10 Second Anime - Amanchu! Advance - Episode 7

Ai meets a mysterious boy during the school's final preparations for their cultural festival.

Episode 7 - "The Story of the Neverending School Festival"

Hmm.

I see three things getting mashed up in this mini-arc addressing the feeling of wanting a fleeting moment never to end. We've got the superstition that a school has Seven Great Mysteries, the Japanese folklore of children getting spirited away, and this story's theme of finding other worlds in familiar spaces. Incidentally, all these elements of everyday magic got pushed onto the second season, and was not at all obvious from the first, except as a nostalgic air over the creation of a shared memory. That atmosphere has fully materialized this season with shared dreams and, now, a ghost.

It's telling that Mato is sensitive to these kind of moments and that feeling that you never want it to end. She's also gathered other sensitive people around her in the diving club, which physically explores "another world" close by. The real story of "Peter" and Mato will be told next episode, but I can't help but feel all the foreshadowing placed on Towano-sensei. His eyes have always been covered, so I'm sure there's going to be a big payoff for when someone recognizes his eyes as belonging to the ghost haunting a school's special events.

It's a bit sad that Ai will be denied another chance at love. She'll just have to console herself by kicking her brother some more.

Heh.

Yumegaoka has the word "dream" in its name, so I suppose it's fitting that its cultural festival is called the Dream Festival (in English!).

Towano is still macking on Katori. Has she noticed yet? Some of the students have.

Katori is worried that a "Peter" will show up again. Ominous.

Ha! This whole little scene with Teko and Pikari "selling" juice boxes to get colorful cardboard is a hoot. Just great writing, as well as involving Towano and Katori in there to advance their characters.

Aw. Ai is taking a moment to appreciate this fun time of school at night. It's like another world, Futaba says. Yes, that's when things get freaky in this anime.

Towano says he "used to" wish these special times at school would last forever. Hmm...

Oh man. This "Peter" guy is so obviously a younger version of Towano. Let's see if my hunch plays out correctly.

Oh ho! Ai is on a date, holding hands!

This "Peter" says he doesn't have a "real name yet." Mysterious!

Eek! "Peter" saw Ai's blue stripes. He'll have to take responsibility now.

Katori suspects "Peter" has found a victim.

Ah. Here's how the evil pact works. The victim has to say she wants to stay in the dream world forever.

Ai is a bit too level-head for this to work. She already knows that special moments shine brighter because they end. They wouldn't be special if they were happening all the time. Tautology...

Aw. But she is young maiden who wants to experience a bit of love, and "Peter" has seduced her.

Here's how we know that Ai never really left the stairwell. She's in the exact same place that Peter first touched her and where Katori just grabbed her arm. She got lost in a moment alright.

"Peter" and Katori know each other. He calls her Mato-chan. Interesting how Katori checked on Futaba and Hikari too.

Eh! A real ghost! Or something, anyway. Katori used logic to show Ai that "Peter" left them at the top of the stairwell, but there's no exit on that landing. He just disappeared.

Ooh. Mato-chan's story will be told next episode. She met "Peter" at her graduation, another special school event.

Next time, Mato's episode looks really interesting. Another cat, a setting that looks like ARIA, and it looks like Mato was spirited away but came back. I'm really looking forward to see how all of "Peter's" mysteries get resolved.