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Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear
Episode 6

by Rose Bridges,

How would you rate episode 6 of
Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear ?
Community score: 3.9

"Village of Vanguards" is a slower episode of Kumamiko that's lighter on the jokes than usual. What jokes there are mostly rely on the show's old standby of embarrassing the characters (particularly Machi). Still, what it lacks in laugh-out-loud humor, it makes up with a surprisingly sentimental story that does a lot to better develop the relationship between Machi and Natsu.

The episode starts with a village council meeting, discussing Kumade's depopulation problem. The village is shrinking and aging, so they're desperate for a way to bring the young people back. Tourism sounds like the most likely candidate for this, but the young people at the meeting mention that there's nowhere in Kumade cool enough for them to actually want to visit. Even the local kids go elsewhere to hang out. Hibiki mentions a nearby story called Village Vanguard that's hip and trendy (so much so that the oldsters have trouble pronouncing its name), and they get the idea of bringing one to Kumade. Naturally, someone has to investigate this store to see what it's all about, and since this show is called Kumamiko, that honor falls to Machi.

Natsu makes Machi's next "assignment" to bring a DVD back for him from Village Vanguard, and she sets off with Yoshio to investigate. Unfortunately, Village Vanguard is not at all what it seems. We get a preview of this from the opening of the episode, with an isolated clip of Machi acting spooked by this store, but after they travel there, we cam finally see why. Village Vanguard is in a shopping mall, and Machi feels completely out of her element. (This involves some oddly relatable moments, like Machi getting nervous about tripping on an escalator.) They're surrounded by people and cool stores, and while Machi is amazed and excited at first, she quickly begins to feel self-conscious. As she peers into the fashionable clothing outlets, she worries that everyone can tell she is a country bumpkin, walking around in her school uniform instead of trendy clothes. This feeling only builds as Machi reaches the Village Vanguard, when she has her freakout. Oddly enough, her very public anxiety attack does actually draw the attention of passers-by, but not for the reasons Machi fears. They're clearly just concerned by her strong reaction to this innocuous store, but Machi worries that they're judging her attire.

The whole ordeal leaves her shaking and crying by the time they return to Kumade. Natsu can only grumble about how he doesn't have his DVD, and Yoshio actually sticks up for Machi this time. (It's nice when this show acknowledges characters' "comically" mean behavior, instead of treating it as just another gag.) When Natsu realizes this, he becomes a crying mess. The episode digs into his guilt in the second half, as Machi's traumatic experience results in her getting sick. Natsu blames himself and promises to be more careful in the future—starting with making her rice porridge to help Machi heal faster. He gets this idea from an adorable memory of a younger Machi making porridge to help a baby Natsu when he was sick. It's yet another glance at how these two have grown up together, even though Natsu acts as Machi's protector. Sometimes the protector relationship goes both ways.

It's clear that both Machi and Natsu have grown from this experience. Machi has learned, yet again, that she's going to need a lot of work and growth before she's truly ready to live in the city, and that the fears of Natsu and others around her are warranted. Natsu learns not to be so hard on his charge, to help her learn at her own pace instead. Of course, whether Kumamiko decides to let this growth last into the next episode or goes back to the usual tough-love relationship is anyone's guess. This show has generally been good at continuity though, so I'm hopeful. Especially since the particular gag that resulted from this element of their relationship was getting really tired. It's time for Kumamiko to move on to other jokes. As Natsu and Machi move in new directions, maybe their relationship will grow too!

Kumamiko still struggles with its balance between being a goofy comedy or a sentimental slice of village life. Episode 6 shows how Kumamiko could do this successfully: stick the landing on one of the two for an episode and then switch for the next one. It's when these two sentiments are squished right next to each other that the show can get confused. With "Village of Vanguards," Kumamiko shows that it can be a fine drama as well as a comedy, as long as it's sure that's what it wants to be doing for 24 minutes at a time.

Rating: B+

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.


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