10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 11 [END]

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 11 [END]

Hachiken has a meal with his parents. Hachiken's mom has a meal at his school. The season passes, and life keeps moving.

While we're in the middle of a moving stream, trying our hardest to keep up, stay in place, or move ahead little by little, we may not notice the gradual changes to ourselves. But with the removal of time, and some outside observations, they can be quite obvious. And so it is with Hachiken. Running into some old junior high buddies, they notice that Hachiken is bigger, calmer, and maybe even a bit friendlier. Farm chores will do that to a body, and being away from a domineering parent will allow the change in personality. Still, boys are boys, and they can't be too happy for Hachiken's exclusive friendship with a girl. Instant death by first text!

But family dynamics never really change. Hachiken thought he had a chance to take the easy way out by sneaking in and out to grab his brother's notes, but no. Was his dad really going to smack an intruder with a toilet plunger? Mr. Hachiken hasn't changed, and is as harsh as ever. And the poor mom, surprised by a small compliment on her cooking that has become second nature to Hachiken living with farm children.

When the subject of why Hachiken came home to take the exam prep material to help another friend with entrance exams, Mr. Hachiken jams his scalpel right in his son's still open wound. He asks, "Someone who failed his own exams can help another with theirs?" Hachiken's emotional response is to compare failures to livestock. Culling or pruning for deformities or just being too small is the standard practice in farming, but people who fail once can't be given second chances? That makes them livestock, actually worse than livestock. Even a jumping horse gets a second chance at a barrier even if they're disqualified, otherwise their confidence fails.

I noticed that Hachiken's father never said another word. It's like he just wanted to see what Hachiken would say about the big problem hanging in the air. The older brother was an ace student, but dropped out of college. And Hachiken is also an ace student, but one bad day (I presume) led to him running away to an agricultural trade school. Mr. Hachiken seems to be worried about two things for his younger son: if he's over his failure, and if he's unfairly using the students at his school to his advantage. Unfortunately, he chooses the least amount of words to express these worries, and the questions sound accusatory. At least, they still sound accusatory to Hachiken. In Japan, machismo takes on the form of men not having to say much to each other to understand each other. Perhaps the elder Hachiken is nudging his son to talk with him the same way. I get the feeling Mr. Hachiken would get along swimmingly with Komaba.

Hachiken storms out, or almost does, because he dutifully clears his dishes first. The music at this point was masterful, conveying an almost marching tension. Maybe Hachiken and his father really did have their first manly conversation, with the son glaring at his dad, and the dad almost surprised by Hachiken's own accusatory question, "Am I worse than livestock?" There are no resolutions here, and the music highlighted that buildup of tension, like a deep breath to calm one's temper, and marking this moment as a stone upon which a future self builds.

Back at school, Hachiken tells his friends what his father asked him, but Tamako is the first one to offer a different interpretation than how the question sounds. She sees it as Hachiken failed first, but is now making up for his failure by making Aki take the next test. I actually think Mr. Hachiken has no answer to his question, which is why he asked it. He's that kind of guy. However, the question is a scalpel, and it's already starting to cut down deep into Hachiken, forcing him to examine his motives, and get to the source of his failure, excise it, and heal from it. That's another echo of the lesson from this season as we saw with Komaba, bad things happen, but what you do next defines you as a person, not the failure.

But those lessons take time, and this show is out of time. In marking a tradition for the anime adaptation, we need a big meal for the last episode, and what better occasion than a surprise visit by Hachiken's mom? At the cultural festival, all his parents saw was Hachiken in the hospital. Now, the mom gets a chance to see her son work with horses, eat fresh food, and have an impromptu party with students and faculty. Hachiken's junior high friends may force instant death by cell phone for his (almost) happy in real life situation with Aki, but his farm friends have their own weapons: tabasco sauce and wasabi! In saying goodbye to his mom, he asks her not to put words into his dad's mouth anymore. They may be coming to their own understanding. The show ends with the first snow. Fall is over, and a new season begins. Life, goes on.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 10

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 10

Aki needs help studying if she's going to college. Hachiken is in a (almost) happy life, but first he must visit his own family.

I really liked how they told the story in this episode. Last episode left us with Aki about to tell her family she didn't want to take over the dairy farm, but this episode opens with the aftermath. Hachiken becomes Aki's super-tutor to help her pass the entrance exams for the local agricultural university, and we get lots of jokes about how poor a student Aki is. Hachiken hits upon the idea of telling history through horses, but that will only take him up to the Industrial Age. His club mate jokes "so, the iron horse is your enemy?"

With Hachiken taking his responsibility to help Aki seriously, he has to begin saying no to other people who need his help, since he has to spend so much time with Aki. This leads to a moment of growth for Hachiken when he refuses a senior who wants his help in making outdoor pizza baking a yearly event. The senior is all understanding about keeping promises to one's friends, until he realizes this friend is a cute girl. Have some smelly socks as punishment, Hachiken! The amount of time they're spending together makes people surprised that they're not dating yet, which puts Hachiken in that (almost) happy life, much to the jealousy of his friends. They know that his brother got into Toudai (Tokyo University), so he must have prep materials he no longer needs. But Hachiken really doesn't want to ask for his help, and his friends tell him where to stick that stubbornness if he wants to protect his (almost) happy life with Aki.

After calling his brother, he finds out he has to go back home to pick up those notes and prep material, which he wants to do even less, but for Aki he will. As Hachiken looks through the goodie bag his friends made for him to give to his parents, he sees a thank you note from Aki, which makes him think back to her own awkward family meeting. Excellent story telling here to get us back to the continuation of last episode.

Poor Aki. Her family is under no illusion about how smart she is, and she can't even talk back because they bring up her grades. However, none of it is mean-spirited at all, just blunt and frank, and with the farm folk attitude of solving a problem. The problem here is that Aki doesn't want to inherit the farm, but to work with horses, and asks her uncle about working in the draft horse racing industry. He is veeeery reluctant to consider it, because it's a dying sport, so he insists Aki needs a university degree to fall back on if the industry folds. But they know Aki is dumb, so how is she going to get into a public university to study veterinary science?

Hachiken speaks up, and Aki's Dad gets a bad feeling about what he's going to say. Hachiken says he will take responsibility for Aki passing the entrance exams. The women take this to mean he'll marry her if she fails, which enrages Aki's dad. But, of course, Hachiken means he'll help her study, and they all know he's the best student at her school. Which takes us back to the beginning of the episode.

One thing I liked, which marked the acceptance of Aki's dream to work with horses, was when Grandpa casually picked up a rice cracker and asked which university she should go to. All the stress and worry Aki had carried with her about disappointing her family flew away from the room, and so did the tone of the conversation. Just before then, Great Grandma counseled Aki not to take on the challenge of raising horses half-way, if she's serious about working with them. With that, the conversation turned into a practical discussion. The Mikage family has to settle the Komaba debt and find a way to pay for Aki's education, so Grandpa's horses still have to go.

Next episode is the last one of the season, and we'll get to see Hachiken in his home environment. More frank awkward family conversations about their children's future to come? Let's see how Hachiken's growing backbone handles his father now.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 9

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 9

Hachiken wants to become reliable. Komaba says goodbye to their cows. Aki wants to pursue her dream.

One of Silver Spoon's major themes is that sometimes all you can do is watch something bad happen. Animals die to become food, life goals are dashed by life circumstances, and there are problems that can't be solved. All life asks you to do is witness, remember, and become stronger for it. Not so you can avoid or prevent these things from happening again, but to be a better person that can appreciate what you have, and not to let mourning your loss debilitate you.

This debilitation already happened to Hachiken, which is why he ran far away to an agricultural school, and is now reassembling his shattered pieces into the young man he'd like to be. He has no specific goals yet, except to understand what his friends go through in their lives as farmers. Part of this we saw last season when he raised a pig to slaughter, which is cruel reality to livestock. This season, we see the human side, with the cruel reality of a family business going bankrupt because of an untimely death.

For Hachiken, who always wants to help, he realizes that there's nothing a high school student can do about money and business, and that not even stealing the little coins from Vice Prez's snack budget can help. All he can do is stand next to his friends while these things happen, and that is the way to help.

We have a nice symmetry here with Pork Bowl's meat and bacon tasting "bittersweet," and the Komabas enjoying the last milk. It's still fresh and good, but bitter and sad all the same.

A family farm is still a business, and with the Mikage's cosigning the Komaba's debt, they now have hard decisions to make. Again, the children can't really do anything but watch, but they can witness. After the relatives size up Hachiken for husband material, not even knowing about Aki's almost confession of her feelings for him, they start getting specific.

The first thing that happens, is the Elder Mikage steps down as president of their corporation, and hands the reins over to Aki's dad. He suggests selling their horses, which were a side project for him, almost a hobby really, since draft horse racing is becoming less and less popular anyway. It's up to the new president to decide if they should do that.

This leads to a crisis point for Aki, because as an only child, it was always assumed she would take over the farm, but she could live with that if she could still raise horses. But without the horses there, there would be no ties at all to her secret dream of being a competitive equestrian rider. Hachiken encourages her and does the only thing he can, which is stay beside her when she tells her family something which will affect the future of the farm. Aki now has the courage to speak up, and we'll have to find out what happens next week.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 8

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 8

Mr. Nakajima recruits cheese makers. Hachiken finds out the bad news related to Komaba and Aki.

Before we get to the bad news that's been hanging over Aki, Komaba, and Hachiken since the early part of the season, we have time for some slice of life moments to get us back into normal school stuff at the agricultural school. Mr. Nakajima has been brooding over his cheese stash for a week, and now plots his comeback. Obligatory "Blessed are the cheese makers" reference here. Making sure only the "clean" students help out, they start making the cheese. Even just eating the fermented beans from Natto is enough to contaminate the cultures used to make cheese. All the mixing, timing, and keeping track of temperature reminds Hachiken of a chemistry class, and he enjoys the cheese making even more. For reference, see the first season of Moyashimon to get a real education on cutesy yeasts and other microbes.

Hachiken is still keeping track of all the piglets' names, so the dairy program wants to give him the honor of naming the calf they're going to keep at the school. There's no danger of her being fattened up for slaughter, but she will face the cloying attention of the Holstein club. Hachiken doesn't want his new daughter to be manhandled like that!

By getting the audience back into regular school life, it's now time to slam home the drama. Komaba has been missing for a week too, and it takes the appearance of Ayame to shockingly tell us why. She's there because she wanted to announce to Aki and Hachiken that she may be transferring to their school. But this means somebody in their class is leaving the school, and Hachiken quickly surmises that it is Komaba. Aki then tells Hachiken what's been going on back home: the Komaba farm had to declare bankruptcy, and the Mikages co-signed one of their loans, so they're responsible for the debt too.

Komaba's dad had just received a big loan for improvements to the farm, but with his death, the Komabas couldn't run the farm well enough to pay off the debt on time. Komaba decides to quit school and work off the payments as quickly as possible, so as not to be a burden to the Mikages. Feigning illness, Hachiken figures he'll see Komaba collect his things while everyone is in class.

Komaba tells him that he didn't want to see him suffer by telling him this bad news, because he knows how much Hachiken cares for his friends. Hachiken also gets another lesson of farming life in the modern age, that just like any other business, they can fail, causing shattered dreams. Komaba's dream of helping his farm by becoming a pro baseball player is dashed because of this bankruptcy. "It can't be helped," he says, ever the stoic.

Hachiken, along with the principal and a few other teachers see Komaba off. Hachiken howls in frustration, wanting to help, but not knowing how. Part of his frustration too, is knowing that with how bad he feels, Komaba must be feeling worse. Even if he can't help, Hachiken wants Komaba at least to share those feelings with him.

In a similar conversation with Aki, he makes an even more emotional plea. After Aki explains why they didn't want to tell him, because they didn't want to see him suffer too with feeling sorry for his friends, and drag him into family business matters, Hachiken grabs Aki's hand. "Drag me into it!" he exclaims. It's one thing to collapse from being spread too thin helping out a bunch of people for a fun event like the cultural festival, but wanting to help your close friends in a serious matter is something else. This matters.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 7

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 7

Hachiken goes on a date with Aki, with some help. Komaba shines as a relief pitcher, but his team doesn't make it to the National Tournament.

Hachiken's drama with the cultural festival gets wrapped up as he sees the pictures his roommate took while he was in the hospital. He remembers his frustration with talking to his father, and his father's disapproval with how he didn't take care of his health before his schoolwork. Remembering the Principal's words that it's sometimes good to run away to survive, Hachiken decides he's made the right choice in coming to the agricultural school, but gains perspective on balancing how much he wants to help with how much he can actually do. With all that hard thinking and feeling out of the way, and with getting pissed at seeing visitors get to smile at Aki in the pictures, he remembers that he was supposed to go on a date with her after the festival. Priorities, Hachiken, priorities.

Before the girls and boys have to go to their separate dorms for lights-out, Hachiken has a chance to ask Aki if they're still on for their time together. Aki's friends knows what's up, after all the "girls-talk" they had about their "date." She tells Hachiken that, yes of course, they're still on. They don't have much time for standing around happily embarrassed before the dorm monitor reminds them they have to go to sleep.

Because Mr. Nakajima is "under the weather" (from mourning the loss of all his cheese?) and the horses are tired from all the festival duties, the Principal comes to the Equestrian Club and says they have no duties for the day, but they might want to use their free time to visit the horse-themed temple nearby. Hachiken seizes the opportunity (good man) to ask Aki to go with him, but he can't tell if she's happy because she's going with him, or because she wants to see the horse-shaped placards the temple provides for patrons to write their prayers on. Also good man, Hachiken, know your place with humility...

The first hurdle to getting the temple is to make sure they go by themselves, but Tokiwa can't read the mood, and tries to tag along with them. The rest of the dorm has obviously chosen their OTP (one true pair) for this season, and overdo their assistance. Aki is indeed happy to see the horsiness of the temple, and the rest of the Equestrian Club somehow found themselves there too. Oh well, Hachiken. At least you got a bus ride alone with Aki.

But all this is just the hors d'oeuvres before the multi-episode drama with Komaba that started the season. The baseball team has high hopes of winning the prefectural championships, letting them go the National Tournament, and this fits in with what Komaba told Hachiken his dream was for the future. The Komaba farm has been having a rough time since his father passed away, and his hopes are to make it to the pros, support the farm with his income, and then retire back to the farm. But he needs to be scouted, and the best chance for that is to make his presence known on the national stage. Being the closing pitcher as only a first-year on a powerhouse team from Hokkaido shows the talent of Komaba, but he can't make it alone.

After doing well to get to the semifinals, Komaba gets called in to relieve at that bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, no outs, protecting a one run lead, which became a see-saw battle after the other team went up 3 to nothing. He dispatches the next two batters, and on the last, forces a flyout to right, but a sudden gust of wind ruins the easy catch, and their team loses. All during this tension played out on TV, Hachiken is volunteered to take care of calving cows. Another pairing of events showing that the world moves on, some things are more important than baseball, and that perhaps farming will be more important to Komaba sooner than later. Back at school, he is conspicuously absent, and Aki is looking out the window wistfully.

It's almost about time for Hachiken to make whatever is going on with the Komabas, and what the Mikages already seem to know, his business. His lessons from being the "can't say no" guy to doing what he can to help is going to get a practical application very soon.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 6

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 6

Hachiken collapses from exhaustion, and misses the whole festival while in the hospital. Ayame arrives to help, but thin Tamako upstages her. Hachiken appreciates the taste of rejected potatoes.

Hachiken wakes up in the hospital, and a nurse tells him he collapsed from exhaustion. None of his friends have come by to visit, but his homeroom teacher already has. The cultural festival must go on, so they don't have time to visit, but with Hachiken's detailed notes, the horse-jumping and the draft-horse exhibit are a success. Ayame, Aki's eternal rival, arrives to tease her friend, and Hachiken even, but without him there, Aki asks for her help. The slow-jumping Ayame puts on her usual show. The banba race is too much of a success. It's a race of horse against people, but with thin Tamako motivating the people, how could they lose?

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 5

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 5

Hachiken spreads himself too thin for the cultural festival. The girls call out Aki on her cluelessness over Hachiken's feelings. Thin Tamako reappears to help show cows.

Hachiken's reputation of being the "guy who can't say no," as opposed to the more healthy "reliable guy," gets the better of him, and he ends up being in charge of way too many preparations for the cultural festival. He really is reliable though, because he does the right thing in many cases of recruiting helpers. What he doesn't do is leave them to their work as he might better spend his time checking the progress of all the other things he and his classmates need to get ready. The guy in charge of the banba track (banba is draft horse race where they pull heavy loads up small hills) does not need to be pounding posts in the ground if he's also in charge of his class' food stall.

The girls are getting a little frustrated with how clueless Aki is when it comes to Hachiken's obvious hints that he likes her. Even to the point where she didn't realize that Hachiken had actually asked her out on a date after the festival is over. No wonder their Equestrian Club senior tells him he's rooting for him.

We also have the welcome reappearance of thin Tamako. The Holstein Club was oblivious to how boring their cow beauty pageant would be with just leading the cows around in a circle. Thankfully Shinnosuke asked Tamako to shed her weight in exchange for about 50 bucks worth of food tickets. Tamako has her priorities...

The morning of the festival arrives, and Hachiken has taken the Vice Prez out for his morning walk. He's looking forward to all the events after the hard work he's done, and the date with Aki afterwards. But after Hachiken gets up too fast, the Vice Prez discovers he has collapsed. Spread too thin, "can't say no" guy.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 4

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 4

It's all about the horse in the equestrian club. Aki has a rival? And the star of this season is shaping up to be Maron!

One thing we learned from Ookawa's pep talk is that... he doesn't know how to give a pep talk. In praising the horse in competition, he made it clear the rider is nothing but a bug on its back. Nakajima, the faculty advisor, puts it much more nicely: trust in your horse, look at the next jump and the horse will guide you there. Yeah, Ookawa meant to say that.

It's the equestrian club's first public competition, and they're all a little nervous about seeing all these other people. One of those other people is Aki's self-proclaimed rival from back home, Ayame. She's the stereotypical French curled ojou-sama, right down to her laugh. I'm sure she means well.

But the star of this show, and maybe even the season, is Maron the horse. He and Hachiken seem perfectly paired in that they both hate to lose. Hachiken has also figured out how to put his powers of concentration to use in paying attention to Maron's movements. Unfortunately, there's one thing that can shake his focus: his older brother watching from the crowd. This causes a bit of drama when Hachiken loses hold of a stirrup, and instead of stopping, they keep going, because Maron wants to finish strong. He literally drags Hachiken over the finish line, and the judges decide that he fell after he crossed it. Yay for Maron and Hachiken!

Aki ends up having to use Maron for her jumps as well, and Ayame inadvertently gives her a pep talk. Aki does well in practice, but her mind wanders during competition. It's up to Maron to recover from a small mistake, and they end up with a good time. Afterwards, Hachiken wants to congratulate Maron, but he wants to save his affection for someone who knows how to jump. Maron definitely plays favorites. It looks like to me he's doing that just to get under Hachiken's skin a little bit. They're going to end up good friends, in time, but Maron has to make sure it looks like it's one-sided affection from Hachiken for a little while longer.

In the end, Aki finished 3rd in her division, and Hachiken finished 4th among the beginners. That's not bad for a first timer, and Hachiken should be proud. In the final scene, Hachiken has to get back to school for an assignment, but the buses around there don't run very often, and he thinks he has to run all the way back. Not so. He's not the only one having a good time riding a horse down a paved road. Maron looks like he's having a blast.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 3

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 3

Fuji Sensei approves of Vice Prez. Maron the horse won't let Hachiken jump. Aki shows Hachiken how to trust a horse. Hachiken jumps high!

With the approval of Fuji Sensei, Vice Prez has been accepted as one of the cast. Good job, Vice Prez! The equestrian club is learning how to jump this week, and Hachiken's failure to launch reveals a bit more about his personality, and some of the circumstances about his mental breakdown in junior high. In horse jumping, most of the work is done by the horse, naturally, and it is up to the rider to react and adjust to the horse's rhythms and actions. Maron, the most experienced and irascible horse in the stable, has been Hachiken's partner since he joined the club, and he refuses to jump for him. They even try other riders to show that it's not Maron that has the problem, but Hachiken. The faculty advisor and club senior know that Maron is protecting the rider.

Hachiken double checks that animals are actually listening to him by running through Vice Prez's commands in front of Maron. Maron blows a raspberry at this nonsense. Hachiken starts to feel that same pressure he had in junior high when he just wasn't getting a subject, and vows to work harder. Aki gets mad at him, telling him he'll hurt the horses that way, and that it's not about practicing more. She can't really explain it in words, so she wants to show him by inviting him to a competition back home.

Mr. Mikage meets them and doesn't seem to be all that mad to see the former part-time worker. He's still protective of his daughter though. In the competition, we see that the best jumper is this little pony that even new riders can handle. They let Aki have a try at the course with a horse she's never ridden before, and while she makes good time, she knocks down a bar for a penalty. She blames herself for not reacting to the horse's way of jumping, and thanks the horse for adjusting to her so quickly. Hachiken then realizes something... Aki lets out her Hokkaido accent when she's being bluntly honest. Hah, embarrassing! The dad knows they're getting pretty chummy by the way he grills Hachiken, and there seems to be a tacit acceptance of how Aki's feelings are developing for the part-timer.

Back at school, Hachiken has a better idea of why Maron wouldn't jump for him. Since he's been riding him all this time, Maron knows Hachiken has been forcing the rhythm of the ride, instead of reacting and adjusting. When they try jumping next, Hachiken asks for Maron's help. Maron then shows him how he jumps for someone he trusts. High. Very high. Too high! Needless to say, Hachiken is very happy about this. Maron, who doesn't like to show affection that much, is not.

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 2

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 2

The vice president who can't say no takes care of a vice president who barks. The rest of the school chips in to help, though.

When Hachiken finds an abandoned puppy, the rest of his class already knows he's going to take care of it. Coming from farm families, they're all very practical about it, already adding up food, shelter, medical care. Hachiken thinks all this money is going to be flying away from him, but many of his problems are solved in quick order. The stable manager says "What's one more animal hanging around?" as many cats have already been adopted, and there's so many animals there anyway. As for food, Tokiwa devises a beggar's cup out of some bamboo to hang around the puppy's neck. Labeling it "Snacks," the puppy's cuteness takes care of the rest. One of the seniors sees him tied to a pole, and says this is no good, and quickly builds him a dog house out of some spare wood. But getting all the shots he needs does open up Hachiken's wallet. He can't find a way out of that.

Unfortunately for Hachiken, he didn't take the chance of naming the puppy himself, and the class has come to calling him "vice president" since he seems to be taking care of the horse stables. Initially, Hachiken welcomes this, because when the girls are saying nice things about Vice President, he can imagine them saying the same things about himself. But when they start talking about the Vice President making messes on the floor, well, that's no good. Also, the puppy is getting underfoot of the horses and will need to be trained to listen to orders. Hachiken knows all about social hierarchy and competitiveness coming from a high-powered academic junior high. After speed reading through dog training books, he quickly establishes dominance and trains Vice Prez thoroughly.

Considering the drama with Pork Bowl being turned into bacon, I'm wary of what tragedy awaits Vice Prez. Hopefully he becomes a constant character and just participates in the drama along with the other cast, but you never know. The unknown trouble between Mikage and Komaba is still lingering in the background, so this issue will be dealt with before anything the puppy can bring to the story.

After Hachiken injures himself because he's concerned about a cow falling on Komaba, Aki and Komaba lecture Hachiken about being more concerned about himself. Komaba says it's not easy to watch your friends get hurt when they're not being careful of themselves as they care for others. It's plain to see he's not just talking about making sure a cow didn't fall on a friend, but also about the sadness Hachiken felt in fattening up Pork Bowl, and taking on the job of making bacon himself.

Well, life goes on at the agricultural school, and they all have to prepare for the Fall Festival. I can't wait to see what a farm school's version of a Freshman War is going to be. Maybe they'll be riding real horses instead of making fake ones out of 3 students. Judging from how the equestrian coach reacts to some fine jumps by Aki and her horse, we may see some crazy stuff!

10 Second Anime - Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 1

Silver Spoon S2 - Episode 1

The 2nd season of Silver Spoon starts us off right. Looking at cow udders (again), new responsibilities, some old ones, and a bit of drama.

I could have sworn Hachiken was warned not to look at women's udders... Yes, Hachiken is from the city, so the idea that cows wear big, black brassieres was just out of his sphere of imagination. I mean, when your crush asks you to look for a black bra she misplaced, what would you think? Especially when you're a 15 year old boy? Yeah, Hachiken, cows wear bras.

The opening montage with all the good food made from farm fresh ingredients and the opening fish-out-of-water joke set-up quickly brings us back to the agricultural trade school seen through the eyes of city boy Hachiken. After the summer break, the seniors have to give up the club duties, which means new officers have to be chosen. Surprisingly, Hachiken is named the vice president of the equestrian club. His seniors tell him it's because he's good at building consensus with other people, and he has the reputation of the guy who can't say no. That's a double-edged sword in high school.

Not everything is jokes and school life here though. The first bit of drama for the season has Hachiken walking into a serious conversation between Komaba and Aki. Aki appears to have received some bad news back home, and since Komaba is her neighbor and childhood friend, whatever it is affects him somewhat too. Hachiken wants to know what's wrong and help if he can, but they both tell him it's not his business. Whatever is wrong back home drives home the idea in Hachiken that Komaba and Aki should probably end up together, but they both have never given off that vibe with each other. However, the way Aki and Komaba talk to each other about the issue, it sounds like an arranged marriage, Komaba's farm being sold to the Mikages, or some other farm business affecting the Komabas. It's probably not the arranged marriage thing, but you never know.

Meanwhile, school life goes on, with Komaba turning into a starting pitcher for their baseball team. The coach knows how to motivate his guys, by promising something better than barbecue: sushi! And because Hachiken is really concerned about his friends, he asks Aki straight out what is going on. She shoots him down with another response of "it doesn't involve you." Harsh. The End.

Ah well, Hachiken will find out soon enough. Since he spent the summer working at the Mikage farm, and helped out at the Komaba farm, he considers them part of his larger family already. Whatever is going on back home will involve him somehow. He's just that kind of guy.