Aquatope of White Sand (07)

Episode Synopsis:

Kukuru’s grandfather forces the team to take a day off and enjoy summer. It’s time for the beach, and ice cream, and annoying kids! While at the beach, the gang learns more about Kuuya and why he’s got an aversion to women.

At the beach, Kuuya competes with his self declared “rival” elementary schooler Rui Chinen, as Rui competes for the affections of Kai’s younger sister. Maho

While pondering life, Kukuru also realizes something about the relationship she has with Fuuka.

Review:

Su, why are you here?! It’s supposed to be Dan’s week! I know, I know, but he fell into a pit filled with poisonous snakes so he’s preoccupied at the moment. Before you ask, of course I’m not going to help. Sometimes you just gotta let people deal with a pit full’o snakes to learn valuable lessons in life. Besides, I have a review to write!

This episode is fluffy and pleasant, but it does have an undercurrent of drama. It also gives us insight into why Kuuya has a tough time with girls. Unlike classic anime trope nonsense, his reasoning is rooted in a more personal and believable background. I also love that Kuuya is super knowledgeable about aquatic life. It shows he’s way more than just a lazy slacker stereotype. It was nice to see Kuuya’s secret frustration towards the idea of the aquarium closing.

Aquatope is gently feeding us the importance of the aquarium in everyone’s lives, so you understand why they are all here and what’s at stake. I won’t spoil anything in Kuuya’s backstory here, as I think Aquatope is the embodiment of gentle summer anime so…go check it out if you aren’t already watching it.

Speaking of summer…who’s up for the BEACH EPISODE?! Once again, the show circumvents the tropes we expect by having the female residents of Okinawa dress in beach attire that doesn’t objectify them. It even has this cute sequence where Fuuka feels out of place because her bathing suit is too sexy. It’s okay Fuuka. You’re an adorable tourist. Own it girlfriend.

Going back to Kuuya, I personally loved seeing him wreck that punk-ass elementary schooler. I’m getting old and I find small, smart-ass children more and more annoying. If you let them be because they are “just kids” you end up allowing them to become infruitating adults who use Twitter and Facebook to vomit up their asinine opinions about everything. Did I mention I’m getting old?! Do you want to hear a story about how I used to cover my textbooks using brown paper bags?!

The capstone to this episode is actually quite touching. In addition to the day off from work being about beachy fun, barbeques, and wrecking dickwad children, it’s also about support. Kukuru’s friends want her to have emotional support and slowly get accustomed to the idea of life without Gama Gama. There’s no guarantee the aquarium will survive. In life, sometimes things don’t work out despite your best efforts. Having people there for you when life falls apart is a huge component in how we heal from loss. I love that the show touches upon this fact.

Summary:

This episode takes us to the beach! Behind all the sand filled fun is a layer touching upon the importance of emotional support. It’s lovely that the show is giving us this undercurrent because if I’m honest, I could see the writers having Gama Gama close down. Kukuru might need to gear up to understand that the real victory was the relationships you have, and made along the way.

Also, don’t suffer punk-ass children. They become the worst adults. Now get off my lawn…

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