I dabble in cookery, but I’m serious about eating.  I’m no gourmet but I have a grasp of the basics, and I know what I like.  With a dessert, too much sweetness can be a problem (in anime terms I call it “Satou Junichi Disease”).  A tablespoon or two of bitter espresso powder can really bring out the depth of a chocolate dessert with a lot of sugar.  With a rich stew or sauce, a nice shot of vinegar or lime juice at the end can cut through the heaviness and brighten up the overall flavor profile.  It’s all about balance – what works best on the first bite isn’t always what works best on the last.

Skip to Loafer is an interesting show for me, having no experience with the manga (apart from the reviews).  There are hints of something beyond what we get on the surface, but not true flavors – just suggestions of them.  Mostly what we get is what we see.  Problems occur, but they always seem to get worked out by the end of the episode at the very latest.  If a couple of third-year guys are being A-holes to little first-year girls, a nice one comes along and tells them off.  Inaka girls might get lost in Tokyo, but a hot guy with a heart of gold comes along and leads them to the promised land.  That’s just the sort of world this seems to be, and it’s a nice place to spend time.  Hell, I’d sure like to live there myself.

That’s about as far as it goes for me though, at least for now.  If you’re going to be stuck somewhere with a show, there are a lot worse places to be stuck than liking it.  Egashira-san getting a little backstory is nice, and there’s even a little bit of- well, I don’t think you can go far as to call it “edge”, but maybe grit – to it.  She used to be self-conscious about her weight, and dedicated herself to remaking her image when she got to high school.  She tries too hard, but there’s a reason behind it.  That’s why Mitsumi irritates her – she just does whatever she feels like doing, and it always seems to work out.

I wouldn’t say I personally identify with anyone in Skip and Loafer – understand them on the level I do someone like Kyoutarou from BokuYaba.  But I do get Egashira, and her personality makes a nice contrast to the rest of the crew.  Her agreeing to help Mitsumi practice (volleyball) for sports day was initially a ploy to spend time with Shima-kun (and prove to him that she’s nice).  Eventually he bails, and her lashing out at Mitsumi – accusing her of asking her for help because “you didn’t mind troubling a nasty person” was very in-character.  Think too much, assume the worst – that’s what neurotic people do.

I don’t quite buy that Egashira, who’s frankly pretty damn good-looking, is the mousey afterthought she’s portrayed as.  And the denouement of the whole situation is a little too tidy, as if usually the case here.  But S&L doesn’t really do problems without also doing the solution, so that’s fine.  She does seem to have given up the ghost with Shima, realizing that he probably sees too much of himself in her and longs for the contrast that Mitsumi provides.  It’s (as it’s often) Yuzuki-san who cuts to the problem with Shima – he’s lonely and it’s not in spite of how popular he is, it’s because of it.  And Mitsumi is someone who can cut through that distraction and bond with the real guy (which perfectly scratches his itch).

In a funny sort of way, Skip to Loafer ends up being kind of a tweener for me.  If it were a true slice-of-life fantasy (as if, say, Satou wrote it) it wouldn’t matter that things are usually so neat.  But because it does have conventional plots and credibly portrays high school relationship issues, I wish there were a little more espresso or acidity (choose your preferred metaphor).  It’s not out of the question that there will be (Shima’s backstory and general state of emotional health seems like the most likely wellspring), and that would certainly take the series to another level for me.  But this level is pretty good, so it’s a nice problem to have.