As the title of this review implies, the plot really intensifies in this ep. And by plot I mean boobs. Lots and lots of boobs.

Here’s my review!

Just gonna say this right off the bat: I enjoyed this ep a lot. And yes it’s because of the obvious.

Here’s a quick look at how this ep opened up. Slightly NSFW I guess, I mean there are naked girls here.

So the vast majority of this ep is just Tooru at the beach being surrounded by gorgeous girls in bikinis, yeah kinda jelly now about that. But as that takes front and center stage, there are a few other things that are worth talking about, namely Hotaka.

Now Hotaka suddenly started taking on a more prominent role last week as she was quite depressed about the events of ep 6. She’s been also trying to sort out her feelings for Tooru and has come to the conclusion that she’s in love with him. But before she can make any move on him, there is the little issue that Julie was technically there first and now Lilith has declared to make Tooru her future husband. That’s already on top of Imari’s feelings towards him and Tomoe’s love-hate relationship she’s got going too. What it all boils down to though is some classic harem shit.

Before I get into the walls of pics of the girls in their bikinis, I’ll mention that there is some training that they go through, as they are on this field trip to do training. This training montage is shown from mostly Hotaka’s viewpoint and we get some inner dialogue from her as she’s talking about her love for Tooru and how happy this makes her. I should also mention that the OST here is very nice as well, that piano piece that’s played. I’m pretty sure we’ve heard it before, I think in ep 2 where Tooru and Julie make their vows; could be wrong but I think it was played then too. After the montage, Usa-sensai informs them tomorrow is their last day there so enjoy it while they can. Hotaka takes Tooru aside and asks him if he’d like to join her at the beach, because it’s their only time off. Of course it can’t be just Tooru and her as the rest of the girls, including Usa-sensai, tag along too.

So as there isn’t much that happens besides glorious fanservice, just enjoy the pics and I’ll see you down the page for some more commentary on the ep.

Ah nice, you made it! So after the hot springs scene Hotaka hurts her ankle on the walk back forcing the group to stop. Imari, being the only other person who knows about Hotaka’s love for Tooru, is able to get the two alone so Hotaka can hopefully make a move. This whole scene with Tooru and Hotaka was pretty nice, as the two take a walk on the beach before Hotaka musters up all her courage to finally tell Tooru her feelings for him. At least nothing interrupted them right in the middle of it all, god I hate it when that shit happens. But as hopeful as Hotaka is, Tooru can’t return her feelings of love as he’s too crushed about the past, his sister dying because he was too weak to save her. In an effort not to lose another person close to him, Tooru turns her down knowing that it’s hard to do, but hopefully for the best.

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Now something that I was thinking through this whole ep is that Hotaka suddenly being featured like this isn’t a good sign actually. Usually when a character suddenly gets a lot of attention that means death flags are flying like mad, so the question now is: will Hotaka die? For you readers of the light novel, please refrain from telling me if she does or doesn’t die, I’d like it to be a surprise; but basing this totally on past examples, I’m guessing she’ll die next ep. It’s sad though, I mean sure she wasn’t my top favorite, but I always hate to see a cute girl die. Cute girls shouldn’t have to die. Unless there is a really good reason for them to.

Lastly there is a brief scene in the middle of the Hotaka confession moment where it shows Lilith and Sakuya Tsukumo talking over cups of tea. Both clearly know of an impending attack by that blonde haired dude once more, and as the after credit scene shows, the attack begins. So yes we’ll have some action next time around, and if my theory is correct, Hotaka won’t be walking away from this battle either. Damn.

So a fanservice heavy ep, but it was solid stuff. I await to see how much is changed in the BD release, as I’m pretty sure we’ll see less steam heavy scenes there during the hot springs part. I’m looking forward to the combat in the next ep, things are heating up for the final arc that will most likely take us to the end, so from here on in it’ll be good!

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Not a huge revelation fill ep this week but fun to watch just the same. I hope you enjoying reading this and looking at all the lovely pics, I had a fun time putting this all together too. If you’ve got any comments about this ep, leave them below and I’ll get back to you. Once again from here on in please refrain from any light novel spoilers as I’d like to be surprised by what happens. Thanks! Here’s what we can expect to see next week!

I’ll cya next time for another Saekano review! That’ll be ep 8. Until then enjoy the end card and bonus pic!

Source links for the full size pics in order from the top:

Hotaka and Julie

Usa-sensai and Hotaka

Tomoe, Hotaka, Imari, solo Tomoe

Imari and Lilith

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Bonus Pic!

 

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