May. 26th, 2013 03:37 am
Amachan: Week 4 Episode Guide
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earth_colorsWeek 4: "I caught a sea urchin"
"I'm the first one to fall in love with Aki-chan~!!"
Episode Summaries:
Ep. 19. The town is caught by surprise as the train otakus (5 times more than the normal number) arrive, looking for Yui. Haruko at Cafe Riasu has not expected the sudden arrival of the men, too. She has to ask Natsu to make plenty more unidonburi to accommodate the sudden huge number of orders.
Meanwhile, Yui shows up to the delight of the visitors, taking her picture and shaking her hand. At the end of the day, the locals are all exhausted. Since tomorrow is a Sunday, they expect more train otakus to come. They seem not too thrilled about it. Daikichi tries to encourage the rest when they show signs of hesitancy since their schedule is suddenly affected. "This is the chance we've been waiting for after 24 years since the KitaTetsu opened!" So the next day, more train otakus do arrive and so Yui and the others do their best to serve and accommodate them. Aki tells Yui how awesomely popular she is now but Yui says she didn't do anything. "I'm just waving, smiling at cameras... I still feel just an ordinary high school girl." Aki admires her even more for Yui does not let her popularity get into her head. Inspired by Yui, Aki vows to work harder, too... and that is to catch her very first sea urchin.
Ep. 20. No matter how Aki tries, she still can't catch an uni yet. She is also a bit traumatized from the last time she nearly drowned. Hiroshi is at the Fishing Co-op, wanting to videotape an interview with Aki. Aki calls him "Stove-san" because it's what his dad calls him since he likes staying in front of the stove at home. Hiroshi says all his dad cares about is looking respectable in the public's eye. Aki disagrees saying, "I think he cares about you. If he cared only about appearances, he wouldn't have hit you in front of me." Then Aki agrees to be interviewed, despite her sagging confidence of becoming a real Ama. In the video, Aki, speaking in her acquired Sodegahama dialect, talks about being an Ama, and the Ama culture. That night, while Hiroshi is editing Aki's video, he realizes something and dashes off to Haruko at Snack Bar Riasu. "I'm in love with her!" he declares. Haruko knows he's talking about Aki. But even before Hiroshi could fully make known his intentions for her daughter, Haruko immediately shoots him down. "No, absolutely NO! I forbid it till doomsday!" She says Hiroshi will not make Aki happy, and he does not have anything to show yet, considering he always quits on things (school, jobs). "You can be good friends, though." Hiroshi says he understands but proclaims, "I'm the very first one to fall in love with Aki-chan! I'm her first real fan~!!" And then, the weekend comes. More floods of tourists are expected to arrive but this time they are not in town for Yui. They all go directly to Sodegahama to find Aki. Apparently, Hiroshi had uploaded her video on the front page of the website and has became an instant hit.
Ep. 21. Due to Aki's video, more customers want to see and take pictures of Aki. They also request her to fetch them some uni. Aki tries but fails as usual. Back at the Co-op, they all wonder about Aki's sudden popularity considering she's just an ordinary high school girl. Hibiki suddenly shows up and explains that the town is having a "boom" phenomenon, wherein "even the ugly ones can have the spotlight." By "ugly", he means Aki of course, which upset the Ama-sans. At the Tourism office, Aki's video is garnering more and more views (but not as many as Yui's yet). They figure that Aki's "entrance as a rival" benefits Yui's popularity, therefore the whole town as well. However, Daikichi is concerned about one thing: The Ama season will soon be over. Still, more customers come to see Aki and ask to catch them some uni. She tries but fails and yet when she reemerges one time from the sea, there is an uni in her basket! "How did it get in there?" Haruko says it's impossible while Natsu reassures Aki that it was a legitimate catch and that she has passed. Aki is joyful but it was only short-lived after she realizes that it was actually Anbe who had been giving her the uni. She is upset about the "sham" but the Ama-sans tell her it is for the benefit of the customers (who come from faraway places just to see her catch some uni) since Ama tourism is also a "service industry." Despite the talk, Aki feels she still is not a real Ama yet. And now that only a week remains before the Ama season ends, she feels more and more depressed.
Ep. 22. A small girl who is said to be a fan of Aki comes and meets the teen Ama. Aki does not have the heart to lie to her and so she tells her the truth: that it was Anbe who caught the uni she had fed her. The Ama-sans later are upset about that. She could have compromised Anbe's position as an Ama considering "she will be retiring soon." Aki is surprised. "Why are you leaving?" She learns that Anbe will be promoting and selling Mamebu soup to the rest of the country. And that her last day will be the last day of the Ama season. On that day, they will hold the "Honki Dori* " a day for free uni harvesting spree off the coast of Sodegahama. It's when an Ama is allowed to catch any number of uni, not for tourists, but for herself and sell it if she wants. Aki is not allowed to participate since it will take place in even deeper waters which she could not possibly handle yet. Later, Yui tells her not to worry about not being able to catch any uni for the customers. "It's because you are cute, that's why they are coming." Aki is pleased with that and thinks how cool of Yui to be so determined on becoming an idol. She goes to the cafe and asks her Mom, "When you were young, did you long to be an idol?" Haruko looks puzzled and uncomfortable at the question. Then, when Aki insists on seeing a picture of Haruko when she was young, Haruko for some reason explodes. Haruko seems to misunderstand that Aki wants to become an idol. "Just because you've been receiving a little adulation, you think you can go all hoity-toity!" Aki is shocked at her mother's tirade. "I didn't say I want to become an idol!" she tries to defend herself. "Right!" Haruko shouts back (looking like she is not aware of what she's saying) but her next words hurt Aki: "An ugly one like you can't become an idol!" Aki leaves the cafe, crying. Later, she goes to Haruko's former classmate, Anbe and asks to show her pictures of her mother when they were younger. Anbe shows her their middle school yearbook. There, Aki sees how pretty and cute her mother was. "Your mom was so cute and popular that boys from nearby towns would come just to see her." Anbe tells her. She is confused as to why her mother would be so angry about the topic of being an idol, like there was something about the past that nobody wants to talk about. Aki is curious so when everyone is asleep, she goes up to the hidden room on the second floor. She is busy going through her mom's things, that she does not notice Haruko is already at the door. "What are you doing?"
(*"Honki Dori" = means "serious catching")
Ep. 23. Instead of being angry, Haruko is happy to see her old room again. "These bring back so many memories!" She laughs while looking around. She finds an exchange diary she and Sugawara had in high school, and a video game cartridge she borrowed from Anbe. She also shows Aki her "secret base" which is the beacon at the seashore. Aki reads the stuff her mom wrote on the ground when the latter was a teenager. "You're like Yui (who wants to go to Tokyo)." Later they return to their futons, and Haruko tells Aki a diving tip she learned from Natsu. "When you want to dive deeply and longer, don't think too much because your brain uses up too much oxygen." The next day, Aki reiterates her desire to join the "Honki Dori" event. The Ama-sans tell her only one person per household can join to prevent over-fishing. "If you go, then Natsu can't go." However, Natsu says Aki can take her place. The Ama-sans wonder if it was a good decision, considering Aki can't catch any uni yet. At the train station, Aki chats with Hiroshi. He apologizes to her for causing all the fuss by uploading her video. He also says the more popular she gets, it seems "the more you go further away (from him)." Then, since he couldn't contain his feelings any longer, he startles Aki by confessing to her. "I'm in love with you!" (While assistant trainmaster Yoshida Masayoshi eavesdrops). But Aki remembers the diving tip her mom had told her. She covers her ears and says, "No no! I mustn't think of anything! Tomorrow's the Honki Dori! How could you do this to me?!" She runs off leaving Hiroshi behind. That night, Aki lies in bed, counting uni (instead of sheep). She tries to fall asleep but she just could not erase Hiroshi's confession off her mind.
Ep. 24. The day of the Annual Honki Dori (which is also the last day of the Ama season) finally arrives. The Ama-sans converge at the Co-op, teasing a tearful Anbe on her last day as an Ama. Meanwhile, Aki didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Nevertheless, she heads out to the beach where many village women (and some alumni of the Ama club) are also taking part. Aki is nervous especially that Hiroshi is there, filming the event. Natsu and Haruko are at the monitoring hut, taking turns watching the event through a pair of binoculars. All the participants and Hiroshi get on boats and go to a spot off-shore. The uni harvesting spree begins, but Aki stays on the boat, feeling scared. Rokuro who is with her says the waters at this spot is colder and the current is stronger. "If you don't want to do it, it's okay." But Aki decides to jump, saying she has to get an uni or else she will not be a full-fledged Ama. Aki dives and manages to reach for an uni but it slips from her hand and she goes further down below in order to retrieve it. Anbe tries to stop her but runs out of oxygen and goes up. Aki, too resurfaces and in her hand is that uni! "I did it!" Everyone erupts in cheers as everything was caught on camera by Hiroshi. Later at the Co-op, they all weigh and encash their uni harvest, including Aki's single catch. "Here's 500 yen!" Rokuro hands her the coin. Aki apologizes to Natsu, "If I didn't take your place, the Amano household could have earned tens of thousands of yen this year." Natsu says what matters most is "that uni is the one you yourself had caught." Daikichi, Sugawara and Yui come in to congratulate her. Everyone goes to the seashore to offer Aki's uni to the god of the sea (after Haruko takes lots of pictures of it, of course). And so on this happy note, this year's season of the Ama has come to an end.
Next: Week 5
Previous: Week 3
Episode Index: Link
Character Guide: Link
"I'm the first one to fall in love with Aki-chan~!!"
Episode Summaries:
Ep. 19. The town is caught by surprise as the train otakus (5 times more than the normal number) arrive, looking for Yui. Haruko at Cafe Riasu has not expected the sudden arrival of the men, too. She has to ask Natsu to make plenty more unidonburi to accommodate the sudden huge number of orders.
Meanwhile, Yui shows up to the delight of the visitors, taking her picture and shaking her hand. At the end of the day, the locals are all exhausted. Since tomorrow is a Sunday, they expect more train otakus to come. They seem not too thrilled about it. Daikichi tries to encourage the rest when they show signs of hesitancy since their schedule is suddenly affected. "This is the chance we've been waiting for after 24 years since the KitaTetsu opened!" So the next day, more train otakus do arrive and so Yui and the others do their best to serve and accommodate them. Aki tells Yui how awesomely popular she is now but Yui says she didn't do anything. "I'm just waving, smiling at cameras... I still feel just an ordinary high school girl." Aki admires her even more for Yui does not let her popularity get into her head. Inspired by Yui, Aki vows to work harder, too... and that is to catch her very first sea urchin.Ep. 20. No matter how Aki tries, she still can't catch an uni yet. She is also a bit traumatized from the last time she nearly drowned.
Hiroshi is at the Fishing Co-op, wanting to videotape an interview with Aki. Aki calls him "Stove-san" because it's what his dad calls him since he likes staying in front of the stove at home. Hiroshi says all his dad cares about is looking respectable in the public's eye. Aki disagrees saying, "I think he cares about you. If he cared only about appearances, he wouldn't have hit you in front of me." Then Aki agrees to be interviewed, despite her sagging confidence of becoming a real Ama. In the video, Aki, speaking in her acquired Sodegahama dialect, talks about being an Ama, and the Ama culture. That night, while Hiroshi is editing Aki's video, he realizes something and dashes off to Haruko at Snack Bar Riasu. "I'm in love with her!" he declares. Haruko knows he's talking about Aki. But even before Hiroshi could fully make known his intentions for her daughter, Haruko immediately shoots him down. "No, absolutely NO! I forbid it till doomsday!" She says Hiroshi will not make Aki happy, and he does not have anything to show yet, considering he always quits on things (school, jobs). "You can be good friends, though." Hiroshi says he understands but proclaims, "I'm the very first one to fall in love with Aki-chan! I'm her first real fan~!!" And then, the weekend comes. More floods of tourists are expected to arrive but this time they are not in town for Yui. They all go directly to Sodegahama to find Aki. Apparently, Hiroshi had uploaded her video on the front page of the website and has became an instant hit.Ep. 21. Due to Aki's video, more customers want to see and take pictures of Aki. They also request her to fetch them some uni. Aki tries but fails as usual.
Back at the Co-op, they all wonder about Aki's sudden popularity considering she's just an ordinary high school girl. Hibiki suddenly shows up and explains that the town is having a "boom" phenomenon, wherein "even the ugly ones can have the spotlight." By "ugly", he means Aki of course, which upset the Ama-sans. At the Tourism office, Aki's video is garnering more and more views (but not as many as Yui's yet). They figure that Aki's "entrance as a rival" benefits Yui's popularity, therefore the whole town as well. However, Daikichi is concerned about one thing: The Ama season will soon be over. Still, more customers come to see Aki and ask to catch them some uni. She tries but fails and yet when she reemerges one time from the sea, there is an uni in her basket! "How did it get in there?" Haruko says it's impossible while Natsu reassures Aki that it was a legitimate catch and that she has passed. Aki is joyful but it was only short-lived after she realizes that it was actually Anbe who had been giving her the uni. She is upset about the "sham" but the Ama-sans tell her it is for the benefit of the customers (who come from faraway places just to see her catch some uni) since Ama tourism is also a "service industry." Despite the talk, Aki feels she still is not a real Ama yet. And now that only a week remains before the Ama season ends, she feels more and more depressed.Ep. 22. A small girl who is said to be a fan of Aki comes and meets the teen Ama. Aki does not have the heart to lie to her and so she tells her the truth: that it was Anbe who caught the uni she had fed her.
The Ama-sans later are upset about that. She could have compromised Anbe's position as an Ama considering "she will be retiring soon." Aki is surprised. "Why are you leaving?" She learns that Anbe will be promoting and selling Mamebu soup to the rest of the country. And that her last day will be the last day of the Ama season. On that day, they will hold the "Honki Dori* " a day for free uni harvesting spree off the coast of Sodegahama. It's when an Ama is allowed to catch any number of uni, not for tourists, but for herself and sell it if she wants. Aki is not allowed to participate since it will take place in even deeper waters which she could not possibly handle yet. Later, Yui tells her not to worry about not being able to catch any uni for the customers. "It's because you are cute, that's why they are coming." Aki is pleased with that and thinks how cool of Yui to be so determined on becoming an idol. She goes to the cafe and asks her Mom, "When you were young, did you long to be an idol?" Haruko looks puzzled and uncomfortable at the question. Then, when Aki insists on seeing a picture of Haruko when she was young, Haruko for some reason explodes. Haruko seems to misunderstand that Aki wants to become an idol. "Just because you've been receiving a little adulation, you think you can go all hoity-toity!" Aki is shocked at her mother's tirade. "I didn't say I want to become an idol!" she tries to defend herself. "Right!" Haruko shouts back (looking like she is not aware of what she's saying) but her next words hurt Aki: "An ugly one like you can't become an idol!" Aki leaves the cafe, crying. Later, she goes to Haruko's former classmate, Anbe and asks to show her pictures of her mother when they were younger. Anbe shows her their middle school yearbook. There, Aki sees how pretty and cute her mother was. "Your mom was so cute and popular that boys from nearby towns would come just to see her." Anbe tells her. She is confused as to why her mother would be so angry about the topic of being an idol, like there was something about the past that nobody wants to talk about. Aki is curious so when everyone is asleep, she goes up to the hidden room on the second floor. She is busy going through her mom's things, that she does not notice Haruko is already at the door. "What are you doing?"(*"Honki Dori" = means "serious catching")
Ep. 23. Instead of being angry, Haruko is happy to see her old room again. "These bring back so many memories!" She laughs while looking around. She finds an exchange diary she and Sugawara had in high school, and a video game cartridge she borrowed from Anbe. She also shows Aki her "secret base" which is the beacon at the seashore. Aki reads the stuff her mom wrote on the ground when the latter was a teenager. "You're like Yui (who wants to go to Tokyo)."
Later they return to their futons, and Haruko tells Aki a diving tip she learned from Natsu. "When you want to dive deeply and longer, don't think too much because your brain uses up too much oxygen." The next day, Aki reiterates her desire to join the "Honki Dori" event. The Ama-sans tell her only one person per household can join to prevent over-fishing. "If you go, then Natsu can't go." However, Natsu says Aki can take her place. The Ama-sans wonder if it was a good decision, considering Aki can't catch any uni yet. At the train station, Aki chats with Hiroshi. He apologizes to her for causing all the fuss by uploading her video. He also says the more popular she gets, it seems "the more you go further away (from him)." Then, since he couldn't contain his feelings any longer, he startles Aki by confessing to her. "I'm in love with you!" (While assistant trainmaster Yoshida Masayoshi eavesdrops). But Aki remembers the diving tip her mom had told her. She covers her ears and says, "No no! I mustn't think of anything! Tomorrow's the Honki Dori! How could you do this to me?!" She runs off leaving Hiroshi behind. That night, Aki lies in bed, counting uni (instead of sheep). She tries to fall asleep but she just could not erase Hiroshi's confession off her mind.Ep. 24. The day of the Annual Honki Dori (which is also the last day of the Ama season) finally arrives. The Ama-sans converge at the Co-op, teasing a tearful Anbe on her last day as an Ama.
Meanwhile, Aki didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Nevertheless, she heads out to the beach where many village women (and some alumni of the Ama club) are also taking part. Aki is nervous especially that Hiroshi is there, filming the event. Natsu and Haruko are at the monitoring hut, taking turns watching the event through a pair of binoculars. All the participants and Hiroshi get on boats and go to a spot off-shore. The uni harvesting spree begins, but Aki stays on the boat, feeling scared. Rokuro who is with her says the waters at this spot is colder and the current is stronger. "If you don't want to do it, it's okay." But Aki decides to jump, saying she has to get an uni or else she will not be a full-fledged Ama. Aki dives and manages to reach for an uni but it slips from her hand and she goes further down below in order to retrieve it. Anbe tries to stop her but runs out of oxygen and goes up. Aki, too resurfaces and in her hand is that uni! "I did it!" Everyone erupts in cheers as everything was caught on camera by Hiroshi. Later at the Co-op, they all weigh and encash their uni harvest, including Aki's single catch. "Here's 500 yen!" Rokuro hands her the coin. Aki apologizes to Natsu, "If I didn't take your place, the Amano household could have earned tens of thousands of yen this year." Natsu says what matters most is "that uni is the one you yourself had caught." Daikichi, Sugawara and Yui come in to congratulate her. Everyone goes to the seashore to offer Aki's uni to the god of the sea (after Haruko takes lots of pictures of it, of course). And so on this happy note, this year's season of the Ama has come to an end.Next: Week 5
Previous: Week 3
Episode Index: Link
Character Guide: Link
