© むちまろ／講談社・アニプレックス
We all knew the hot springs episode had to come. Even if we ignored last week’s “cliffhanger,” it’s a horny anime staple, and the unpretentiousness of Even the Student Council Has Its Holes! meant it would surely not shy away from satisfying expectations. Fans of hot springs antics will be pleased, especially with all the details afforded to OceanVeil subscribers. However, uncensored bathing is not all this episode offers.
To begin, I like how lackadaisical the anime is about actually getting to the onsen. Satomi blanks on the date and arrives hours late, only to drive the kids hazardously to their destination, which is in-character for how much of a disaster she is. It’s also further evidence that the adaptation understands and enjoys bringing the cast to life. Tan’s enthusiasm at the mountain views clashes with Komaro’s worsening carsickness, culminating in her vomiting inside the car. Again, the series breaks the fourth wall by calling attention to anime’s tendency to censor puke with a cheerful rainbow palette, as absurd as that image may be. It’s a decent joke that’s consistent with Komaro’s designated role as author-insert punching-bag (affectionately).
Inside the hot springs, the anime leaves it all hanging, in multiple senses of the phrase. I’m no longer a teenager, so I can’t pretend to be excited about anime boobs on TV, but I can appreciate the sense of weight the animators give them. This includes the amusing spectacle of treating Komaro’s substantial chest with something approaching realistic gravity. I respect the effort! The scene also avoids a lot of the grabby hands and peeping toms that plague other series, instead going for a more laid-back scenario that fits the vibe of an actual hot spring. Satomi teases Hisako about what the boys might be doing, and Tan’s attempt to fluster Ume backfires monstrously on himself, but these are gentle diversions.
Additionally, I will again stress that Tan is either taking estrogen or has some kind of intersex condition/hormone imbalance, because he’s got quite a prodigious amount of jiggle up there. To be clear, I do not find this a problem, but I do lament the missed opportunity to directly address this rather than cheekily dancing around it. While I don’t think it’s ecchi anime’s responsibility to be wholly accurate and educational, with the sorry state of modern sex education, I don’t think it would hurt to passively familiarize audiences with the spectrum of how gender can present in and be presented by people. Even the student council can teach audiences some salient points.
The rest of the episode is quite cute! The sleepy post-bath shenanigans are surprisingly wholesome (and yes, I’m including Tan fantasizing about Ume in that). While I know the perpetual joke is that Hisako’s mind goes to dirty places easily, her heart-to-heart with Ume before bed is a quiet moment of mutually acknowledged friendship, even if it doesn’t quite reach Ume’s ears.
Tan’s mission to spy on Arisu is amusingly childish, as is Arisu’s secret habit of singing a ditty about her friends. I was expecting a more lascivious angle once Ume and Tan had to cram themselves into that locker, but the narrative doesn’t even go there. Instead, we get a snippet of Arisu’s former life as a delinquent, which, while unexpected, does explain her propensity for violence, particularly towards her longtime acquaintance Tan. We could call that their love language. My point, though, is that the series does not go for the lowest common denominator joke or lewd situation, and in doing so, it opens the door for more interesting character interactions. This is a pretty smart anime, if you ask me!
Of course, the umbrella sketch is an extended excuse to show the girls’ bras through their blouses, and we do indeed see plenty of that. However, once again, the series’ goals are not so single-minded. I like the silly physical comedy of the wind carrying Komaro away into a tree. I like that we hear about Ume’s umbrella hyperfixation, which both exasperates and endears Hisako. And the cashier with the undercut is a cute design for a one-off character.
Finally, we get a proper introduction to the robotics circle, who have consistently shown up causing a ruckus in the previous episodes’ interstitials. OceanVeil‘s subtitles sadly drop the ball here, but important title card context is that Ume is a member of the handicrafts club, so that’s the room he visits and sees Batsunosuke sulking outside of. This turns into a showcase for the most cartoonish animation in the episode, and the conflict is ridiculous enough to warrant it. While I don’t know if we needed to see the robotics circle president pee herself out of fright at Arisu, it gives this anime another thing in common with Onimai. I cannot fault it for that.
Rating:
Even the Student Council Has Its Holes! is currently streaming on
OceanVeil.
Sylvia is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. She loves hole. And yes, she is reusing that joke from her Dorohedoro reviews. You can also catch her chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.
