Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, Ep. 12 [END]: Wanna More!

Uzaki ends her summer break by trying to get Sakurai drunk.

Episode 12 – “Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out More!”

Hmm.

As I expected, Uzaki-chan threw the audience a curveball with that dramatic, rainy cliffhanger all for a joke. Thankfully, that gag ended quickly, and we could settle down for more jokes about the end of summer vacation coinciding with the end of the anime’s season. I was glad to see Sakurai finally letting loose, but not shocked to see his loss of control just means more of the same – sitting quietly and saying true things. Uzaki was the only thing or person who could rile him up.

Speaking of Uzaki-chan, I enjoyed how Ami drew out some clues on how she became so loud and informal compared to her quiet and polite self in high school. It was cute and endearing to see how surprised Uzaki was when she realized she talked like a slightly more polite Sakurai. The tall guy with the mean eyes had made a profound influence on her, much to Ami’s and the audience’s entertainment. Uzaki the tsundere! Oh, and yes, I was happy to see her wear the SUGOI DEKAI shirt one last time this season.

Heh.

Uzaki rushed over in the rain to tell Sakurai she can’t hang out anymore. That sneaky little imp. Uzaki-chan just wanted Sakurai’s help doing her summer homework. That’s right, Sakurai. Shut the door in her face. A dramatic cliffhanger falls into the sea. Uzaki-chan dropped an important detail here – Uzaki has a little brother.

Master Asai thinks Uzaki is getting more comfortable with Sakurai. Sakurai thinks Uzaki was hiding her claws back when they first met. Nice Kuso Cat Hat. Youch. Master threw his back out. Ho. Ami wants to try being the café manager while Master goes to the chiropractor. Master says, “No way!” Haha. I’d like to know what he expects to happen with Ami in charge, besides the theme days she suggested in the previous episode.

Interesting. Uzaki can taste the difference between how Ami and the Master make coffee. Ami wants to raid the dojo to take over the Asia Café. Good. Oppai-megane chiropractor! Hee. Ami asked Uzaki-chan if she and Sakurai used to flirt, er, hang out in high school.

Yay! Uzaki-chan flashback! Har. Uzaki’s friend is thirsty. The swimming club is so big it needs many managers. Huh. Sakurai’s high school speaking mode sounds like Uzaki today. Not the best first impression there. We’ve seen strangers react to Sakurai the same way all season. Uh, who is Uzaki’s friend-making goo-goo eyes at? The third-year manager? Yuri subplot? Oh, good. Uzaki quickly saw past his scary eyes.

Ha. Hahaha! Ami noticed Uzaki talks like Sakurai, but Uzaki never realized it. And she only talks like that when Sakurai is around. Hilarious. Uzaki-chan keeps trying to affect the accent, but now that she’s conscious of it, she can’t do it right! That’s good stuff. Ami found a new filling for her tasty bowl.

Suddenly, Uzaki wants to see Sakurai drunk. Judging by her competitive nature, I suspect she wants payback. Ami hopes Sakurai strips when he’s drunk. Sakaki has seen Sakurai drunk before. Ha. Uzaki-chan wants to get even by seeing Sakurai sloppy drunk because he’s already seen her boozy self. Aw. Uzaki disinvites Ami from a drinking party. No more sexy costumes for Uzaki. This season, anyway.

Oh ho. Sakaki gave Uzaki a game plan for getting Sakurai drunk, which is difficult because he’s a careful drinker. Spicy food causes more drinking. Distraction by shark movies! Pretend to drink so he drinks too. Mission accomplished!

Now, ask him personal questions. Oh, man. Sakurai is defenseless. He says out loud that he can’t praise Uzaki’s cooking because he’s “too shy.”

There. It. Is. He loves her… cooking. Too bad Uzaki-chan was drinking too much to hear the rest of his statement. Oh ho ho ho. Sakaki’s meddling finally paid off. He stuck the two drunks in the same bed! Go, bro! They woke up fully clothed. No problems, right?

The Asais need to hear their story. Bribe them with tiramisu! Ami, preach! Two young people in bed and nothing happened is the problem here! Ooh. Uzaki-chan remembers Sakurai admitting he loves her… cooking. Ami bleeds tears for missing out on this beautiful scene of drunk talk and behavior. She didn’t miss much, really. Poor Master Asai. Sometimes seeing Ami in love otaku mode is too much. He should get another massage from Ms. Oppai-Megane Chiropractor. No second round of drinking because school starts tomorrow. Uzaki-chan shock!

Uzaki has two nice alarm clocks. Cat-licking. Ah. Here’s Uzaki’s little brother who keeps complaining about her. Alright! SUGOI DEKAI rides again! Uzaki walks with Sakurai to class, still moaning about how short summer vacation was. She wanted to hang out more! Sakurai! Phrasing! Don’t say, “We’ll always be together.” Now Uzaki-chan has ammo on you. Kuso Cat disapproves. Yes, smug skinfang is smug. The End. No, The Beginning.

Final Thoughts.

May the smug be with you. That is if you like your smug in a small, top-heavy package with a keening voice and a snaggle-tooth smile. Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! gives you all the smug you can handle in bite-sized vignettes adapted from the manga of the same name. I came into the show looking at the manga, the fanart, and the, ahem, doujins, so I expected Uzaki-chan to provide us lots of sexy shots, but I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of pop culture and otaku culture jokes. It shows that the heart of Uzaki-chan is a gag comedy based on the sweetly awkward relationship between a loud, small girl and a tall, gruff boy. The humor flows from the characters hiding their awkwardness by using smug teasing or gruff growls when lightly chatting about the circumstances of however they’re spending time together. Uzaki and Sakurai want to hang out with each other. It’s not one-sided.

Helping the sweetly awkward couple carry the humor was a great supporting cast with their own set of idiosyncrasies. The Asai father and daughter tandem loved making a meal of the bickering between Uzaki-chan and Sakurai, but their generational differences added a lot of laughs over what people watching means to older folks and the more recent fascination with café staff playing characters or roles. Uzaki-chan under-utilized Sakaki, Sakurai’s college bro, but the scenes he had with Ami leave room for their own awkward relationship gags in the future. Uzaki’s mother Tsuki could have an anime all to her own, especially if she entertains fantasies of other guys besides Sakurai hitting on her. After the whole Uzaki family makes its debut, I would support a side story series of shorts.

Speaking of an Uzaki family debut, the anime’s official website announced Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! getting a second season. More SUGOI DEKAI, more smugness, and more skinfang will be coming to bother and hang out with Sakurai-senpai again.

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! streams on Funimation.