Minami takes Tsubasa to see Hokkaido’s pink spring blossoms. But will pleasant memories turn bittersweet?
Episode 11 — “Youth Hits Super Hard in the Feels”
Hmm.
Fear of abandonment. Fear of rejection. Fear of connection. These psychological neuroses look different, but this Hokkaido Gals episode shows us how they are the same. People with these conditions will avoid forming new relationships. Here, Tsubasa hesitated to make a deeper relationship with Minami. The anime has yet to address the circumstances of Tsubasa’s transfer to Hokkaido, how he has no friends, never played video games, or had a smartphone before. Something, or someone, severed any bonds Tsubasa could make before he formed a trusting intimacy. I’m concerned that he’s forming romantic attachments at the same time he’s learning how to join peer groups. But any connection is healthy for a developing mind. I hope Hokkaido Gals does not go too dark in the last episode before Tsubasa has his almost-happy ending.
Keeping the anime bright, at least for one more episode, was Hokkaido. There aren’t a lot of roads through the areas between Kitami, Oozora, and Abashiri. It makes sense how Minami needed to use the train, a lakeside road, and then a shuttle bus to arrive at Higashimokoto Park. But the sights and memories will stick with Tokyo-native Tsubasa. The trees in Hokkaido don’t turn pink, but the expansive white snowfields do! White to green to pink! Hokkaido has many other kinds of flower parks besides the Shibazakura. It also has sunflowers! Where do you think all those images of girls in sundresses walking through sunflowers come from? Hokkaido Gals turns a tourism campaign into artistic inspiration.
Hokkaido Gals Makes Me Go Heh.
Minami puts on her game-day makeup. Her day with Tsubasa will make memories! Also, opening credits overlay the sequence, so we have some gut punches to the feels happening today. And the Hokkaido Gals episode title confirms that. えもい (emoi) is Hokkaido dialect for “emo, sad, melancholic.” The title, 青春ってなまらえもい (seishun tte namara emoi), is “Youth is super emo.” Hey. No one wants to watch Sasuke Uchiha in a bubbly gyaru comedy. Minami’s mom knows her daughter’s outing with Tsubasa is more than a tourist trip. Foreshadowing. We’ve had enough hints about Tsubasa wanting to see blossoms in spring, so the flowers at the train station prime the audience’s expectations. Three-hour train ride, a bike ride, and a bus, too. Where is Minami taking Tsubasa? Get your hopes up, shounen. Double entendres are the order of the day.
Are those Dosanko horses? I hear they’re namara menkoi! Ah. This Hokkaido Gals episode is also a clip show. The nostalgic feelings will be heavy! Don’t stare at a sleeping girl’s heaving bosom, Tsubasa. That’s better. Calling a girl “beautiful” before she can wipe the drool off her napping face wins you blushing points. Ah. Tsubasa and Minami arrived at Abashiri station. That is on the other side of the lake where they went ice fishing. Ooh! Bike ride behind a gyaru behind! Breaktime. Eat taiyaki with different fillings in downtown Abashiri. Minami likes watching Tsubasa’s happy face as he eats. Get married already! Aha. Tsubasa set up a sentimental memento exchange. A promise bracelet.
Hokkaido Gals Ride a Long Time
Train ride, bike ride, and now the bus ride! What could Oozora Town be advertising on its little sign? Minami took a long way around to their destination from Kitami. I see a lot of flowers in the background! Tsubasa will have a big surprise when he opens his eyes. He’s enjoying his time with “something” pressing into his back. Higashimokoto Shibazakura Park is a real place you can visit. The moss phlox flower, or shibazakura, usually blooms after the cherry trees, but not in Hokkaido. Minami gave Tsubasa the local spring blossom viewing event! There’s still a weight of doom hanging over the happy times because Minami hasn’t told Tsubasa her news yet.
Time to take ’Gram-worthy shots! The park stays the same, but the feels hit different! Yes. Minami will turn into a hot gyaru mama like her Mama Fuyuki. Future mirroring for Hokkaido Gals — an elderly couple takes Tsubasa and Minami’s picture in front of a fertility shrine. Put lots of babies in her tummy, Tsubasa! Hint, hint. They promised to come back here “years and years from now.” There are more hints at changes in Tsubasa’s life: his father has arrived in Hokkaido, and Rena-senpai already met him.
Minami has too much fun at Higashimokoto Park to give Tsubasa time to present her with the gift he has in his pocket. We already know what it is. Ha! Masayoshi Oishi sings the opening theme song as the background montage music. Sneaky Minami hits up all the couple-themed things at the park when Tsubasa doesn’t know what they mean.
Hokkaido Gals and the Long Dark Tea-Time of the Season Finale
It’s almost sunset; it’s time for the emo mood to come down on Hokkaido Gals. “フォトジェニック” (fotogenikku)! Yes, Tsubasa. You went to a park where only families and couples go, with a girl by yourselves, so you look like a couple. Minami is coming on strong today! Tsubasa has trust and abandonment issues. Oho. Putting on a red promise bracelet crosses the streams of an engagement ring and the red string of fate! No metaphors here! First, a couple walks by, then a dad with a child. Ack. Coward. Tsubasa friend-zoned the hottest gyaru he knows! And worse, he knows he chickened out. And the timing! She’s about to leave for a study abroad program! When does she come back? Boy, be ambitious! Good. Good! Tsubasa can’t say it with words but with actions. Hug it out.
Augh! Cliffhanger! Next time is the season finale.
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (道産子ギャルはなまらめんこい, Dosanko Gal wa Namaramenkoi) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and English subtitles.
The springtime of youth isn’t supposed to hit you in the feels like this. The aim seemed lower. The season finale hopefully sets up a second season without Minami in the picture. Then, a love rivalry between Sayuri and Rena causes a rollercoaster romantic drama. That could be okay if the anime would supply us with tolerable amounts of fanservice. Is that okay? Let us know in the comments below.
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