10 Second Anime - Non Non Biyori Repeat - Episode 3



Natsumi has trouble with her midterm exams. Renge offers advice to her older sister the teacher on how to motivate her students.

Episode 3 - "We Got Motivated During the Holiday Break"

Hmm.

There was a theme running through all the little vignettes this week. Kazu-nee, Renge's older sister and teacher, is a tanuki, a raccoon dog. In Japanese lore, the tanuki is a mischievous and lazy animal spirit. It basically plays pranks only to get out of work. Renge made the connection in the prologue, which serves to tie this season's events with the timeline of the first season. It's the week before Golden Week and Renge is still trying to learn how to whistle.

 

In the prologue we saw Renge leaving food out for a friendly raccoon dog in the neighborhood. Kazu-nee, having forgotten to buy breakfast food, decides to make a salad out of fresh vegetables and dressing. The exact same vegetables as Renge prepared for the neighborhood tanuki. That was only the beginning of the tanuki references tied to Kazu-nee. Not only were there the many tanuki statues in the house, but she was effectively turned into one by her sleeping mask.

 

The best part of all the tanuki fables is how a hapless villager or hero turns the tables on the mischievous god. Renge was the stand-in for such a character, taking out her frustrations on her sleepy sister from being cake-less by pranking her and making her look ridiculous in front of her students. Kazu-nee and Renge provided the full tanuki folklore experience.

Heh.

In case we needed reminding, Natsumi doesn't do well on tests.

 

Renge still comes up with the weird mannerisms.

I forget the origin of this "whaddya-gonna-do" gesture, but at least Natsumi took it as the stoic Renge trying to comfort her on her impending doom.

Renge could have done with a little less appreciation.

Natsumi tried her best to be clever, but when you forget the second half of a mental trick prank, it confirms who is the one not paying attention, and it wasn't Hotaru saying "pizza" ten times.

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the つく (tsuku) that Renge is saying here means "overwhelmed."

For a first grader, Renge is very aware that her older sister is the teacher for everyone and she has her own pride how her family should present themselves. She felt that because the other kids had so much homework to do over the week-long break because of poor test scores, Kazu-nee should bear some responsibility. Seeing her napping and too lazy to even look for the remote control right under her pillow, Renge wanted to tame that lazy tanuki. If Kazu-nee looked motivated, then maybe the other kids would be motivated too.

Never dangle the possiblity of cake in front of a young maiden. The heartbreak was palpable.

Renge learned that Kazu-nee stays up late making all the lesson plans after she goes to sleep, but that's no excuse for falling asleep right in the middle of a conversation.

Our folklore hero literally turned the mischief back on the lazy tanuki. Renge doesn't get mad about losing cake; she gets revenge!

 

After all that talk of motivation, the kids came back and did well on their next round of tests. Kazu-nee's, uh, example of a lazy proper working adult apparently did the trick. Ren-chon's "motivation" worked on Natsumi.