上伊那ぼたん、酔へる姿は百合の花

* New girl is cute, she looks really squishy with this ep's art style. * Funny how Chin-lan just met them and they immediately activated each other's gaydar; Ibuki going on high alert and Chin-Lan just ~~straight~~\-up asking Botan if she likes Ibuki. * Jealousy > personal trauma. * "I wish we could just become one". Crazy rizz. * You thought matching nail polish was gay? Ibuki and Botan went further and matched their hiccups too. * Oops. Chin-Lan realised she was hitting on a taken woman. * ED pretty much confirms Chin-Lan will be paired with Gujou, they were even drinking that Yuri alcohol together. Finally justice for Gujou! * Chinese Peony (Shakuyaku) represents shyness and gracefulness. One part of the Japanese proverb "**Tateba shakuyaku, suwareba botan, aruku sugata wa yuri no hana**" (Stand like a Chinese Peony, sit like a Tree Peony, walk like a Lily), which is used to describe a woman who is beautiful in any posture.

Jealousy is one hell of a fuel huh. Enough that Ibuki managed to drink alcohol in front of others again (Kinda). Chin-lan is a fun addition. Akane and Yaeka are quite gay as well this episode lol. Looks like Ibuki and Botan have become "burping/hiccup buddies" while drinking now. That's pretty wholesome and cute. Also the ED showed a potential Gujou and Chin-Lan pairing? That's cool. Hope it happens.

The lilies sure are blooming hard this episode! So the Aniplex channel uploads the ED of each episode. I'm enjoying reading the Japanese comments there. Some of the amusing comments are from people who read the manga saying even they are getting their minds blown, since the ED picturebook vignettes are not from the source material at all. Chin-Lan bringing out her beer and nobody drinking it was kinda sad. Gujou breaking out the ROKUDAIME YURI on Chin-Lan in has to mean something. Ibuki having complicated feelings about Gujou the morning after is also kinda lulz. I feel like I might be enjoying the ED vignettes more than the show itself... Y'know, does Akane and Yaeka remind anybody of Natsuki and Yuuko from Hibike Euphonium? I'm probably just corelating the similar hairstyle of Akane and Natsuki too much....

Damn, she cute! Idk why, but I thought she would be the cool type. Also, did not expect Ibuki to be jealous of her. I guess, she now know how Gujo feels like. Seriously tho, the fact that she is willing to go to drink with her... She really doesn't want Botan to be alone with her... Maybe it's my social anxiety, but if everyone was staring at me like that the first time I drank and followed by someone telling me this, I will probably never drink ever again. Damn, the idea of Botan drinking without her really terrifies her more than drinking, she was even straight up crying while drinking but powered through it, probably still not ready to drink with Gujo unless forced to, but I don't think she will have to wait long for that (even if she missed her chance at romance). Okay, so like... these two are just dating, right? lmao Chin-Lan really got her gaydar on. lol This whole scene is so fucking cute! Just get married already! I'm curious about Chin-Lan's expressions here, at first I thought she was crushing on Botan and was heartbroken, but looking at the ending, I think she might have figured out Gujo's crush and feel sad for her instead?

So Gujou had the wrong approach this entire time?! All she needed to do to drink with Ibuki is make her jealous?!   It's funny how Chin-Lan was able to drink with Ibuki one week after meeting her, but Gujou has spent three or four years with her and hasn't been able to. Gujou just keeps losing. Justice is needed for second best girl.  It's nice to see Ibuki being more forward with Botan, I also thought the hostel suggestion was meant for the two of them even though Chin-Lan was there too lol. I'm glad they got their own intimate drinking session.

Akane’s comment about wanting to become one with Yaeka was probably the gayest thing in this week’s episode. That’s quite an achievement to be honest. It really does amaze me just how much they’ve been able to tell through these EDs. The current relationship chart is seemingly as follows: - Botan and Ibuki love each other; - Gujo has a crush on Ibuki; - Chang has taken a liking to Botan; - Yaeka and Akane are like a married couple.

Botan & Chin-Lan were already on a first-name basis, and the former's hadn't even turned on her gay switch yet. Little wonder Ibuki's felt heaps jealous – and she's so adorable. The feeling was so strong it overcame her burping insecurity. It didn't escape Chin-Lan, she noticed it and asked right away if Botan liked Ibuki. It's a rarity to see Ibuki being more proactive than Botan. Resting on each other's shoulders while handholding after a night of drinking. How lewd! Meanwhile, Akane & Yaeka might only have a limited screen time but somehow could cram plenty of gayness during that time. >*I wish we could just become one.* Are we still doing phrasing?

This episode had even more yuri anime elements than the last one. Oh my god. The new character, the Taiwanese exchange student, was really aggressive. It was fun to watch. As a Japanese person who tends to think of Taiwan as a warm country located southwest of Japan, I find it surprising to hear about “Taiwanese women who can't stand the heat.” It's cute how Ibuki gets jealous when she sees Botan and Chang touching each other a lot, chatting animatedly, and talking about drinking. That thumbnail showing Botan with her sun-kissed skin was pretty sexy, wasn't it? I was completely blown away by the scene where Akane tells Yaeka, “I wish we could just become one.” That's totally a confession, isn't it? That scene where Botan saw Ibuki booking a hostel and said, “I thought we are going to stay here together,” looking a little disappointed, was absolutely brilliant. The scene right after that, where Chang asks, “Does Botan like Ibuki?” was also fantastic. their expressions and reactions were priceless. It was beautiful how, in the opening scene, Ibuki reacted as if Chang had stolen Botan away from her, yet in the final scene, it felt as though Chang was the one being excluded from the close bond between Ibuki and Botan. This anime does a wonderful job of depicting romantic relationships between women. The ending scene where Chang sees Gujou watching Botan and Ibuki, then deliberately drops some Taiwanese snacks right in front of them to get everyone to join her for a beer was brilliant, wasn't it? I can't take my eyes off the ending scenes of this anime every single time. It was interesting how, at the end, Gujou brought out some Rokudaime Yuri (the shochu she was drinking in the previous episode) and started drinking it with Chang, who had fallen asleep drunk. It hinted at a new dynamic between Gujou and Chang.

I love the art style in this episode. It make me feeling nostalgic since it look kinda similar to anime in early 2010s. Chin-Lan has finally joined the dorm. I'm liking her personality so far. Childish yet somehow feel like a schemer. I thought she is just over-friendly, but based on the ED, maybe she is more of an attention seeker and a mildly selfish person. She seem to want everything for herself, I guess? But at least, she know when to back down when she saw Botan and Ibuki drink together. The yuri in this episode is very strong. They flirt every minute, even the newcomer Chin-Lan doing it too.

Welcome back Shima from sick hack, now we have 3 people from Bocchi the rock. Kawase Maki’s voiceacting is particularly great, she totally nailed that kind of monotone and articulation that you have speaking in a second language. About the art style this episode, this heavily reminds me of mono which I only knew recently that Soigne, the production company produced that too and this is their second work lol

The art style this week is watercolor backgrounds and more simplistic character art. I like it. Interesting that the new girl is Taiwanese. Props to the VA as well because even I, who doesn't speak a lick of Japanese, can hear that Japanese isn't the native tongue of this character. Stuff like that is more difficult to pull off than you might think. Botan and Ibuka are basically dating at this point already. They should just get a room (Botan wishes they'd had gotten a room) Also New girl and Gujo will definitely end up together. All's well that ends well. I love happy endings for losing heroines. Turn them into winners instead!

If you’re post college in life there is something oddly nostalgic about it. It’s very chill and atmospheric but there’s something nostalgic in how understated it is and how friendships develop. You don’t even need to be into Yuri to appreciate the atmosphere or qualities of the show. It’s also very romantic and intimate. I don’t think you need to be into Yuri to appreciate that either. But if you are… this is definitely a show to watch lol.