Amaama to Inazuma Episode 4 Review

Apparently Tsumugi’s dad still uses a flip phone

(This review contains spoilers!)

          Last week, we were treated to Amaama to Inazuma at its full potential. At this point, I’m feeling like that was a bit of a double-edged sword, because this episode pales in comparison. It’s not nearly as interesting, some of the writing is clunky, and gets really boring really fast.

          The main crux of the plot was that Tsumugi is upset because she doesn’t like green peppers. Why? Because they apparently seem dangerous to her. A part of me thinks that the writers decided that “she just doesn’t like the taste” wasn’t good enough, and they needlessly complicated things as a result.

          This leads Tsumugi’s father and Iida to go on a quest to find vegetables kids like, which is about as compelling as watching a pill bug cross the sidewalk. We also get the introduction of a new character, through some extremely clumsy exposition. Right off the bat, she seems like the perky girl stereotype, but hopefully there’s more to her than that.

          All the content before we arrived at the always delightful cooking segment was extremely boring, and I’m sure that if I didn’t need the subtitles to understand what was going on, I would’ve tabbed out and had it play in the background, which is never a good sign. A slight increase in the pace would’ve saved this episode a lot of trouble. Mercifully, the cooking arrived earlier than usual this week, so that’s a plus.

          The good news is that whoever was in charge of the animation for this episode did an excellent job. Lots of really funny over exaggerated expressions were used, and they consistently brought a smile to my face. I especially liked Tsumugi’s smug face after she helped flatten the vegetables. Plus, just like last week, the animation was a lot smoother, which is fantastic to see. The cooking as well is just as enjoyable as ever, full of small, interesting facts about what they’re making.

          The absolute best part of the episode is a small surprise that I dare not spoil towards the end. All I’ll say is that it’ll make you like Tsumugi even more than you already did before, and that it’s the first really funny moment this show’s had so far.

          Although the plot isn’t the best, a lot of the writing isn’t fantastic, and the first third of the episode move at a snail’s pace, Amaama to Inazuma can always rely on it’s seemingly endless amount of charm to save an episode. As always, I look forward to see what they’re cooking up for next week.

FINAL SCORE

6/10

Okay