Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable episode 9 takes Tsubasa, Minami, and classmate Takayumi up to the famous Abashiri Lake in Hokkaido for smelt fishing. In the past few episodes, the series has focused on Sayuri and Rena, but the newest episode is all about Tsubasa and Minami. It’s obvious that Minami isn’t backing down in her pursuit of Tsubasa’s heart despite the competition.
Lake Abashiri Is Super Relaxing
Takayumi Matsuo is a very minor character in the series so far. He’s best remembered as the classmate who rudely expressed his dissatisfaction with Minami due to her not home-making chocolates in the Valentine’s Day episode. At the beginning of episode 9, Takayumi gets a small redemption arc as he apologizes to Minami on White Day — Japan’s holiday for boys to give girls a gift in return for Valentine’s Day. A trend about this series that I adore is that each character is wholesome and redeemable. Even if overly positive and humble characters aren’t reflective of real life, I enjoy how easy-going it makes the show to watch.
After receiving advice from Tsubasa on this matter, Takayumi invites him to go smelt fishing in Abashiri, just a few kilometers north of Kitami City in Hokkaido. Abashiri Lake, even in real life, is known to have the best smelt fishing in Japan. The Abashiri Tourist Association invites people every winter to try out smelt fishing, and Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable episode 9 got me even more interested in this activity.
When the boys arrive at the lake, Minami and Tsubasa run into each other coincidently. Even though Minami doesn’t seem like the type to go smelt fishing, she explains that her family goes every year and is shockingly knowledgeable about the activity despite her girlish looks. Minami is a fascinating mix of feminine charm and tomboyish interests. She’s a character that breaks a lot of norms and assumptions one may have of gyaru characters.
The three sit and wait for exactly an hour with no bites at all, leading Takayumi to go find his father and leaving Minami and Tsubasa alone. Minami sees this as a chance to strike with her flirty ways, almost ending in a kiss with Tsubasa, though it is interrupted by Takayumi’s return. It’s clear that Minami isn’t giving up on Tsubasa despite Sayuri and Rena also having a romantic fascination with him.
Near the end of Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable episode 9, Tsubasa comes down with a sickness leaving him bedridden. While the sickness is seemingly just a fever, Minami rushes over to his house to check on him. She brings mint candies that are famous in Kitami City — ones that you can actually buy if you find yourself there — to help Tsubasa feel better. Forehead to forehead, the two quickly get into a steamy situation, leading Tsubasa to subconsciously ask Minami to stay by his side. This is something he might not have been brave enough to say if he wasn’t sick or halfway asleep, but Minami cherishes the moment.
There are only three episodes left, and as a manga reader of this series, I can tell you there’s still a lot to get through. It’s fun to see Minami and Tsubasa continue to fall more in love with each other, but their relationship is certain to come with some challenges in the future.
Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable Episode 9 images via Crunchyroll
© Kai Ikada, Shueisha / Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable Production Committee
The comments are temporarily unavailable for maintenance.