Episode 2 Summary - Tokyo

It hasn't been long since Sora left her home town Biei. As she sat in the coach, she dreamt of her mother calling out to her when she was driven away to the airport.

Tokyo was a big place. With map in hand, Sora did her best to navigate around the city while enjoying the sights she had never seen before in the countryside. After wandering for some time, she resorts to another map near a police station and suddenly hears tires screeching. A wheel flies through the air and rolls onto the road. Sora rushes out just in time as a giant lorry runs off a highway. She uses her magic to stop the lorry and everyone cheers for her.

Sora blushes and then asks if the guy nearby was alright. He had been helping an old lady who fell to her knees because of the shock. He noticed Sora's magic and upon hearing that she was in Tokyo for training, he tells her she probably doesn't need it if she can use it so well. She tries to find out where the nearest underground station was but he doesn't tell her.

And so, Sora returns to the station where she had left her bag. With the help of some directions from the policeman there and a nice cup of cold barley tea, she continues her walk through the hot day.

As she walks, she thinks back to how one's ability to use magic is determined by their DNA. In Sora's case, her father was a mage. After reaching the age of sixteen, those who are gifted with magic must apply for training which is divided into two parts. One is to attend classes while the other, is to learn the code of conduct by understanding the work of experienced mages and how they help the locals with magic. The whole training process takes one month.

Eventually Sora makes it to class which had already begun. Quietly, she tries to sneak in but accidentally knocks her bag into the classroom. The teacher notices and she is made to introduce herself on the spot. She was the last one to make it to class and everyone else had already introduced themselves. Everyone laughs at Sora's self-introduction as she tells them the dog she had was named Joe and her motto is, "trial and error".

After a quick written test, there was a break where Sora gets to know Hiyori Yamabuki. She teases her about the way Sora made her entrance and they both laugh. Sora also learns their teacher's name was Kawada while the strange looking assistant was Morishita.

Returning to the class room, the students were soon onto their practical test. They were to freeze water and after their magic abilities were determined, they were going to be split into groups. While focusing on her own water, Sora notices Gouta Midorikawa was opposite her, the guy she had met earlier. He was also a trainee magic student here. She greets him happily but is ignored. Midorikawa goes as far as trying to move seats.

The sudden frustration Sora feels helps her create a giant collection of icicles dangling from the ceiling and gets much admiration by her classmates describing it as "Heaven of Ice".

On the other hand, Honomi Asagi wasn't so impressed thinking Sora wasn't too practical. She thought freezing water into a handy barrel shape would be much more practical as it allowed the ice to be transported more easily. She then walks by Sora and decides to ask the teacher a question. Was it true that mages could use magic known as "Resurrect" to bring a person back to life? The teacher answers it was just rumours made by people who couldn't use magic.

With classes over, Sora makes her way home where she happens to meet Kouji Kuroda and has a little chat with him. She was tired but many of the buildings and shops she passed by caught her interest. She e-mails Michiru and tells her Shimokitazawa was a mix of old and new buildings with lots of interesting shops. She was starting to like the area and it lifted her spirits.

Soon, she arrives at her new residence. Seiichirou had been expecting her and had gotten worried why she was so late. Sora apologises, explaining she had been caught up looking at the shops. She was surprised to learn there was another student living together with them but he had already gone to his room to sleep.

Sora picks up her bag and makes her slowly up the creaking stairs. She opens up the door to her room and finds it filled with posters of singers and guitars lying nearby. Was this what a boy's room looked like? She lies on the zebra striped bed and gazes at her watch. It was half seven. She tells her father that she was finally in Tokyo.

It was still just half seven in the evening. She takes a peek outside the window to find a beautiful garden and also spots the other student. it was Midorikawa.

Next episode, Sora.

Thoughts

Got quite a few laughs out of this one. Sora just seemed so naive the way she acts. It was also funny to see her attracting the gaze of many guys around her - something that doesn't happen in Anime shows that often despite the cute female character designs. It's usually just harem shows where all the girls run after a single guy or vice-versa.

Then there's the part where she arrives at her new residence and remarks, "So this is a boy's room..." I guess a guy would say the same thing about a girl's room. It's odd to see the room not cleaned up actually. One would have thought Seiichirou would have taken down the pictures and put away the guitars at least but, I guess that tells us what kind of person he is. I wonder if Sora will end up making any changes?

Also liking all those ending messages. In this episode, it introduces the place below as the Northern Exit at Shimokitazawa Station, just in front of the bank. If this show ever gets as popular as Lucky Star, some places featured might end up getting busy soon.

On another note, the song that "Yasuko" sang halfway through the episode was called, "Kyuugatsu no Umi wa Kurage no Umi (The September Sea is a Sea of Jellyfish)". It's by the same band Micc who sings the ending song. Pretty good. I can't seem to find them on the Geneon Entertainment website, though. They're probably just starting up with the company.