上伊那ぼたん、酔へる姿は百合の花

The dialogue and pacing and blocking feels so artsy today. It's only natural that Gujo and Chin-Lan should be talking about their favorite movies. But I'm so uncultured, I think the only movie reference I got was Reservoir Dogs. We got the ouzo effect illustrated this time! The absinthe was clear when they first started drinking it, but it turned cloudy as the ice melted and the water diluted the alcohol. Maybe this also served as symbolism for Gujo going from excitedly talking about movies to getting trapped in her turmoil again. Everyone got to be cute in the post-ED scene, but Chin-Lan opening the bag of ice was especially cute. I didn't figure out Ibuki was on a call, I was worried that she was like injured and immobile for some reason.

We got the ouzo effect illustrated this time! ... Maybe this also served as symbolism for Gujo going from excitedly talking about movies to getting trapped in her turmoil again. yeah, i like the cloudiness of the absinthe being a visual metaphor for her state of mind; the absinthe started out clear (just like the genuine fun she was having talking about movies), but as time passed it started clouding over like the storm clouds Chin-lan was talking about Gujou is still harboring feeling for Ibuki, but perhaps she also has the fear of falling in love with another person because of how in her past she gets only the bitter part of the bittersweet whenever she lets herself get attached

Ouch, the museum segment was tough to watch, especially after this week's episode of that other gay anime. You can pinpoint the exact moment Gujou's heart breaks in two. This part had some great visual imagery, like Gujou staring at the painting of two lesbian lovers holding hands, while holding her own hands. Also, Gujou looking at this orange art telling Chin-Lan "I don't get it" and again later on when she's engulfed in sadness, which is a callback to Ep 5 where Gujou is rejected in the orange lily flower field . And Botan + Ibuki who have started dating, standing in front of a star painting with the lesbian colors (star motif is the symbol of Botan and Ibuki). "Do you have someone you like?" "Yeah, I like you". Lol! Chin-Lan saw an opportunity and she just went for it. I like how there's two parts to the confession. First part was very direct and in line with Chin-Lan's personality. And then the second part where she reassures Gujou with "Won't you come out to sea with me?", which was very indirect and poetic, fitting for these two literature nerds. The associated imagery for this scene is the full moon Tsuki ga kirei desu ne , where the moon behind clouds (Gujou behind smoke?) gets revealed, and also the round ice starting to melt signifying a change in Gujou and Chin-Lan's relationship. The eyecatches are beautiful as always, I think this is the first time we've had two characters in one? Gujou and Chin-Lan looking and reaching out to each other seems like an opposite to Akane and Yaeka with their melancholic expressions and facing in opposite directions , seems kinda ominous. Yaeka is such a tsundere. Despite how much she complains about Akane, you can tell she loves her deeply. The way her expression changed when she heard Akane singing their special song was nice. Also drunk Botan asking Yaeka out made me laugh, some habits never change. Cute ED, thought it would've been Akane and Yaeka singing it. Looked up the lyrics and its a bit sad too. Incoming trouble? Post-credits scene, everyone drinking an alcohol named One Hundred Years of Solitude to celebrate Ibuki getting banished lol.

Ouch, the museum segment was tough to watch, especially after this week's episode of that other gay anime. You can pinpoint the exact moment Gujou's heart breaks in two. This part had some great visual imagery, like Gujou staring at the painting of two lesbian lovers holding hands, while holding her own hands. Also, Gujou looking at this orange art telling Chin-Lan "I don't get it" and again later on when she's engulfed in sadness, which is a callback to Ep 5 where Gujou is rejected in the orange lily flower field. And Botan + Ibuki who have started dating, standing in front of a star painting with the lesbian colors (star motif is the symbol of Botan and Ibuki). The final shot of Gujo saying "I don't get it" while metaphorically engulfed in flames hit hard like a sledgehammer. Sometimes you don't have to get it sometimes it simply is. And then the second part where she reassures Gujou with "Won't you come out to sea with me?", which was very indirect and poetic, fitting for these two literature nerds. The associated imagery for this scene is the full moon Tsuki ga kirei desu ne , where the moon behind clouds (Gujou behind smoke?) gets revealed, and also the round ice starting to melt signifying a change in Gujou and Chin-Lan's relationship. It also pairs with Ibuki and Botan's imagery of walking out into the water when they commit. I wonder if that's intentional. Will Yaeka and Akane get something similar?

Less banishment, more firing squad lol. Might be overthinking this but the first sentence of the book did say: “ Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice ” Probably one of the more famous openings in literature. God it was such an excellent book, I’d probably rank it in my top three, if not the first.

Chin-Lan and Kanade are movie/literature buffs and can talk about that for hours. They drop one reference to Akane and she’s like “What?” Instantly reversed with Akane’s encyclopedic music knowledge allowing her to instantly recognize the quote while they’re just “Who?” Ibuki can tell you every detail about that alcohol, who made it, how it’s made, why it’s special, everything while the others can’t even settle on what kind it is. They’ve all got one specific thing they’re incredibly knowledgeable about while not knowing any more than the average person about other topics.

Kinda? Maybe? I love reading, and I do love the classics, but I can only really name like five laureates and one of them is because of high school required reading. I'm much more likely to grab whatever's on the shelf or check out renowned classics than to look up the nobel prize author list and track down their bibliography. It's just a lot faster that way, and the book clubs I've been a part of have have mostly been of the same mind. Compare to Taiwan which only very recently caught up to modern standards, and had to do it very fast, and much of its land is still heavily segregated by terrain that you need to cross via helicopter/ferry/foot. Then additionally, it borrows much of its culture from China, which has a significantly wider and richer literature history than most of the world alongside a significantly lower language barrier without having to worry about poor translation quality.

Looking through the list, probably the best bet for a normie to guess one is to name famous poets - both Kipling, Hemingway are on it. Other notable people. Churchill. But i guess that makes sense, what with speeches around WW2. Also unexpected Bertrand Russell. Knew him for his work on math, didn't expect to see him for literature. And Jean-Paul Sartre. Wrote plays, but most known for the quote "Hell is other people"

I found Gujo talking about her inability to understand art without relying on the opinions of others as a support mechanism, but really a defense mechanism because she despairs not being able to get it as a stand in for understanding love to be very interesting I also love that the show doesn't immediately outright confirm or deny whether Ibuki and Botan are in a relationship, because in practice nothing really changes about their behaviour. They already acted like a couple. It really reminds me of Pseudo Harem in that aspect, which pulled a lot of similar narrative choices when it came to the confession and whether or not they were dating Chin-Lan telling Gujo that she can wait, as long as she needs it is another great example of this show using stand ins for what's really going on. On the surface the conversation was about the next round of alcohol, but in actuality it was about Chin-Lan wanting a relationship with Gujo. And then Gujo out of left field cuts through these double meanings and brings up relationships, and Chin Lan responds in kind. I did not see that coming. That entire conversation between Gujo and Chin-Lan was masterfully done. I could probably write an essay about it. It makes it very clear that Chin-Lan likes Gujo, and Gujo also has budding feelings for Chin-Lan, but is still troubled by her unrequited love for Ibuki and not yet ready to move on to a new relationship. And this is shown not only through words, but also body language, facial expressions and symbolism in the environment (someone else mentioned the ouzo effect symbolizing Gujos mental state clouding over) This episode was absolutely stunning in tone. I absolutely loved Akane and Yaeko singing together The after credits scene was really cute and interestingly made

I thought it was very interesting on the surface Gujo is talking about art but it's heavily implies she is really talking about her own insecurities in romance. Also while the shot of Gujo looking at Ibuki probably meant to focus on that I wonder if it suggests too how Ibuki isn't that type of person because she is happily looking at a painted compared to Gujo who is afraid to trust her own senses. Between Botan and Ibuki we normally see Botan as the more direct one but with the last few episodes where Ibuki has been taking the lead in their relationship this shot had me think about how Ibuki trusts her feelings more than Gujo. Chin-Lan and Gujo's scene later I believe Gujo was thinking back on Ibuki and felt inspired to be more direct with herself.