So what did Kotori get in the mail? Who knows! This episode tells us absolutely nothing about it. It’s as if Kotori hasn’t check her mailbox. The next episode will probably address this but it is a strange move not to bring it up here.
Rather than deal with the elephant in the room, this episode has μ’s go on a trip to the beach, where Maki’s family conveniently has a vacation home for them to use. Technically, the girls are there to train but in true CGDCT fashion, training is the last thing they do (or not because it ends up happening offscreen). Really, this is a series of goofy summer vacation antics. The timing is a little odd to me but other than that, this is a perfectly innocuous and entertaining plot. Assuming things will get more dramatic soon, this may also serve as a nice calm before the storm.
Seeing as they’re at the beach, the girls obviously bust out their swimsuits for one scene. The episode also throws in a bath scene into the mix. There are a couple of eyecandy shots here but overall, the episode is actually not that heavy on fanservice. I find Love Live! to be pretty tamed in this department and that seems to ring true even with its very first series.
Early in the episode, Eli forbids the first and second years from addressing the third years as “senpai”. Eli reasons this will bring everyone closer to each other and make them more efficient as an idol group. So throughout the whole episode, you see the underclassmen slip up and correct themselves whenever they talk to their upperclassmen. Coming off of Superstar!! Season 2, this subplot does feel antiquated now but I still think it’s a cute gag and a nice way for the show to further develop the cast’s chemistry. I especially find it funny how the underclassmen mostly screw up around Eli and Nozomi, because Nico barely comes across as a third year to them.
This episode is somewhat centered around Maki. Maki has been a member of μ’s for some time now and yet, she still acts pretty distant from the rest of the gang. Even during the club’s fun trip to the beach, Maki is off doing her own thing and she barely participates in the same activities as everyone else. It’s not necessarily wrong of Maki to be a bit of a loner but at this point in the show, you’d think she’d be less guarded and open up some more. Fortunately, Nozomi notices this and she helps Maki engage with the others by starting a pillow fight and pinning the blame on her (which by the way is a very entertaining scene in and of itself). Considering that Nozomi previously helped Eli with being more honest with herself, it’s fitting that she do something similar for Maki. It’s all the more impressive that Nozomi accomplishes this without sexually harassing someone (I’m joking but you’d think she’d pull that stunt at some point in this episode, especially since it already has fanservice).
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