I'm really not sure why these 4 episodes get their own season, there wasn't even that big of a gap between the end of season 1 and this one. I will say I noticed an immediate spike in quality, so maybe they were trying to highlight that?
Another classic 12-sai moment (Hanabi's first bra) animated. It's nice to see a wholesome, non-pervy episode about underwear shopping in anime honestly lol. I don't remember being aware of which girls in my class were wearing bras or not, but we don't really change in front of each other in America.
I feel like it's a real reminder of how young these characters are when you realize they're in the same building as the first graders. Of course, they're "big kids" in their own world, so cute. (I proceed to reminisce like a granny)
Hanabi feeling bad about never being sexually harassed is messed up, but a very real phenomenon. Takao actually gives her good advice/reassurance about being fine as she is (I guess Hiyama does the same for Yui).
Lol the origins of Tsutsumi being the cool "aniki" that all the guys look up to. Too bad he ends up with no one 😏 I loved when he was like "don't fall for me ✨" and Hanabi was like "kay 😐" Lol, you tell him!
It's unfortunate that dancing is so hard to animate. They wanted to show that Tsutsumi is this super cool dancer, but they just panned over a still frame of him in a cool pose instead. Doesn't exactly have the same impact...
I wonder if Tsutsumi is named Tsutsumi because he's so tsun tsun lol. Kind of on the nose. Angrily realizing you're in love someone is an interesting emotion. Do people feel that IRL?
Takao giving Cocoa her comeuppance will always be satisfying. The other girls are kinda trashy for thirsting after Takao right in front of Hanabi too though...
Okay, I get that Tsutsumi was keeping time, but seriously how did Hanabi not notice they were 3 HOURS late? Gurl...
This was a really abrupt ending. I wonder if it's because they decided to make the legit anime? Will we see these same plot lines reanimated? Guess I'll find out!
This is the uber low budget "first attempt" at adapting the 12-sai manga as an OVA. I don't know this for 100% sure, but I imagine these were released as freebie DVDs with the magazine that the manga was published in? The quality is basically slideshow/colorized manga level, but it's serviceable for its audience.
Notes:
The animation in this is super low budget and not even full length (15 min. episodes). There's an upgraded reboot which I'll be watching too.
Eikou's hair is black in the first episode which feels so wrong. In his MAL picture his hair is brown, so I guess it changes later?
Hearing all of the bullies and sexist little boys is so much worse than reading them lol
God, the ending theme song is such an auto tuned mess. The emphasis on being age 12 is kinda awkward, but I know that's the name of the series. I guess the Western equivalent might be the cartoon 6Teen where they emphasize being 16 (and sing about it in theme song).
I sort of forgot that Hanabi and Yui fought in the beginning. I feel like they were nothing but pleasant towards each other towards the end of the manga. I guess having boyfriends creates a drama buffer lol.
The scene where the girls buy pads was hilarious. I feel like animation/voice acting/music can really enhance comedy writing. Also, all of the puberty talk in this franchise is very "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret"
The class clowns aren't as funny in this and I miss the class president :/ They aren't doing the karekano one liners either (yet).
Lol early series Hiyama feels so out of character with his bullying now.
This OVA series really struggles with the characters' faces. The eyes are so far apart that they're practically sliding off the face. Early 2000s vibes.
I think the best part of this one was people responding to Yui's "死にたい" message in the bath house guest book. I wish they had actually spent more time focused on what was written though. As usual with short anime, the runtime is too short for emotional impact.
Damn, Hiyama was such a dick in the beginning, more than I remember. I don't like the "oh, but he's secretly nice" character being presented to young girls. How about a dude who's just always nice? 😐 Is that so much to ask for? (I know, I know, shoujos gotta have drama)
They added a random 4th girl to the Hanabi, Yui, Marin friend group. I'm not even sure she has a name.
The moment where HIyama shyly tugs Yui's hood over her head before confessing is pretty adorable, I gotta hand it to him.
Yui and Hiyama forgetting how to act like humans now that they've confessed to each other was hilarious.
Watching them on their school trip made me really excited for my own Japan trip this spring ❤️They always seem to stay at traditional style inns during these anime field trips 🤔 didn't know they had those in Tokyo tbh
I've been trying to sing along to the ending theme but the lyrics are so awkward and forced lol.
Cutesy lil Christmas date episode with Yui and Hiyama. I actually really liked that they were unimpressed with the city's Christmas tree, that felt so real.
Not gonna lie, I'd be kinda pissed if I planned an elaborate surprise party for a friend only for their boyfriend to be like "JK, we need some alone time." If it was a surprise party does that mean they prepared food and stuff?? If so, I hope Takao and Hanabi enjoyed it lol.
Only two more episodes and so far it's been very Yui-centric. I guess there's just not much drama with Hanabi's relationship, even though she's always felt like the face of the franchise to me.
Damn, where'd the budget go!? The episode length got cut in half to 5 minutes 😭
Despite the shortness, I still enjoyed Hiyama having his inner monologue, character growth moment only for Yui to wake up and call him childish lol. He tried...
The return of troll!Takao. I actually forgot that his first name was Yuuto lol (I feel like they rarely used it in the manga!)
This episode was 10 minutes as opposed to the previous episode's 5. Random...
I wonder if Japanese people feel any type of way about foreigners using their first names when dating or if the cultural context makes it not special anymore? Maybe it depends on how long you've been immersed in a "first name" culture...
