'm really happy to see it getting the recognition it deserves, this is a great series exploring the feelings teenagers go through and the power connections and friendship have.

I love how diverse the cast is and how much each character has to teach. I also love how adorable the art is, specially when shima is drawn extra puppy-like 🤭

If you've been thinking of giving this series a try, don't hesitate anymore! I'm sure you won't regret it.

Check out my Instagram post for more pics!

[irenewsky]

Anime I watched in 2023 (Part 1)

In honor of the new year, I’m gonna be casting a look back at the anime I watched last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of free time to watch anime at the beginning of the year due to university kicking my ass, but after I finally graduated with my master’s degree, I could finally work through some of the backlog I had accumulated on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Anyway, without further ado, this is a list of anime I watched in 2023 with some short descriptions and my own personal opinions. Let it be known, there is a lot of text in this one.

Also, since there ended up being a lot more shows that I watched than I thought there would be, this had to be cut in two -> Click here for part 2

Some of my older lists:

My favourite animes (Old. Tells of my tastes back in, like, 2018-2020 or something. Updated list coming once I get around to it)

Feel good anime Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Handa-kun

Handa Seishuu is a calligraphy prodigy and a high schooler. For years he has been living under the assumption that his student peers all hate him. This is, of course, a huge misunderstanding. In reality, Handa is very much admired in his school, to the point of being popular. Where did this misunderstanding stem from and how can it be resolved?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I liked this one! Although I did have a little bit of distaste towards one of Handa’s so called friends. You’ll understand who and why if you decide to watch this.

Barakamon

Handa Seishuu, now a 25-year-old man, punches a famous, older calligrapher judging his latest work. As a consequence of his own actions, he is sent to live in small town in the countryside where a group of kids rutinely keeps breaking into his house. Beautiful friendships bloom between Handa and the people of this town.

12 episodes - comedy, seinen, slice of life

Took me an episode or two to get in to, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Backflip!!

Shoutaro Futaba enters high school with intense love for sports, especially men’s rythmic gymnastics after he saw Shoushukan high school’s team perform in a competition. He enrolls into said high school and hopes to join the team despite not having any prior experience with gymnastics. Another boy, Ryouya Misato, get recruited alongside him and together with their senpais they start to work towards Inter-high tournament.

12 episodes and an OVA - sports

I started this in the beginning of the year and only got around to finishing it in November. Actually liked this one a lot! The final movie left me feeling so happy yet bittersweet. I recommend this one!

Skip and Loafer

Mitsumi Iwakura leaves her small countryside town and moves to Tokyo to live with her aunt in hopes that attending a prestigious high school would aid with her ultimate goals in life. As the new school year begins, Mitsumi leaves for school with high hopes, gets lost at the subway station, runs into classmate called Sousuke Shima and together the two barely make it to the entrance ceremony. What will her school life shape up to be?

12 episodes - romace, shojo

Nao-chan supremacy! The bestest aunt!

I really liked to animation animation style of this anime. For me, the show looks very soft and fresh in a spring and pastels kind of way. It’s hard to explain but I hope at least one person gets what I mean. I like the characters a lot and their interactions feel nice and grounded. The romance isn’t the main focus in this one, at least not in this season, which I liked since it’s always lovely to just see friendships put into the spotlight.

Buddy Daddies

What do you get if you combine two trained, professional assassins who live together and an accidental child acquisition? A riot of a family dynamic. Katsuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa fumble through their new shared life as parents to a four-year-old Miri Unasaka. What seemed like a temporary situation at first, stops looking temporary when genuine affection and care for the little girl and her well-being start to blossom in both men’s hearts.

13 episodes - action, comedy

This one was so good. I loved every minute of this and the characters’ dynamics worked so well together. Anyone in the shows comment section who complained about Miri being annoying had clearly never been around young children and it showed. Miri is a delightful little girl who loves her dads very much. There was also a fair bit of action in this which was a nice change of pace amidst all the parenthood things.

My New Boss Is Goofy

Momose Kentaro is a 26-year-old office worker working for a marketing firm, Minette. He is new to the job, having just recently quit his previous job due to power harrassement and abuse he received from his former boss. Can his new clumsy and little goofy manager Shirosaki Yuusei make him feel comfortable in his new job?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I love everything about this show. The characters, the storylines in each episode, the art style. This just makes you feel happy and a little giddy. Definitely my favourite show of the year. This one earned the top spot on my rewatchable shows list.

If you liked Play It Cool, Guys or The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, you might like this one.

Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

Kamonohashi Ron was the best stundent of an elite detective school until an incident took away his future career path and made him live as a recluse as he refused to receive any information about the world outside his four walls. One day a police detective Totomaru Isshiki is adviced to approach Ron about a series of cases that have stumped the police for a while now. But because Ron is not allowed to do any sleuthing, Totomaru has to work as Ron’s puppet of sorts. Oh, and there is also the thing about having to keep Ron from influencing the killers to take their own lives. Oh well.

13 episodes - comedy, mystery

I’m a sucker for anything ’Sherlock Holmes’ type of media so this show was right up my alley. Eagerly waiting for the confirmed second season.

Play It Cool, Guys

Group of goofy and clumsy guys from different stages of life happen to meet one another and develop heartwarming friendships. Little mishaps won’t ruin their day!

24 (short) episodes - slice of life

Easily one of my favourites of the year. Watching this felt like sipping a cup of hot green tea while wrapped up in a blanket. Instant rewatch.

If you enjoyed The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague or My New Boss is Goofy, you might also like this one

Vanitas no Karte

A vampire named Noé Archiviste is looking for a book called ’the book of Vanitas’ in the 19th century Paris, when he unexpectedly meets a man calling himself Vanitas and carries the book he’s searching for. The Vanitas he meets isn’t the original maker of the book but a doctor who possesses the ability to save vampires by returning their true names to them.

24 episodes - action, fantasy, mystery

Me, mere minutes into the first episode: ”If anything were to happen to Noé, I would kill everyone in this room and the myself.” Anyway, love me some vampire action, especially with that late 1800s, early 1900s Paris vibe. Delicious.

Vampire Dies in No Time

One day vampire hunter Ronald is tasked to infiltrate a castle and save a woman’s son. Things don’t quite go as he expected. Inside the palace, he meets a vampire called Draluc, who is truly so pathetically weak that he turns to ash from smallest of things that ahppen to startle him, and Draluc’s companion, armadillo John. The kid he seeked was totally fine and playing with Draluc’s video games. Oh and Draluc’s castle gets destroyed. Yeah… Ronald has a new roommate now.

2 seasons - comedy, supernatural

This truly is armadillo John’s world and we’re just living in it.

Love me some more vampire action. Only this time it’s a lot less angsty and violent and a lot more ridiculous and goofy. I laughed so much while watching this.

[mapoeggplant]

skip to loafer chapter 51 // discussion

since the chapter is out right now, being raws and the translation, i won't be posting many screenshots as i usually do in respect of everyone. there being said, i want to talk about some things that happened in this chapter!!! also, i'm not calling it an analyze because i think i want to discuss about it more than analyzing it, if that makes sense. anyways, here we go!

this chapter really feels like a road trip, doesn't it? the pacing, the excitement, even the car seats arrangement. there's such a summer and youth vibes to it and that makes me so, so happy and excited for what's to come! i think that, in the end, two characters were the star of chap 51: maharu and nao.

want to talk about maharu first. at first, i was really surprised by her reaction, but wasn't the narrative building up to this? maharu has been showing signs of insecurity since some chapters ago, so it makes total sense, in my head for her to act like that, for a lot of reasons the most important one is the insecurity of being a small town girl when surrounded by people from the city. maharu is a girl who's starting her teenage years, so it's normal for her to see everything as "cooler than her" or that her traditions are less than people from tokyo.

and, hidden underneath this insecurity, she's facing two weird feelings. 1. the idea that her sister is changing and starting to become "a city girl" (since she was the only one who was "well put" while having lunch). 2. her sister's friends, which i have a little suspicious that she knows that them are helping mitsumi to buy her things that would suit her better. and finally 3. the jealously of having all the attention focused on her sister. i mean, she's also having problems! she's also changing! she's a teenager, she wants attention!!

mitsumi is changing, so is maharu. she's feels like she's losing importance, that mitsumi is no long part of their life style and that all her friends are "too good to be there". it's a ride, specially for a girl who's starting to feel the teenage hormones acting up.

and now, the other character that needs a spotlight: nao. it was widely known that nao hasn't come back since she transitioned. her hometown brings her a lot of dark memories and dealing with her family wasn't all that easy. who can imagine what's going to happen when she's finally back? and well, would you look at that: not only nao received a pleasant surprise, but us as well. that doesn't mean the scars are healed or that she's feeling 100% fine and safe there, but just the small step into recognition means more than words can explain.

general thoughts about the chapter:

mika being the one to first realize that something is wrong between shimamitsu really came as a surprise to me!! i know i made a lot of jokes about this before, but i was sure fumi would be the first one to catch that, and not one of the tokyo girls.

this makes me feel like we're closer and closer to mitsumi finally opening up to the girls and shima facing some criticism aside from his internal ones. this might result in a loot of outcomes, but i know that sensei have the perfect one hidden on her sleeve.

about shima (since we all know i'm a shima maniac), other than that, my suspicions about him not telling his mother about the trip is starting to grow. i mean, we never really saw nao talking to her, he didn't brought a gift (we know that his mother would never let that happen), so it all feels so sus to me...but also, on a lighter note, it's the first time he's visiting a friend's house (that isn't chris or mukai, people he grew up with). i mean, he never had that!! he never thought it would be possible!!! how amazing is that for him!!! (aside from the heartbreak scene he saws...)

the wallet scene is a focal point of the chapter, and this opens a lot of future resolutions involving shima. it's kind of a smaller moment in the bigger picture, but his face after seeing maharu storming out tells a lot to me, in a way. he can clearly see how hurt mitsumi is, even tho she's trying to fake it. all i wish right now is that he takes a step further and talk to her about this, give her some sort of comfort. he knows how important that moment (buying the wallet, i mean) was to her, and now he just saw with his own two eyes what happened, so i really hope he takes a step in. i truly do.

this could lead to a more mukai focused chapter, hear me out: with shima and mitsumi relationship being weird right now, it's obvious that, even if shima comforts her, things won't be normal for a while. they will both hide what happened and i have a feeling that mukai will be the one to caught on that. why? because he's the one who can have a better grasp on shima's bullshit. it won't give us a huge mukai lore but hmmmm...idk it's just a feeling. i can be very very wrong and that's totally fine, but my mind is twirling around this...

now if we're talking about fumi...:

i think a lot can happen, honestly. if sensei is thinking about focusing on maharu a little more, i can see maharu thinking fumi isn't by her side as well, which is a plausible outcome given the feelings that maharu has been dealing with.

if fumi takes maharu side, many different outcomes can happen. mitsumi and her can have a little discussion (nothing too hard, but it would make both feel very sad ofc) and mitsumi would have a little self conscious moment that she isn't giving the proper attention to her family and old friends.

if we think about fumi also being jealous, it can still have an outcome like the scenario i mentioned above or the meeting doesn't go as well as we were expecting. it's a thought moment to really focus on, since we didn't had any fumi thought yet, just a little glimpse.

can't wait to see what's waiting for us, can't wait to see all of them at the beach. i had a little bit of interaction between nao and shima (which you all know means A LOT to me) and now i can finally have my baby fumi meeting all of them. i'm so happy it feels surreal, in a way

thank you for reading it 🌟

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2023 Anime Overview: Skip and Loafer and Birdie Wing Season 2

Skip and Loafer

Mitsumi comes from a small, under-populated town and her dream is to become a government official and help her town out. After getting into an elite high school in Tokyo, she moves there and finds that there are a lot of challenges in the big city and new people to meet. Her new friend, Sousuke, is a nice, popular guy, but he also has a troubled past. But Mitsumi is determined to face anything life throws her way!

Skip and Loafer is just one of those shows that’s like a warm hug. Mitsumi is an instantly endearing protagonist- dorky, earnest, and driven. She's overwhelmed moving from her small town to Tokyo, and a little naive about some things, but she's  a can-do gal determined to make it work! There's an overwhelming kindness to Skip and Loafer that permeates every inch of it. Characters that would just be a simple antagonist or "mean girl" in other anime have their struggles explored and become whole, realized people with good points and bad points.

Sousuke is a troubled former child star who experiences some conflict, but it's not like Mitsumi 'fixes' him-  he simply learns and grows through his experiences with her, both through their conflicts and moments of connection. There's some great female friendships too, and they focus on girls from different social spheres working to find real connection to each other and trying to look past stereotypes and misconceptions. It shows why labels like 'popular girl', 'nerd girl', and so on, are no reason to judge someone.

There's also some nice trans representation with Mitsumi's aunt, Nao, who is a trans woman. Nao-chan's a fun character, who tries to guide her overwhelmed s niece and forms a surprising connection with one of her friends, while still showing off her own sweet and goofy quirks and giving hints about her own life story and how it shaped her outlook. She is also truly wise:

Some brief transphobia towards Nao is shown in the form of people whispering about her on the train, but Mitsumi immediately holds her hand and shows support. Skip and Loafer's kindness extends to the treatment of Nao-chan, and we're clearly meant to cheer for her as she thrives.

All-in-all, Skip and Loafer is a relaxing, entertaining and funny- it has a light touch and a focus on relationships, treating the conflicts and complications high schoolers can face with nuance and empathy. The characters are loveable and the setting is fully realized. The animation is very cute and delivers a couple of beautiful moments. It was the most consistently excellent show I watched this season (even if it didn't reach the highest highs of some other shows) and I think anyone who enjoys slice of life shows, or just wants something that's pleasant to watch but has enough depth to remain entertaining, should definitely check it out.

Birdie Wing Season 2

Premise: Season 2 of the saga where two girl golf geniuses just want to face each other one the green and have their homoerotic sports rivalry like they were MEANT TO, but weird family drama and the actual mafia keep getting in the way.

In my review of Birdie Wing's first season, I completely enjoyed the show's absurdity, but was worried it could all come crashing down in the second season. Fortunately, it did not! Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story remains a bombastically absurd sports anime that is fun to watch all the way through. Please come watch these girls get ridiculous sports injuries, scream their super golf attacks, and be ten times more intense than your average shonen sports show.

Birdie Wing also pulled some great moves this season, like having Eve's caddy from golfing high school be pulled into the absurd world of the golf mafia and react to it with the same panicked confusion the audience might. "They're going to KILL you if you LOSE A GOLF GAME? Why is the golf course like this? How much does this cost?" she cries while Eve just shrugs everything off.

Meanwhile, the show finally brings in the bread and butter of sports anime- injuries and diseases that the main characters are going to ignore for the love of sport. But the tired trope becomes wonderfully absurd and almost verges on pointed commentary when it's GOLF, the sport of retirees, causing these ridiculous injuries. Seeing Eve gets covered with bandages because she golfed too fucking hard, or having this line:

...It really throws into perspective how ridiculous sports anime is when it glamorizes people destroying their bodies for the 'love of the game'. I don't know if that was intentional, but it is very funny.

I am immensely grateful that the plot twist I was fearing didn't come to fruition in the show- instead, in classic Birdie Wing fashion, they teased that terrible plot twist, but instead gave an explanation that was a thousand times more soap opera-esque and ridiculous. I have to to applaud that moxie.

But what's important is that the true believers made it through. We're okay. (If you want to know what I'm talking about and don't mind spoilers, please enjoy this meme I made based off a famous tweet by Crunchyroll).

I must share an anecdote- I had to watch the finale while on vacation with my Mom. When she overheard all the yelling, she was like "are you watching a magical girl show?" "no it's a sports anime- they're playing golf" "Oh...why does it sound like a magical girl show?"

Sadly, the finale was a little bit of a let down- it was rushed compared to other parts of the show and felt like less than it could be. (Considering G-witch had the same problem, I wonder if it was a Bandai wide issue).

But it was still fun. While Aoi and Eve sadly do not kiss or become an explicit couple (despite Aoi very much wanting to!), there is at least absurd golf team up moment you could read as being a Super Deep metaphor for their love. Not much of an excuse, but it's something. The end of the show didn't go as hard as it could have (or, I think, should have) but it was still ridiculously, wonderfully Birdie Wing.

 I was disappointed Aoi and Eve were separated this season so much (and unlike the first season, did not pine for each other nearly as much during separations since they were busy contending with ridic plot stuff), but on the plus side, there weren't really many 'sexual menace' or jarringly mature moments like the first season had. 

Overall, I think it was a really solid follow up, and I can now wholeheartedly recommend Birdie Wing as a show. Just heed the content warnings I left in my first review so you too don't get killed by golf! Once you're ready, let the glorious golf wash over you. You won't regret it.

[mugiloves]

I'm Iwakura Mitsumi, fifteen years old. I came here from a tiny remote town on the border of Ishikawa Prefecture. I want to be a government official, which is why I applied to a Tokyo high school. I've run around in circles and screwed up big-time, but I've found wonderful places, wonderful things, and wonderful people that I love very much. Today, Tokyo has been blessed with a whimsical, vast, and vivid autumn sky!

SKIP AND LOAFER (2023) —EPISODE 12 (FINAL)

[softeninglooks]

the beauty of human connections | Skip to Loafer

Plot

Skip to Loafer is a slice of life manga which tells the story of a high school girl named Mitsumi, who just passed an entrance exam to study in a prestigious high school in Tokyo, where her aunt lives. Since she grew up in a remote area of Japan, her goal is to be a public servant and to ultimately become the mayor of her town in order to remedy the local depopulation crisis. However, before achieving these goals Mitsumi has yet to adapt to her new high school life. From meeting new people to dealing with pressure and making new friends, Mitsumi has to face many new challenges in Tokyo. But thankfully, good people are never far away - all that one has to do is look past their prejudices to see them.

Characters

I can safely say that Skip to Loafer is my favourite story I’ve read in 2023. The manga is still ongoing so I’m really excited for the new chapters, and it’s been so lovely to see these panels and characters come to life in the anime. Skip to Loafer hits home because of the depth with which it tackles the experiences most of us have been through, whether we’re still in high school or older.

My favourite part about Skip to Loafer is the amazingly-written female protagonists and the close bond they share - in a world that more often than not pits women against each other, it’s such a joy to see strong female friendships. Each of the main girl characters also has her own struggles and it’s really simple to identify with one of them, though the brilliant writing and moments of introspection make it easy to sympathise with all of them.

Shima, the main male protagonist, is also an interesting character the full backstory of which is yet to be fully disclosed to the reader.

And finally another special mention goes to Nao, Mitsumi’s trans aunt, who is such a luminous character - we also get a glimpse of her own struggles and past. It’s so great to have an animanga that has such a deep yet wholesome trans representation. Nao is a fully-fledged character who has her own struggles, her complicated past, but who is also blooming and doing her best to take care of Mitsumi and navigate her own life. I cannot wait to have more chapters dedicated to her.

Overall, Skip to Loafer is all about overcoming negative first impressions and getting to know people better. It’s about human connections, how difficult yet beautiful they are, creating bonds, and finding your way through life, no matter how many setbacks you face. Mitsumi quickly became one of my favourite protagonists of all time and a real role model because of her kindness and determination. In the end, Skip to Loafer teaches us that if you open yourself up to the world and the people around you, you can always find a way to keep going forward and face the difficulties awaiting you 🫶🏻

[animehouse-moe]

Skip and Loafer Episode 2: Fidgeting and Wandering

Where to start, where to start indeed. This second episode is where Skip and Loafer begins to spread its wings. It establishes the friend group in more concrete terms, it injects real high school struggle into both Mitsumi as a character and the friend group at large, and gives hints as to where the story wants to go. With the wonderful direction (all forms: art, main, etc. etc.) and voice acting, even though it's only two episodes in, Skip and Loafer is finding ways to begin to set up shop as a classic RomCom/Slice of Life. Though I guess you're asking what really makes it so good.

So let's start with the pieces that stand out to me the most. Gender identity and sexuality. Mitsumi affectionately calls her aunt Nao-chan, and they have a really fun and cute relationship as they live together in Tokyo. But that doesn't stop other people from souring it. Whether or not it's true (of which I'll refrain from commenting on), some girls on the train mistake Nao-chan to be a man. It's certainly a painful scene, and the direction adds to it a great deal.

Focusing on all the parts that clearly define Nao-chan as a woman, there remains one barely notable feature to their neck that the girls latch onto. Nao-Chan paints her nails, she wears jewelry and makeup, and even has a decidedly feminine hairstyle. But because of one aspect, a pair of girls end up singling out Nao-Chan

In the end though, all it takes is Mitsumi's odd smile to bring Nao-Chan back. It's a really heartwarming moment, and the layouts for all of it are just incredible.

In a similar story we get introduced to a new character today, Kanechika, the president of the drama club. He's going around trying to recruit as many people as possible for his club as they've been having a real hard time with getting girls to sign up for the club. Because of that, we get some really wonderful expectation subversion, and some really powerful commentary without even speaking a word.

A pair of high heels emerges from the hallway, and we can see the band-aids sticking out from them.

But these heels don't belong to a girl, they belong to Kanechika of the drama club.

The importance of this scene is twofold. Firstly, the expectation subversion of Kanechika being a man, even though the heels were shown first. And secondly, the fact that there are band-aids on his feet.

So, the expectation subversion. Skip and Loafer is already leaning heavily into expression of gender and sexuality in very free terms which is wonderful. With Tanechika, we're shown that "feminine" things aren't just relegated to only women wearing them, and that they don't even need to be a part of a more feminine-appearing style. By nature, clothing and other fashion items are gender neutral. Alongside that, Kanechika is provided as a perfect vehicle for displaying the harsh and even cruel style and fashion norms applied to women. Just because of the type of shoes he's wearing, he has to have band-aids on his feet.

It's a really incredible little piece that does almost no talking, but speaks volumes about the approach that the author wants with the story.

Overall, I'd say it's something that's spoken to in the episode in general, and goes on to surpass even gender and sexuality norms and their standards in society. If I were to put a description to it, I'd say it's an episode about the unspoken sides of people, and how it affects them when voiced by others.

Like Mitsumi being forced to be aware of her more shy side, and how she comes from a small town despite wanting to come to Tokyo and take in the big city. Or Shima's piece about his relation to "Kanade". It all represents pieces of the characters that they want to let go of, but those around them won't let them be free of what they might see as a curse that stains their history.

It's a really wonderful extension of that vibe that the first episode gave off. These characters are larger than life, but their emotions, their histories, their fears, it's all so human.

Well, now that that bow has been neatly tied on how outstanding the episode is in terms of story and character progression. How about a quick roundup before some technical stuff?

I really liked that they found a natural way to instill drama and an objective in the story outside of "small town girl making it in the big city". The drama club seems to be the piece that ties it all together, as it allows Mitsumi to push past some of her (sort of) fears and concerns, as well as establish a very important piece to a younger character: freedom and malleability. Mitsumi has it set in her heart to be a government official when she grows up, and you can already see that it stunts her freedom and enjoyment of being a high school student. With that in mind, I'm hopeful to see some exploration of Mitsumi's other sides that she was unable to express in her smaller setting, and that they'll blossom within her new environment.

In the same vein we'll also have Shima, who seems to have been a somewhat popular actor when he was younger. Running away from the spotlight for reasons unknown (though not exactly hard to potentially guess at). Given his affinity for Mitsumi, I'm sure we'll see some wonderful moments with him as he rediscovers his passion for drama, and how he'll be able to push past whatever is blocking him to allow him to enjoy his life to its fullest and take part in the things he's passionate about.

Phew, alright. Technical stuff! I'm a massive fan of directors that are bold enough to take wide shots in series. It removes the viewer from the character more, and gives a far more "outside" look than what some might be used to. But I feel like it puts just the right amount of distance in between to allow people to think somewhat differently about the characters.

As well as that, Deai's use of wide and empty shots helps illustrate how alone some of the characters can end up feeling, though in different ways. We've got a few wide shots of Mitsumi, but in sort of different fashion. The first is all about her isolation from the friend group, so while it expresses the emptiness of the scene, it also has a cramped feel thanks to the environment. Probably not intentional, but it makes it feel more suffocating, especially compared to the other example.

Though I think the icing on the cake is the fact that Mitsumi's friend, Fumi, being outside and in wide open space helps sell that cramped feeling even more.

However, this next shot of Mitsumi is outside, so the feeling (once more, probably unintentional) is of a wider and freer stage. It feels more like Mitsumi's left to think on things on her own than it is that she's isolated herself in the moment. Though her body language speaks to that quite well, as she has a stronger and more upright posture here than in the prior image where she's more sullen and shrunken.

Either way, the acknowledgement of space and scale is very apparent in this episode, and it's really great. It's easy to forget about where the characters are since most series end up zoned in on them, but here we get plenty of space to keep their existences relatively small and within the boundaries of how "big" high school can feel to the average person.

If I were to pick my favorite bits of this use of awareness and scale, it would be the hallway/pavilion scene of Shima and Mitsumi for sure. They use the difference in height between the pair to imply how Mitsumi looks up to Shima, and include some of shots of Shima's back. A bit of a two-in-one, it's callback to how Shima was inspired by Mitsumi on the first day of school and was chasing her, and now we have the inverse as true where Mitsumi is trying to catch up to Shima. Though the sentiment is different between the renditions, the former is Mitsumi going off on her own and Shima chasing after, while the latter is Shima leaving Mitsumi behind while Mitsumi is trying to keep pace with Shima.

There's a world of other stuff out there in the episode, like the flashback pieces and how it frames Mitsumi's approach to friendship and understanding people, or how organic the process of high school friendship and camaraderie is shown to be through indirect interactions, or even how cute and natural Shima and Mitsumi are together as they play the role of sunshine in each other's lives. But I think this is a good place to call it.

Skip and Loafer really is selling itself incredibly well on all fronts already though. P.A Works was probably nobody's (aside from fans of Akiba Maid War) top choice for this adaptation, but they've proven a great deal within such a short period of time. Really incredible work on both ends, and I can't wait for the next episode!

[ahb-writes]

Manga Review: 'Skip and Loafer' #5

Skip and Loafer #5 by Misaki Takamatsu

comedy

coming of age

romance

wholesome manga

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The thin, pearlescent line between adolescent affection and early-adult romance grows thinner and more transparent with each passing season. For some of the girls and boys of SKIP AND LOAFER v5, the signs are obvious. For others, it's a bit more complicated. Regardless of the nature of the inconvenient venture toward that thing called love, one truth is for certain: It's a journey best had with a good friend by one's side.

The end of the calendar year brings with it all sorts of hilarious ponderings from the manga's central cast about the destiny of their relationships. When is it okay to push for romance? How does one deal with the anxiety over pressing too hard? If popularity doesn't bring one comfort, then are reputation and admiration overrated? What the heck is the deal with Christmas gifts? Nobody knows the answers to these questions. But these kids will figure things out, sooner or later, for better or for worse. Probably.

Image and identity have served as stealth themes for much of this manga. Readers haven't had much reason to think the creative team would lean too far into these topics when their characters so wildly and fondly traipse through sports events, exams, school festivals, and the usual gossip. But SKIP AND LOAFER v5 is a much-deserved punch to the gut. Mitsumi's plainness grows more apparent the longer she lives in Tokyo, and the girl dreads the possibility that her comfort in being who she is (i.e., absent most aesthetics of modern femininity) presumes her incapable of navigating her nascent adulthood. And Makoto, the bookworm, takes a chance on witty banter with a guy from her lit club, and all the while she's fighting against the exhaustion and the insecurity that come with stepping out of one's comfort zone.

There's plenty more, too. But on these character notes, readers glide through the frustrations of Mitsumi and Makoto, observing the painful truth that the reason teenage life is so fraught is because it takes so much effort to survive without giving in to dishonesty.

Mitsumi turns to Fumi, Mika, and Auntie Nao for a pep talk and for inspiration. Is makeup necessary? Is femininity necessary? What is femininity to a teenager? And how much is enough? Nao's six-page heart-to-heart on trusting in oneself to know what's "beautiful" is exquisite. As for Makocchan? She has a totally-not-a-date date with Honda, a second-year guy in the lit club. Makoto has the same battle with self-esteem and self-understanding that Mitsumi has, only further magnified by her own earnestness. A trip to book-town, Jinbocho, could bring Makoto and her senpai closer together. How nice should she dress? Should she put her hair up? Why are contact lenses so troublesome? Makoto seeks help from Yuzuki, whose increasingly reliable disposition foretells more best-buds shenanigans in the future.

SKIP AND LOAFER v5 once again validates Takamatsu's manga series as one of the most genuine and sensitive, yet humorously pragmatic titles on the market. And while the girls are the focus of the current volume's main stories, readers engage plenty of awkwardness on the part of Sousuke, Tsukasa (Mukai, Sousuke's even-tempered, childhood friend), and Kento (Yamada, the excitable guy). In a pair of delightful twists, it turns out the girls respect Kento for his honesty, the guys worry about Mitsumi being Sosuke's blind spot, and everybody likes bowling.

❯ ❯ Manga Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[itsavgbltpta]

Should You Watch Skip & Loafer?

(English title: Skip & Loafer)

(Japanese title: Skip to Loafer - or Sukippu to Roofaa)

A Brief Summary

Mitsumi comes from a super small town, but she has big ambitions.  Her plan is to attend school in the big city (Tokyo) in order to become a government official and make things better for her very small hometown.  She’s so dedicated to this goal, that she doesn’t realize other people may not have the same kind of mindset and would rather loaf around.  Enter Sousuke, a fellow classmate she meets after getting lost on the way to her first day of school in the maze that is Tokyo.  Sousuke likes to take things at his own pace (slow) and not get himself deeply involved into anything or with anyone.

The pair are almost complete opposites, but they become friends anyhow and learn a bit more about the world and themselves throughout their freshman year in high school.

So, should you watch the anime?  

Definitely yes, unless you absolutely can’t stand slice of life anime.

I looked forward to watching Skip & Loafer every week as it gave me a warm, squishy dose of wholesome goodness.  It’s just so gosh-dang nice.  My heart could barely handle the genuine feelings in some episodes.

Skip & Loafer is also a funny show, but funny in a friendly way.  It’s not slapstick violence, but instead shows off how goofy things can be when high school kids interact with each other.  But to be fair, the show has its serious moments too.  High school isn’t all laughs, after all.  Each of the characters have darker bits to them, as do all people.  The way the show explores how the characters grow is… well, I used the word before, but honestly, “wholesome” is the best description for Skip & Loafer.  Because even when some darker moments happen, things end up okay in the end.

While I mentioned this is slice-of-life-esque, there is a hint of romance throughout as well.  But romance isn’t the main focus, it’s just part of the high school experience - which is what the focus of Skip & Loafer really is.  Kids figuring themselves out a little at a time with some bonus shenanigans thrown in.  You know, your classic school festivals and sports day fun.  Throw in the whole “country hick in the big city discovering new things” vibe, and you’ve got yourself this anime.

And I mean that in the best way.  Though my high school days are long past, so maybe my opinion is slightly tinted by nostalgia’s rosy color.

The art design and animation add to the wholesome feeling the show gives off.  The character design is pretty simple, but they do a lot with faces and expressions.  I love some of the derpy faces Mitsumi makes, and the little blush marks characters get when embarrassed or nervous are very cute.  While I don’t know much about fashion, the clothes Mitsumi and her friends wear seem fairly realistic to what you could find normal Japanese teenagers wearing today.  I do enjoy extreme and weird outfits, but in a slice-of-life style anime, regular fashion is a nice touch.

The plot is mostly about the day to day life and ambitions of high school students.  We learn a bit about the group and how their childhood experiences (such as being a child star, being made fun of, etc) have shaped them, but also how they can still keep changing.  Like I said, freaking wholesome.

Besides Mitsumi and Sousuke’s developing friendship, you’ll get to peek into the lives of some of Mitsumi’s other friends and family, such as:

A tsundere classmate who wants Sousuke’s attention and has the same bangs as Misato from Evangelion (Mika).

A blonde bombshell super-model type that wants friends who don’t care about her looks or fame (Yuzuki).

A classic nerdy introverted girl with twin braids and glasses who thinks good looking people are jerks (Makoto).

The ultimate bestie from back home that is the most supportive person on earth (Fumi).

The epitome of OCD and the type who would probably plan out every bathroom break on a trip (Takamine).

A passionately dedicated drama club student who will do anything for the sake of their art (Kanechika).

And a cool aunt with a bit of an adam’s apple that helps out with good fashion tips and a place for Mitsumi to stay in Tokyo (Nao).

**Disclaimer here that I am not trans, but in my opinion, I think Nao’s inclusion in the story was very tastefully done.  Pronouns were used correctly, and no big deal was ever made of Mitsumi’s aunt formerly being an uncle.  She mentions it to her friends once when they are going to stay they night in case it bothers anyone.  But it doesn’t.  And I really like that.**

Plus even more friends and family!  There are quite a few minor characters that still make a big impact, and some I’d like to know more about.  As Skip & Loafer was a manga before it was an anime, I assume we do get more, so yay!  But even if you just watch the anime only, the story ends at a good stopping point. 

Where does it rate on my personal scale?

S: I will buy it at full price (unless it’s released by Aniplex USA, because fuck their pricing).

->A: I will buy it on sale sometime down the line.

B: I had fun watching it, but don’t need to own it.

C: It’s not my cup of tea, but wasn’t awful.

D: Dropped it.

X: Finished it out of spite, but did not enjoy it.

Skip & Loafer ranks at a solid A.  It was one of my favorite shows of the season and I would like to have the chance to watch it again even if streaming services die.  I’m also tempted to check out the manga to get more of my wholesome fix.

[kierrasreads]

Skip and Loafer Volume 1 Review by Misaki Takamatsu

Plot

Mitsumi is bound for high school in Tokyo! She's got book smarts, but this small-town girl is about to find out she's massively unprepared for the social norms of big city high schoolers.

Discussion

This gave me OHSHC vibes- and let me say, Sousuke is absolutely adoable! He's the living embodiment of the golden retriever/literal sunshine trope and I'm here for it! I'm dying to learn more about his acting days.

This is a simple plot, but it's executed well. I can't wait to learn more about the characters :)

Rating

5/5

[talenlee]

Story Pile: Skip & Loafer

Why Talen, you may say, this isn’t smooch month any more. This is plain out ordinary March! March is a time for pi day and references to ‘march forth’ and more resentment of American culture for its permeating omnipresence! What’s with this anime, which is obviously a smooch month anime, set apart from its normal and natural habitat of the month where I talk about people doing smooches? It is, after all, so very, very obviously, an anime about a pair of characters who smooch, right?

Skip and Loafer | OFFICIAL TRAILER 2

Watch this video on YouTube

Right?

Skip And Loafer sure has the look of a high school romance anime. It is, in a way, a purer way, exactly that, with its deliberate focus on how characters feel, except the predominant feeling is one of relentless alienated anxiety. The characters of Skip & Loafer are teenagers standing on the precipice of a stage of their life; the point where high school is giving them tastes of control, of the capacity to choose their future (within reason), and the way that these characters grapple with those choices and work out now before they try and work out tomorrow.

But that’s your top level view of things, the more specific element of this story is our focus on the main character, Iwakara Mitsumi, a country bumpkin who has come to The Big City to do Proper High School as part of her progression towards University education, a decorated life in the public sector before retiring to the mayoral role at her small home town and scattering her posthumus ashes into the sea of Toyko, and Shima Sosuke, a pretty chill guy. This is not a joke, this is what they’re both like. Sosuke has grown up in Tokyo and is very familiar with city life and Mitsumi grew up in a bog, where the people are fascinated by the periodic appearance of a plane going overhead and consider worshipping it as a god. Okay that is a joke.

Mitsumi is a lovely study of someone who, without a clear way of parsing the unspoken nature of reality from the social spaces around her, has read the literature on what a high school life is like and is executing on that plan as per the documentation.

I talk about how a lot of anime characters lately have anxiety disorders but oh my god Mitsumi has an anxiety disorder.

Sosuke is a boy who just seems to have shown up alongside her, and freed from all her concerns and anxieties, is able to provide a sense of grounding and also the directions to school because he isn’t lost on a train platform. This is, as you might expect from the obvious ‘these are two very different people’ pitch, his problem, where he’s so chill and relaxed that he can temper her anxiety, yeah, it turns out that that’s because he is so chill and relaxed because he has a hard time caring about anything at all.

And that’s your pitch, that’s your lot. Two people who see in one another something wildly different to who they are, and obviously, from there, we watch them orbit one another in ever increasing circles as they move in to bump into one another with an almost Hallmark thonk.

But no.

What sets Skip & Loafer apart for me is that after this initial setup where it seems to be designing the structure of a romance anime, and you can regard every character in it as a complication or a confusion along that way, the show resolutely does not bother doing anything with that. Instead, the series spends its time showing these two people falling In Friends with one another, and in Friends with the people around them. They learn about one another, with the regular lens of Mitsumi’s unawareness of the realities of Tokyo high school life being brought to bear on things like phone communities, whisper networks, fashion and afterschool socialisation.

This series is about the gimmick of what if the hottest boy in school was your bestie and actually nice, and then the ensuing narrative is full of people making presumptions about what that means. It’s not building towards a romance because it’s building towards a much more complicated and difficult struggle that is being friends with one another.

Actual friends, mind you.

These characters learn about one another’s emotional inner lives. They learn about one another’s anxieties and histories. There is a way of being in school where nobody knows you or cares about you, where people just bounce along superficially, with the classical anime character who has no friends or one who is only in class for a hot second before the adventure breaks out, and this series eschews that shortcut to get to where it wants to go. This is an anime where the relationships people have and the assumptions other people have about what those relationships mean form the tension of the characters associating and then, at some point, they realise ‘hey, we’ve been focusing on one another over this other reason for so long, are we actually friends?’

It’s such a strange thing to me, as someone whose high school life was unsurprisingly hollow; literally nobody from my high school life has remained in my life at all. The day I graduated is the last day I saw almost all of them. We did not really come to understand one another or what it meant to spend time with one another, or our childhoods — and it makes the image of what Skip & Loafer presents intriguing and mysterious to me.

I think part of what I love about it is the realisation that the romance that seems to be the point isn’t the point is this slow creeping understanding. These aren’t characters who are going to focus on dating and smooching – neither Sosuke nor Mitsumi are in that space mentally. They’re both unpacking problems they have that make it hard for them to form relationships, though hilariously, her problem is mostly not understanding how other people are going to respond to naked honesty.

It’s not a hard anime to love for it. You’re going to watch some people have a nice time after school, you’re going to laugh at some misunderstandings, you’re going to see the threads of darker and more challenging emotional realities that they can handle if they approach them carefully, and then the series is over. They’re friends. There’s going to be a tomorrow, and that tomorrow will have one another in it.

Oh and special shoutout to Mitsumi’s aunt, who is a trans woman that gets to be cool and good in her show and isn’t the butt of any jokes that I can perceive.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[translationandbetrayals]

A very soft restart

There have been some stuff happening in my life that made me lose the passion in doing many things that I used to enjoy. Among these things, there was watching anime. I think the last time I watched an anime and truly enjoyed it was more than a year ago, so, until recent times, I was very behind with the newest and trending anime. When I started attending to this course, I had the urge to resume this activity, but I wanted to do it with a short and relaxing anime for this restart. Thinking about what to watch, I came across some fanarts of Skip to Loafer and remembered that a friend of mine told me about how tender and cute it was, so I decided that, on the weekend, I would buy some snacks and I’d set myself to watch it.

After 12 episodes, I came to understand why the hype when the anime was released.

For those who don't know what Skip to Loafer is about, I'll give you a little summary without spoilers:

The story revolves around Iwakura Mitsumi, a 15-year-old girl who grew up in a rural and secluded area in Ishikawa Prefecture and recently moved to Tokyo in order to start her senior year in a new high school. Mitsumi had her whole life already planned, dreaming of leaving her small town so she could pursue her goals of going to a top tier university and then contributing to the country, so after she could retire back to her hometown to rest.

The main problem is that Mitsumi is so focused in accomplishing her goals that she is oblivious to the other things she lacks, like the experience of communicating with her classmates in a new school and the new and unknown situations she has deal with after moving to Tokyo, worrying her family and close friends.

I really loved Mitsumi’s character. Watching her journey on pursuing her goals while being a high student in a big city and, even with the struggles she comes to face, how her relationship with her peers develops was quite moving and I had my share of tears in some episodes. I admire her ambitiousness, her open mindset and kind attitude towards the new people she gets to know in Tokyo. She is a very refreshing MC and I really look up to her.

As my friend said, watching Skip to Loafer felt like a kiss to my soul and it was what I needed in order to enjoy anime again. If there's someone who hasn't watched it yet and is having a rough time, I highly recommend it, you won't regret it! On my side, it really catched my attention and I'll surely be checking on the manga very soon :)

-Francisca Rivera C.

[ljaesch]

Skip And Loafer: Episode 1 - "Sparkling-Fresh"

The episode opens with a 15-year-old girl named Iwakura Mitsumi leaving her small town and going to Tokyo to attend a school that will help her reach her goals of going to a prestigious university and achieving her lofty aspirations. While Mitsumi is a smart girl, she’s so focused on her goals that she isn’t truly prepared the city life she experiences in Tokyo. She moves in with an aunt in…

[reversethieves]

Manga of the Month: Skip and Loafer

Skip and Loafer by Misaki Takamatsu Mitsumi has moved from a small town to Tokyo to live with her aunt and start a new chapter of her school life. She has grand ambitions of becoming a public servant (and mayor of her hometown someday)! Only come to find out, she is a bit less astute than one might imagine. She get hopelessly lost on the first day of school, pukes on a teacher after her opening…