Sweetness and Lightning Volume 04 Review
Manga Amaama to Inazuma Volume 04
–> Buy Sweetness and Lightning Volume 04 from Amazon.com!
* * * SPOILERS * * *
The series has 12 episodes, so with this one, I'm now about a third of the way through. I still haven't hit the unanimated territory. And as before, there's no comparison between the anime and the manga due to time constraints and the anime not being available since it's no longer on Crunchyroll and never actually got a physical release in the US.
The Story, in Brief
Kouhei accidentally cuts his hand while preparing a meal. This makes Kotori and Tsumigi extremely worried. Kotori reveals her fear of knives. One of Tsumugi and a friend disagree with Tsumugi's desire to dress up as Galigali-san for a school event. Kotori asks Kouhei and Tsumugi as well as Shinobu and Yusuke to come make crepes.
Tsumugi wants to try different things at school, such as ballet. Kouhei and Tsumugi go to Megumi's house to cook a meal with a special vegetable side dish. Kouhei takes Tsumugi to an okonomiyaki restaurant. However, Tsumugi becomes frustrated when all they are allowed to do is cook the dish. When Kouhei tells Kotori, she tells them to go to Megumi's house to do it. Shinobu and Yusuke also come, as does Kotori's mother.
Tsumugi hears that there is no Santa Claus. Kotori gives Kouhei suggestions on what to make for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Kouhei leaves Tsumugi with Yusuke at his cafe. Tsumugi and Yusuke make pies after Kotori and Shinobu arrive. Kouhei makes Christmas stew. Yusuke arrives, dressed as Santa Claus, and delivers the pies Tsumugi made to her father.
Just Some Slice of Life
Story-wise, none of the ongoing story issues are resolved. Nothing is said about Kotori and Kouhei's friendship. They continue to enjoy their time together, cooking meals that they and Tsumugi can enjoy. It seems that Shinobu and Yusuke (Yagi) are more involved than last episode. And with more people involved, any romantic elements don't have time to do anything.
Sweetness and Lightning Episode 04 spend more time on Tsumugi's school life. So I like seeing Tsumugi go through things for the first time. It's bad when you fight with a friend. So I can appreciate Tsumugi's first experience in this area. Then Tsumugi hears that there is no Santa Claus. I have to admit, I'm grateful that my parents didn't teach us about Santa Claus. But for Kouhei in the story, he doesn't want Tsumugi's dream to be crushed. So it's cute that Yusuke dresses up as Santa Claus.
Other than that, nothing too dramatic happened. Well, there was Tsumugi and Kotori's discomfort and the like when Kouhei cut his own throat. But really, that wasn't much.
Cook
As usual, there are some Japanese dishes prepared in Sweetness and Lightning Episode 04anh>. First up is shougayaki. Next up is a special crepe, namely a sweet potato and cream crepe. It doesn't sound like what I want. I also don't think I'll like the vegetable kinpira gobou. 😅On the other hand, I had authentic okonomiyaki, which isn't my favorite, but it was okay. In my opinion, calling it a “Japanese pancake” is an insult.
The wrap up was beef stew. I knew the Japanese ate nikujaga, which is like beef stew, only with thinly sliced beef and a thinner broth. (Well, there are some differences, too.) Still, I was surprised to learn that beef stew is something the Japanese would enjoy.
Omake
The manga omake chapter has Kotori dressed up as a witch to attend the cultural festival. It's quite cute, especially when Kotori feels relieved that no one cares about Inuzuka-sensei.
We get a thank you from Amagakure-sensei. There are translation notes, which I like. Then there's a preview for the next episode. After that, it's just ads for other Kodansha products.
Final thoughts and conclusions
Finally Sweetness and Lightning Episode 04 what a fun and informative thing.
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