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In this episode we’re introduced to Nozomu Souma, the underclassmen’s new teacher who Mihoshi knows from her childhood. Plans are made for the school festival, Hime renews her efforts to get close to Saku, and the new teacher’s involvement in the astronomy club doesn’t sit well with Saku. Unfortunately the episode is a bit slower compared to others, but we get a great deal of set up for the next episode.

Saku’s responsibility has left her in despair!

The second term of school is beginning and Saku’s mom wants to baby the son she loves so much by waking him up and making an omelet with ‘today starts the second term’ written on it in ketchup. Saku is already awake ready for school though, ruining her fun. Heading off to school he remembers events from the past semester and Mihoshi interrupting his reading even over the break. But as he’s thinking about this on the bus he realizes that no one has pressed the ‘request stop’ button and the bus is so close to the school that no one wants to be the first one to move. However a tall man next to him hits the button and everyone exits.

His mother certainly didn’t have anything to do with this one.

Mihoshi doesn’t take vacations from her true calling.

Are the buses really this intense? Glad I used the train to commute.

When you ride the bus without pressing the button, you’re riding with Hitler.

Arriving at school the new term starts off with some more Mihoshi-supplied innuendo when she comes to Saku’s classroom to show the underclassmen club members the photos from their summer stargazing trip. Hime attempts to defend her home turf after Mihoshi barges in, everyone takes a look at the photos, and we get a few pointers of astrophotography from Edogawa. The true intentions of the Photography Club are proudly displayed as they hold onto the photos of Sayo in her swimsuit like precious treasure. Fumie also briefly appears to remind the plebs that she holds the real power and will not approve the Astronomy Club’s funding request so quickly. Mihoshi in response sounds like she’s confessing her feelings to Fumin, but our Queen has eyes only for Saku.

Mihoshi Akeno: ruining the Astronomy Club’s and Saku’s reputations since 2009.

Poor Hime is always  having to react to Mihoshi.

The pictures turned out quite well, but Edogawa and the Photography Club have other priorities…

I guess they figure that if they have multiple members no single restraining order will stop them.

It probably exists in doujinshi form.

A school assembly is called for the start of the new term, and after a long speech by some sort of higher up a new teacher is introduced. Saku, Hime, and Edogawa’s class is getting a new teacher named Nozomu Souma. He gives a short introduction speech but isn’t much for words. But before he’s offstage Mihoshi yells out to him calling him Sou-nii and he recognizes her as Mihoshi-chan. Panic and scandal immediately ensue among both students and teachers as Souma is given a stern looking talk by another teacher and a student orders two others to seize Mihoshi.

*ahem*

Wait, wrong school assembly.

Mihoshi just has a way with words and timing to give everyone just the wrong impression.

Pigtails must be a lieutenant in Fumie’s Royal Guard.

In class Souma-sensei introduces himself to the class and the student just continue on whispering gossip and speculation about his relationship to Mihoshi. This isn’t helped when he refers to Mihoshi as ‘my angel’ when someone does directly ask. Putting this aside he continues on with class and later asks Hime, Saku, and Edogawa to help him with passing out flyers. Mihoshi skids into the hallway in hot pursuit, in much the same manner than she ran after Saku, while Souma tries to escape. Later in the day the Astronomy Club heads to their club room to find him waiting there. He announces that he will be the advisor for the club and Mihoshi runs to him, poking his chin making a doorbell noise and then hugging him and crying, saying that she missed him. The rest of the club is rather shocked at this, and Saku in particular seems uncomfortable with such behavior.

She’s three times faster than a normal Mihoshi.

Not that running has helped Saku.

Is this one of those pressure point attacks from Fist of the North Star?

You know the innuendo particle density is high when even the Astronomy Club is getting weirded out.

Souma starts to dry Mihoshi’s eyes and explains how they know each other. Mihoshi’s father, who along with her mother has remained a mystery thus far, is an astronomy professor who was the advisor for Souma when he was in college. He also looks a lot like Saku. Mihoshi and Sayo used to join the club at times during this period, hence the three knowing each other. Souma shows his Lecherous Lyle side by pre-hitting on Sayo, which she calmly and wisely turns down. Saku continues to be bothered by all of this, and Hime takes notice.

Souma-sensei wants to BE FRIENDLY.

Kazuomi Akeno, Mihoshi’s father. It’s a little disturbing that he looks like Saku and Saku’s mom looks and acts like Mihoshi.

Rumors about Mihoshi and Souma-sensei continue to fly around the school as students see them walking around. Saku is obviously annoyed or jealous, but tries to deny how he thinks of Souma to Edogawa when he asks. Hime is meanwhile crouched outside the door, listening in and deciding whether or not to act. But her two underlings appear to warn her that other girls might move on Saku first to take advantage of his troubled state and criticize her for not acting and holding on to a charm (which matches Saku’s but also the rest of the club’s) as a sign of progress. They launch her like a missile into the room, but by the time she recovers from her crash landing a less cautious girl has beaten her and others to Saku.

Hear us Hime! The road to your love can only be paved with the broken hearts of your competitors!

Fortune favors the bold Hime.

Shortly thereafter all school airwaves become filled with the iron presence of President Fumie. Broadcast from what can only be her own personal EC-130 orbiting high above the school, Fumie announces her plans for the school festival and gives the order for all classes to begin choosing their activities. Flight is the theme and she encourages her subjects to ‘soar’ in all they do. Back in the underclassmen classroom there in intense debate between the guys, who want a haunted house, and the girls who want to wear cute outfits and host a café. Souma-sensei is drawn into the debate and tries to make a tough call. He also decides that the Astronomy Club will construct a mini-planetarium for their activity. Meanwhile in the hallway Hime seems to be getting a good amount of time in with Saku (and without Mihoshi around) before the group wanders into Fumie.

Souma, tread carefully. You may end up in the ‘special hell.’

Hime seems to be getting quite a bit of access to Saku. Too bad for her his mind is preoccupied with recent developments.

Fumie asks Saku if he would be interested in contributing to a Literature Club collection that they will be releasing since he was involved in the joint outing the two clubs conducted over the summer. The offer is open and not mandatory, Fumie seemingly having come down from her overall dislike of the Astronomy Club or perhaps sensing that she doesn’t need to be so forceful when Mihoshi isn’t around. As she leaves Saku is a bit surprised and when Hime asks if he’s going to participate he mumbles about it being all of a sudden. But then Souma and Mihoshi show up, getting along very well. Saku has had about enough of their closeness and immediately decides to leave to help with the Literature Club project. Everyone else is very surprised and we get a close-up reaction shot from Mihoshi. The next episode should be interesting indeed.

Who could resist?

They seem very close.

Saku has had enough.

It might only be getting through to her now.

Final Thoughts: – Not a lot of actual happenings, but a big setup for next time. Also less comedy than usual.

- I’m not really sure how I feel about Souma. He kind of seems like a creep, and not in a charming way like Kimura in Azumanga Daioh.

- I wish they develop or give some more background on Sayo already. We know more about pretty much everyone else, including Souma, than we do about her.

A note on translations: Now that we’re fortunate enough to have two fansubbing groups caught up to the same point, you may wonder what, if any, differences there are. Both are, in my opinion, well done translations. AonE seems to be generally closer to the original Japanese whereas Koharubi adjusts certain words or sentence structures in ways that make them more like everyday English. Both are easy to understand and accurate, it just depends which style you prefer. For example, in the scene where Fumie confronts the club members about their funding request she uses the word 理想 (risou) in reference to what the club is talking about. The word can mean dreams but generally is used to refer to ideals or ideal things. AonE translated Fumin as saying ideals whereas Koharubi translated it as dreams, which to me sounds like a more common usage in English. Each group also ended this sentence differently with AonE having Fumie state that they should ask themselves whether they are realistic and Koharubi going with her asking them to make sure they are sane. Many thanks to both fansubbing groups and their members.

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Related posts:

1. Sora no Manimani Episode 02 – Red Dwarfs and Other Celestial Objects
2. Sora no Manimani Episode 03 – My God, It’s Full of (Projected) Stars.
3. Sora no Manimani Episode 07 – Last Time’s Regrets
4. Sora no Manimani Episode 01 – For it is written in the stars.
5. Sora no Manimani Episode 08 – The Sidereal Messenger