Sora no Manimani Episode 08 – The Sidereal Messenger
September 1st, 2009
The school festival gets under way this episode and all the various clubs are out to attract attention to their exhibits, stands, and performances. While less eventful than significant events of the past two episodes, this time we see Saku’s return to the astronomy club, the normalization of his ties to the group, a tiny bit of background on Sayo, the return of Haruko, and an invitation showing up from another school’s astronomy club asking the club to participate in a prefectural astronomy event.
But what to name it?
I was thinking more along the lines of Chou Ginga Planetarium Lagann.
Edogawa knows his target demographic.
He’s already a dirty old man.
Now the school festival opens for the day and the various clubs all have their own strategies for attracting patrons. What I’m guessing is the Drama Club puts on a very Takarazuka seeming, if not in fact, production that draws in all the girls, and Saku’s mom. The Movie Club has made their own sentai movie, but had a lack of foresight in making the film almost as long as the whole festival. Class A3-2 is targeting an older audience, specifically the PTA, with it’s Host Café. And the Athletic Club cooks with BURNING PASSION. With all of these big productions going on Saku, Mihoshi, Roma, and Sayo are having trouble getting people’s attention.
Oh Saku’s mom, I wish we saw more of you. But remember, that’s not Oskar von Reuenthal it’s Prince Lohengramm.
Eiga eiga eiga eiga eiga-renjyaa!
Which one’s the girl pretending to be a guy to pay off her debt?
Excellent strategy, they’ll have more money to spend than the students.
Pro-tip: Don’t send the shortest member out into the crowd to advertise.
That is until Planetarium Maiden Haruko suddenly shows up with a cunning plan. Quite the business woman, she pretends to be Saku’s girlfriend and loudly talks to him about the planetarium so that everyone can hear. This bit of astroturfing is effective as a large number of people head over to the Astronomy Club’s room. Meanwhile Queen Fumie has sent over two of her minions to assist the Astronomy Club and Edogawa’s two younger sisters show up. Mihoshi and Sayo are perplexed as to how that little hobbit can have two cute sisters and Saku leads them up to the Photography Club’s exhibit. This is, however, a photo shoot set with Edogawa standing in for the girls the club couldn’t attract as models. Shock, then anger and a spinning kick from the older of Edogawa’s two sisters ends his modeling career.
We missed you.
Haruko is a master of deception.
Your suspicions are correct.
They will soon discover the truth about their brother.
Maybe Edogawa was adopted?
OH GOD MY EYES!
In between all this there’s a happy moment for the Hime fans out there. As she’s running to some class event and Saku is in the courtyard below, their eyes meet for a moment. Saku then yells up to her, thanking her for the notebook and for giving him the courage to return to the club. After a Newtype psychic connection moment Saku runs off, either because he has work to do or is just being a tsundere again, and Hime blushes and gets teased by her friends before running off to the class event herself.
For the Hime fans.
Significant eye contact.
Keeping hope alive for the Hime shippers.
Believe in them who believe in you, Hime!
Back in the Las Vegas room Plane-tan has attracted quite a crowd. Mihoshi and Sayo are operating it from the inside and Saku and Haruko meet outside while Haruko pimps her planetarium and museum to the school principal and Souma-sensei, among others. Her remorseless promotion of her cause certainly got the attention of Souma. Saku’s mom also shows up, presumably after she finished swooning over the Drama Club performance, to hug-tackle Saku outside the planetarium. At the same time Fumie is receiving much praise for this year’s publication and smiles knowing how Saku made it what it is. Shortly thereafter, with the festival closing, Saku and Mihoshi are feeling awkward but start talking for the first time in some time when two children show up wanting to see the planetarium. Mihoshi agrees, and in a daring move right from The Art of War she moves when Saku is off-balance and least expects it, taking his hand and leading him into the planetarium where they talk about the time Saku was gone. While Mihoshi almost cries again, she says that she didn’t want to cause Saku trouble while he was working away from the club.
She’s quite the businesswoman.
Her baby’s first school festival.
She gave Saku the chance to shine with the publication, her smile an indication of her pride at his accomplishment. Giving him this chance to distinguish himself, her selflessness, her love! It’s enough to make one shed manly tears.
Where your love interest is expecting awkwardness, be bold. Where he hesitates, act confidently.
Saku ought to apologize for inconveniencing the club methinks, even though it was in service to a noble cause. Still, at least this scene is making a little bit better of a case for the ‘official couple.’
SoraMani: The Next Generation.
A few days later the Astronomy Club is tired out and are too heartbroken at the thought of taking down Plane-tan. Souma-sensei notices Saku reading an astronomy book, Saku replying that Souma said he needs to learn more, though it seems what Souma really wanted him to learn went over his head. Fumie makes a brief appearance to scold Mihoshi for her piled up trinkets from the festival that are blocking the hallway. But such is Her Grace’s presence that even this short visit is enough to inspire Mihoshi to put away childish things and to plan another astronomy outing. Hime, her confidence renewed since her Newtype moment with Saku, makes certain to interpose herself between Mihoshi and Saku at the planned moon viewing.
I think he was getting at something else Saku.
Mihoshi having a Shinobu Morita moment. Your cutesy mind tricks won’t work on Fumie.
Silence you inferior Cummings!
Mihoshi’s moment of enlightenment and conversion to the One True Student Council President.
Such determination in spite of the odds. Even if the ‘official couple’ wins in the end Hime’s never-say-die attitude will echo through the annals of history.
No real reason for this picture, just liked it.
Sayo offers to let the club use her home for the moon viewing, her home being a Buddhist temple. Upon arrival Edogawa goes into Kanako visualization mode wishing that Sayo lived in a Shinto shrine instead and Sayo’s dad attempts to hug-tackle Sayo and Mihoshi, but Sayo’s refined grace extends to quick movements as well as just looking good. A little too enthusiastic for/overprotective of his daughter, Sayo’s dad is tied up to a pillar to repent to the Buddha for his errant ways. The girls change into kimono for the viewing and the moon rises late for a stunning view. Souma-sensei mentions that much more detail could be seen if they had a telescope, sending Roma and Mihoshi into despair. And right at the end of the episode Souma reveals that a disc came for the club. A dark and mysterious stranger appears when they watch it, apparently the president of a neighboring school’s astronomy club. She invites them to a prefectural astronomy network outing, but we learn little about this Sidereal Messenger.
I think by the end of this series I’m going to have enough Edogawa fantasy screenshots to do a one-for-one comparison with Kanako’s angel fantasy from Maria Holic.
You reap what you sow, Mihoshi.
They just happened to have them around. It’s also very fitting that the pattern on Mihoshi’s looks like the browser icon for chief Mihoshi shipper RabbitPoets.
If you look closely, you can see the Zeon dead-enders in Granada.
Looking pretty sinister in that darkened room. I like it.
What dark plans do those mysterious eyes hold?
Final Thoughts: – How did the Photography Club make it onto the podium for clubs with the most attendees?
- Telescope for the club soon? This shadowy Oumi girl and her ‘associates’ would seem to have power and connections. Perhaps they want to ask Mihoshi “what do you want?”
- We’re more than halfway through and we’re still getting more characters. Interesting.
- Finally a little bit of background on Sayo.
- My IRL SoraMani:
This Celestron NexStar 130 SLT will be arriving shortly. Will post pictures next time if I can get any good ones through the eyepiece (I don’t have a great camera so no promises.)
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