Impression:

For those of us that have never had to butcher our own meat, we often take the process for granted. Do you think that you could handle butchering an animal? Could you slice up a cow, pig, or chicken? If not, remember that you probably have not hesitated to eat beef, pork, and chicken. I know that I love meat, but the process of getting a cow to become steak is something that I think would take some getting used to.

We must respect the sacrifices that others make for us.

Hachiken has tried to live at boarding schools because he has a pretty odd home life. The guy has to get good grades in order to earn his keep. That is very different from the family mentality that is present on a farm or, you know, most other households. It is because of this that Hachiken is going to be working part-time at Aki’s farm. The dorms are closed over summer break, so this was one of the few options left. The first day did not go so well. Aki’s dad sees Hachiken as a threat because he is a young man. That is always fun. Then, the inability to send a text has led to Hachiken not working when he is supposed to. Searching for cell phone signal should not be a priority on a farm. Then, the search ends up getting Hachiken lost and he misses work. That would be deadly at his house, but the Mikages are worried about Hachiken. Luckily, he ended up on Komaba’s farm where he spent some time with Komaba’s family. They work hard and it confuses Hachiken. Why work so hard every day of the year in an effort that loses money? Farmer’s debt sucks, but there is more to life than money. Hachiken finally shows a bit of worth by butchering a deer. That was rough because Hachiken is too soft in this regard. However, he remembered that we must respect the sacrifices that the animals make for us and he was able to stomach it. The night ends with a nice mood and a dead bear.

That pig is going to be delicious.

Current Opinion of the Show:

I think that this was a really good episode. We finally got to see exactly what was up with Hachiken’s family. Although it was clear that they were distant, we did not know just how bad it was. If getting good grades equated to earning your keep, then I know a lot of kids that would have been homeless. I can see why he wanted to go to a school with a dormitory system. We got to see the exact opposite mentality on the farm. Although hard work is required to keep things running normally, things can be forgiven. When Hachiken went missing, they were far more worried about his safety than the fact that he slacked off on his first day. This is a mentality that I am used to. Although, being an idiot and getting lost should not be an excuse for not doing your work. Hachiken can’t make a habit of this. How many animals can you slaughter before you are no longer a greenhorn learning a lesson? I say one. Unless they want to make him butcher that bear.

That guy is not happy with Hachiken.

I guess something else that we need to talk about is farmer’s debt. Unfortunately, the cost of running a farm is far too great for the crops to ever make up for it. How much corn do you have to sell in order to pay for running your facility? That includes specialized vehicles, workers, and building maintenance. Then you have to deal with the possibility of having your crops not come out as well as you had expected due to natural disasters, lack of soil fertility, or various other things that can’t be controlled. Raising crops is an imperfect art. In the United States, the government buys a good deal of the harvest every year for various purposes, but nothing will really help farmer’s debt. Farms are necessary for feeding people and providing fuel. Yes, I am talking about ethanol. Unfortunately, development is shrinking a lot of farms and it is getting tougher to maintain things like soil fertility. Are we going to have to change the way that we farm? Probably, but running a farm is expensive enough without having to move your operation. This is an issue that I am happy to not be a direct part of.

What does bear even taste like?