And that’s another anime for me to cover this season.
Never thought I’d say that but I really am enjoying this show more legitimately than I anticipated. I definitely underestimated it at least. Maybe if anime wasn’t so enamored with fanservice, I wouldn’t have judged the book by its cover so much. Then again, if it was an outlier and not the norm, it’d probably still need to prove its worth behind all that “plot”. Oh well, I’m liking the show so no need to harp on this note any longer.
Anyway, this episode introduces Kananta’s old beach volleyball friends, Emily and Claire Thomas (Rie Suegara and Atsumi Tanezaki respectively). It’s the classic twin dynamic with the these two. Emily is polite and composed while Claire is overzealous and more overtly competitive. Naturally, they get into arguments (this episode has the two arguing over Claire’s choice of swimwear for example) though they’re surprisingly well-coordinated on the sand court.
Their chemistry with Team Harukana is off to a good start. Claire and Haruka practically hit off instantly with their similar personalities and play styles. There is one moment where Emily is alarmingly harsh towards Kanata for not giving the practice match her all though it actually seems to be out of concern rather than hostility. This moment also shows how Claire can be a voice of reason for her sister, telling her that she’s overstepping boundaries here and later, Emily does apologize to Kanata for her attitude. Kanata, of course, accepts given how long she’s known her friend’s personality.
Much of this episode surrounds Kanata coming out of the shell she had put herself in prior to the start of the series. I suppose her not being tall enough is an awfully extreme conclusion to jump towards. Even stranger is that the death of her parents seems entirely separate from her trauma. In spite of that, I think one can still relate with how she feels that her lack of a growth spurt may make her a weaker volleyball player. It’s an obstacle that you’d be stuck with for life and it could be something that’s hard to look past.
Once again, it’s Haruka who gets Kanata inspired again. The specific moment is when Haruka attempts a pokey; she’s only just found out what it is but she nevertheless gives it a try if means securing a point. It’s that kind of perseverance and improvisation that makes Kanata realize that taking risks is just part of the game. By the end of practice, you can see her getting more courageous with her receives and spikes.
For the most part, much of Kanata’s character development has been entirely overcoming that mental lock of hers. It’d be nice if Harukana Receive elaborates in future episodes how she overcomes her height problem with specific volleyball strategies. For now though, this show has reasonably set this character on the path of reclamation and with Haruka (officially) as her partner, she’ll hopefully regain her confidence in no time.
OP: “FLY two BLUE” by Kana Yuuki and Saki Miyashita
Did it seriously took this anime three episodes to show off its OP and ED? I know plenty of anime have done that before but geez, that’s late by sports and CGDCT standards.
Anyway, this is a pretty relaxing OP; not too action heavy but still effectively conveys the team dynamic between the show’s characters.
ED: “Wish me Luck!!!” by The Cast of Harukana Receive
Wait, each of the girls are drawing each other drawing each other? How meta…
Thanks for reading!
Harukana Receive is officially available on Crunchyroll & Funimation.
For all of my Harukana Receive Episode Reviews, check out the show’s archive page!
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