How did you get up there in the first place?!
- In last week’s Silver Spoon, we watched Hachiken say goodbye to the pig he raised and have a feast together with his classmates.
- Summary of Silver Spoon episode eleven: The last episode ended with Hachiken and friends putting the leftover meat and cheese in the smoking room. The process is complete by this week and they taste fresh smoked cheese and bacon for the first time. The bacon is so good that everyone wants a piece of the action: girls drop by and the angry-looking third-years from episode 9 are also back. We also see Hachiken talking with quite a few people about their dreams or future plans; even the principal offers him his point of view. Meanwhile, Komaba’s practice has paid off; the team heads to a baseball match. His classmates are watching the play, and of course, even the teachers are listening to the radio broadcast. The team manages to win by a margin, and this fires up the boys in the class so much, that they decide to run back to the campus instead of taking the bus. At the end of the episode, we see Hachiken finally decide what he is going to to in the future. Also, we catch a glimpse of his family receiving some of the bacon he sent especially for them.
- My impressions: I was afraid this episode was going to be all about sports and baseball, which I couldn’t care less about. Fortunately they skipped most of the match and only showed still shots. It was a very straightforward episode, as Hachiken heard the opinion of a lot of people that in the end helped him decide what he wants to do in the future.
- The scene which started to look like Hachiken gets confessed to was unexpected, but funny nevertheless.
…I want your bacon!
And the looks on Mikawa’s face was equally priceless.
Someone might snatch him before you do, Mikawa.
On another note, I kinda expected the third-year old tough guys to just rip Hachiken off, but they actually traded some of their stuff for the bacon.
- As expected of Hachiken’s brother, Shingo, he’s always in for some free food. He does remind Hachiken though to send some of the bacon back home, not just to Mikage’s or Komaba’s family. Hachiken doesn’t want to do anything with his parents at first glance, which is quite understandable based on the hints dropped in previous episodes. On second thought, however, he does request a third parcel from a teacher in the office, and later on we see his mother receiving some of the smoked goodness. I think he has grown up a bit when he considers opening towards his parents, whatever the fallout they might have had in the past. Dealing with it and moving on is a grown-up’s choice, lingering on the past is childlike behavior.
I’ll still try to sneak off with some of your bacon, Hachiken.
It was a nice to see their mother being surprised that Hachiken sent a present. I expected both parents to be on bad terms with their children.
She seems quite a nice person.
Their father, however, is still resentful of both boys running away.
You can simply feel the overflowing hostility in his eyes.
- The main theme of this episode, however, was how different people view their plans for their future. There are some, who are trying their best, like Aikawa. There are some, who are really determined and never give up, like Komaba. There are some who don’t really care, like the upperclassman in the Equestrian club. Some simply offer advice, like the principal or Mikage. As Hachiken talks with different people, he eventually figures out what he wants to do in the future. But first, he has to accept that running away is sometimes a good thing; it was due to him running away from home that he found new friends, a new place where he feels comfortable. Up until now, he said several times he doesn’t have any plans. It was relieving to see him finally make up his mind.
Series Review
And this concludes the first part of Silver Spoon – we will have to wait until January to see how the story of Hachiken and friends continues. All in all it has been fun watching their adventures, and I hope you also agree. I came to like and care about almost all of the characters. The chemistry between Hachiken and Mikage (or maybe I should write Hachiken’s feelings towards Mikage, as I’m not sure it’s mutual) was kind of expected, but it didn’t feel forced. The series didn’t forget about showing us the many sides and facts from agricultural life, and this way it brought depth to the show. I especially liked how fluent the writing was, and how each new episode connected to and referenced previous episodes. Even the episodes which could stand on their own (the mystery hunt episode and pizza baking episode) explored the personalities of the characters.
I did feel in one or two episodes that some of the jokes and come-backs were a bit mistimed…like they waited with the response too long. Animation-wise the show wasn’t anything ground-breaking (CG animals notwithstanding), but this doesn’t count as the fault of the show. On the contrary, maybe it helped focus on what was happening instead of distracting the viewer on how beautifully everything is drawn. I mentioned the background music briefly before, and still think that it served its purpose perfectly, underlining the mood of the scenes, not being intrusive but still present. I usually skip the opening and the ending of the anime I watch, and didn’t stray from this habit this time either. Only when writing the post did I watch the complete ED scene, and while the song was not really to my tastes, the short animation depicting Hachiken and his friends taking a stroll in fields of wheat was nonetheless refreshing and captured nicely the mood of the series and even referenced some events, like Hachiken picking up a pig, or riding the horse that head-butted him in episode two.
- But wait, there is an extra skit after the ending (which I missed when I was watching the show before writing this post). The next semester has begun and new piglets have arrived in the pig pen. It’s not too surprising that Hachiken immediately takes a liking to them, and being his usual self, starts caring for them, to the point that he gives a name to all of them. Maybe this is the thing he decided he has to do…we will see when the next season starts airing.
This piglet will also be waiting patiently.
- As expected of Hachiken’s brother, Shingo, he’s always in for some free food. He does remind Hachiken though to send some of the bacon back home, not just to Mikage’s or Komaba’s family. Hachiken doesn’t want to do anything with his parents at first glance, which is quite understandable based on the hints dropped in previous episodes. On second thought, however, he does request a third parcel from a teacher in the office, and later on we see his mother receiving some of the smoked goodness. I think he has grown up a bit when he considers opening towards his parents, whatever the fallout they might have had in the past. Dealing with it and moving on is a grown-up’s choice, lingering on the past is childlike behavior.
