Episode 06 – “Shocking No Breathing”

And now, the dramatic expansion of the beach excursion saga. When we last left our heroes, they were kind of drowning in the tumultuous stormy ocean. Rei had the bright idea to swim out in the dead of night by himself, and Makoto had the animal senses to wake up to save him. However, Makoto’s traumatic experiences rear their ugly head whne he plunges into the stormy sea. This shock impairs his swimming and puts him in the same amount of danger as Rei. Great.

With half the swimming club incapacitated, Haru and Nagisa miraculously wake up in the knich of time to go out to save them. Despite being trained swimmers (well, besides Rei but I guess we don’t talk about that), the churning waters make it impossible to return to the beach where their tents are. They’re forced to a different side of the coast, and separated on top of that. With Makoto unconscious, we have the moment that perhaps everyone has been waiting for: someone to perform CPR.

But of course, KyoAni, known for not showing any kiss scenes in any of their series really, won’t even allow that to happen. I mean, what’s a little harmless mouth-to-mouth action between two friends? I can only imagine the heartpounding anticipation shippers were put through during that scene, only to be let down. What a cocktease (as weird as that must sound).

Still, this episode does a pretty good job of reinforcing the two big ships: Haru/Makoto and Rei/Nagisa. Even Mother Nature ordained that they be split up into these respective pairs. Upon reuniting though, they take shelter in a haunted house, another stable of a youthful summer experience. Also the perfect excuse to see the boys without their shirts for an extended period of time, too. I seriously hope they brought extra clothes though.

During this time in the haunted house, we finally learn the truth behind Makoto’s traumatic past and the source is oceanic phobia. Interestingly, it’s actually connected to those goldfish we heard about last episode, but a little more complicated. He got attached to an old fisherman who gave them to him, but when the old man died in a storm, the goldfish died too. Eerie and sad stuff. On top of that, Makoto swallowed his fear of the ocean to organize the training session for the good of the team.

B.W.