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Summary:
Unable to control the steam coming out of her head, Tenko runs out of the classroom. While she’s off trying to stop it, Samatarou is experiencing a new feeling looking at the girl named Komori Kumiko (who’s only going to be around for a short time). Tenko finally returns from the infirmary, only to find Samatarou talking about a pain in his chest. She thinks that it’s love and convinces Samatarou to go ask Kumiko out. Unfortunately, Kumiko turns him down because she’s still moving in today. Samatarou can’t understand why she rejected him, why god’s miracle didn’t work. Tenko thinks that this is a chance for him to use his own strength and the two decide to keep Kumiko a secret from their family. At home, the two find Mama and Papa wearing nothing but a heart shaped aprons. After Samatarou goes upstairs, Papa asks Tenko if she knows anything about why Samatarou’s heart’s wavelengths went wild today, but she just attributes it to Papa’s imagination.
At school the next day, Kumiko comes up to Samatarou and asks to talk to him after school behind the gym. Tenko ends up following Samatarou there and has to hide herself when Kumiko comes. Kumiko confesses her love for Samatarou and then forces herself onto him by taking off her shirt and hugging him. Samatarou quickly realizes that something isn’t right and calls out his father. He and Tenko then make their point that he wants to use his own strength here. Since they insist, Papa returns Kumiko to normal. However, that means that she comes to her senses, realizes that she’s in her bra, and slaps Samatarou before running away. Samatarou skips dinner again that night, so Tenko tries to cheer him up. He’s ready to give up, but his sister bursts into his room and gives him a present: tickets to the water park.
The two of them invite Kumiko and Samatarou’s friend Shinichi, who Tenko pretends to be going out with. Samatarou tries to follow Tenko’s example of holding hands, but he can’t bring himself to do it with Kumiko. In the changing room, Shinichi tells Samatarou that Tenko is actually popular with the boys, and he’s quite happy to be going out with her. The guys get to see that Tenko is wearing a white swimsuit (with small wings coming out of her back) and Kumiko is wearing a red two-piece. They all start to have fun in the water, but soon several girls start calling out Samatarou’s name. More of these girls, who are in love with him, come over and start throwing him up in the air. Samatarou notices that his sisters are sitting nearby, manipulating the girls. They stop after he notices them, but the entire situation reflected poorly on him in Kumiko’s eyes, despite him saying that it was a case of mistaken identity.
At Tenko’s suggestion, they go on a waterslide. Kumiko and Kumiko go down together, but the tube seems to go on forever. That’s because Samatarou’s sisters are once again interfering. When the two finally do emerge and fall into the pool below, Kumiko is missing her top. Samatarou happens to be holding it, which earns him another slap for being a pervert. The trip home on the train has Kumiko trying not to make eye contact with Samatarou and talking with Shinichi instead. Tenko tries to comfort by Samatarou by holding his hand in Kumiko’s place, but he refuses it. The train passes onto a bridge and the two are able to see the sunset. It reminds Samatarou of his childhood with Tenko, walking together hand-in-hand towards the setting sun. He then takes Tenko’s hand and smiles at her, and action that Kumiko notices.
Well this episode really makes me root for Tenko. Maybe it’s because Kumiko is basically a puppet for a lot of the episode or maybe it’s because Tenko gets a lot more screen time and you can see a certain sadness in her as she watches as Samatarou tries to get together with Kumiko. In this sense, she’s got a lot more character development, so it’s hard (for me at least) not to take her side instead of Kumiko’s. In fact, Kumiko feels a lot more like side character than the OP would have me believe (though I guess she’s not in the ending at all).
And yes, you folks are right, the final scenes on the train do look like Misty trying to comfort Ash LOL…
Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with following this series.
