みなみけ～おかわり～ Ep. 03

SPOILER Summary: It is a cold morning as the Minami girls head to school, Kana jealous that Haruka gets to come home at noon. They notice the moving truck and that they’ll have a new neighbor. At school, Chiaki, Makoto, Uchida, and Yoshino are commenting on the amount of homework they have and it is decided to do their homework at Chiaki’s place. At Haruka’s school, Maki and Atsuko see Haruka off where Maki takes a bizarre way of suggesting Haruka make nabe. Hosaka overhears this and thinks that only a nabe pot stands between him and Haruka. Haruka goes home and as she does laundry, Kana is depressed at how unfair life is since Haruka gets to be at home and she’s stuck at school.

Haruka introduces herself to the new neighbor while back at Chiaki’s school, Touma is preparing to leave. She ignores being called, so Chiaki has to resort to plan B and flings a filled cloth bag at her. Touma looks to find Chiaki, Makoto, Uchida, and Shuuichi there. Touma is invited to do her homework with them. Further, she’s told to bring her pajamas as they’ll be spending the night. As they walk home, Touma informs them that they have a transfer student coming to the school. However, when she can’t answer Chiaki’s question about whether the student is a boy or a girl, she gets put down for it.

At home, the Minami sisters eat zenzai (shiruko) for a snack. Chiaki asks about inviting her friends over to spend the night and do homework. Kana decides this should be a pajama festival and Haruka is surprised that this event is supposed to be that night, but she agrees to allow Chiaki to have it and Kana wants to make this a great festival. In their room (where the divider is currently open), Chiaki is on the computer and as Kana reads manga, they talk about the new neighbors. Uchida and Shuuichi arrive with Makoto, who’s dressed as Mako-chan. This surprises the girls, so Kana has to tell Makoto that there’s a time for being Mako-chan and this isn’t it. He changes back into his normal self and re-arrives with Fujioka and Haruka, who’d gone to get food. Apparently, Chiaki invited Fujioka to distract Kana.

Chiaki has Uchida and Shuuichi change into PJ’s when Touma arrives. Chiaki changes and Kana tries to get Touma out of her regular clothing immediately. Chiaki attacks Kana to stop that. Haruka prepares for nabe, and they all gather around the table to cook the nabe. Kana tries to direct what ingredients to put in, but Chiaki ignores her. As they eat, the doorbell rings and it is the son of their next-door neighbors, Fuyuki. He brings a present, which Kana speculates about. Haruka invites him in, but he refuses as Chiaki and Kana fight. After eating, Chiaki and friends go to take a bath while Kana lays on her back under kotatsu with her belly exposed. Haruka tells her not to do that, especially in light of Fujioka being there. Kana doesn’t listen.

As Chiaki, Touma, Uchida, and Shuuichi continue to bathe, Fujioka and Makoto wash the dishes. Fujioka notes that Makoto looks a lot like Mako-chan. Meanwhile, Kana and Haruka discuss the bath and Haruka reveals she wishes they had a bigger tub. This conversation leads Kana to decide to show her hospitality by serving milk to Chiaki and the girls. She enters, but gets thrown out for making perverted-like statements. So she sets up “shop” at the little table with the phone and Uchida emerges first. She gladly accepts a glass of milk. Chiaki is next, but her reaction is to start pulling Kana’s pigtails. Touma and Shuuichi emerge with Touma wanting some fruit milk, causing Chiaki to tell her to go to bed.

Fujioka leaves and the girls gather in Chiaki’s room. They start to talk romance when Kana comes in and takes over. She says the “adults” have to talk and pulls the divider shut, leaving Chiaki alone on her side of the partition because she’s the only one without even budding breasts. Chiaki gets irritated, citing Touma as a boy (because she’d previously declared Touma as her little brother). Kana decides to pull off Touma’s shirt to show that Touma’s more of a girl than Chiaki, which results in Kana taking the teddy bear Fujioka to the face. The following morning, the girls, Kana, and Haruka gather at the kotatsu where Makoto is still sleeping. They talk about the fun they had and Haruka asks them if they did their homework. Silence.

Thoughts: I’m not all that impressed with this sequel to Minami-ke. Its not nearly as funny and to compensate for that loss, we get fanservice. Its sad, really. I know a lot of people get off on I wish I knew why they changed production companies like this. The first one had it right, in my opinion. That doesn’t mean that Okawari is horrible, but it is a serious step down from its parent.