Taiho Shichauzo! Full Throttle Episode 20
逮捕しちゃうぞ フルスロットル Episode 20
You’re Under Arrest! Full Throttle – 20 anime

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

A high school girl dies while attempting to cross the street before she had the green light to do so.

Miyuki is at a class reunion so Yoriko takes the opportunity to tease Nakajima about her absence. After Yoriko and Natsumi go on patrol, they briefly talk about the accident. That evening, Natsumi walks to the place were the girl died and a diary from the girl falls out of a tree, having been launched there when she was struck by the truck. Natsumi takes the diary home and reads it. It is the diary of the girl who died (though Natsumi doesn’t know it) and covers her falling in love with a boy she saw on the trail — Sudou-san. However, the diary ends just when the girl states she’s going to confess to the boy.

Natsumi is reflecting on love and finds no one has said anything about a missing diary. Natsumi has a thought that this diary might belongs to the girl who and using the police computers, looks the girl up. Natsumi decides that she wants to meet the boy that the girl talked about and so arranges to be on the train that the diary says Sudou-san is on. She uses the drawing in the diary to find the boy, who appears to be looking for someone. He goes from car to car and Natsumi follows until he gets to a group of his fellow students.

Overhearing their conversation, Natsumi realizes the boy had feelings for the girl although he knew nothing about her. Natsumi is saddened because his friends try to assure him that the girl will be there tomorrow but she knows better.

Yoriko has followed Natsumi and thinks that Natsumi fell in love with a high school boy. So that evening, Natsumi tells Yoriko the truth and says she turned the diary to the Lost and Found division. Yoriko wonders if it is OK to keep the boy in the dark about the truth. Natsumi says that the boy may have regrets and be sad, so she will say nothing. They are at the same spot where the girl died and Yoriko sees her, though Natsumi does not. Yoriko insists that the girl was there, but Natsumi doesn’t believe her and decides they should go home, where Natsumi may clean their apartment to surprise Miyuki.

Thoughts/Review:

Hmph.

So, Shouji is reduced to a mere general mention (and not by name) by being lumped into a “Natsumi has dated guys before” category. The writers do throw out a bone for keeping Shouji out of this series — Natsumi wants to be single. *_* Then they do an episode where Natsumi is without Miyuki and thinks of love and romance. Whatever. I was so hoping for at the very least, a flashback of Shouji but no such luck.

Speaking of no luck, the Nakajima-Miyuki thing is weary too. Initially, I thought the episode might be about Nakajima heading to where Miyuki was staying for her reunion but it turns out that was just filler, though filler on the theme of, “I haven’t confessed my feelings yet.” *_* Whatever. I already know this series won’t resolve that issue and I haven’t even seen the last episodes yet, nor have I read anything about them. Total fail on the part of the production team.

Still, I will say that this episode is a sad one considering that most of it was showing how this girl fell in love with a boy and never acted on it and now she’s dead while the boy is left to wonder what the heck happened to her.

Not much else to say here. It isn’t a bad episode but it isn’t what I want either. I’ll forge ahead as I’m able.