I almost felt like that whole extended beach conversation about light novels was trolling me. Taunting me with the knowledge that in spite of liking Makeine right now, it was doomed to go the way of probably 95% of the LN adaptations I start out liking. I’m pretty sure Tamaki-kun’s comment about adding a subtitle so readers would know what the story was about was meant unironically – Makeine is a light novel after all – but it exemplifies why I just can’t take them seriously as an art form. But a light novel where the teenaged characters talk about creating light novels certainly is logical.

That meta side of things is interesting – these are the right people to be writing and reading LNs, really. But it’s hardly the main thrust of the narrative, just a sidelight. And I’m still liking this show after three weeks, there’s no denying that. It remains absolutely gorgeous (Remon may have the most arresting tan lines in anime), and I pretty much like all of the major cast. This episode had a bit of that “look at me, aren’t I clever” quality that LN comedies tend to have, which I’ll chalk up as a yellow light. But it wasn’t so overbearing as to come anywhere close to ruining the experience.

As you’d expect, third losing heroine (and “homewrecker”) Komari Chika is the main focus this week. She’s hot on President Tamaki as we know. He being two years (I think) ahead of her is only one of numerous obstacles I see with that one. Komari is quite the sad sack. We first meet her this week arguing with Nukumizu-kun about tap water (truly, two kids with no social lives there). VP Tsukinoki announces that the Literature Club is going to hold a training camp (at a youth retreat near the beach) in order to satisfy the complaints from the student council about the club not actually producing any literature.

Yanami-san invites herself along – declaring herself willing to join the club (if not remember its name) – because her family is throwing a surprise reconciliation barbecue because they think she and Sousuke are fighting. I don’t blame her for being desperate to get out of that, though a little truth would go a long way here. Remon decides she’s coming too, and the lot of them head off to the beach, where Tamaki delivers young Nuk-kun a lecture on the philosophical difference between school swimsuits (which Komari wears) and voluntary swimsuits.

One thing there’s not a whole lot of in this literature training camp (so far at least) is literature. Tamaki reads Komari’s novel, and declares it pretty good. He shows Nukumizu his own web novel, which the latter is actually a reader of. Remon shows off her tanlines and eventually throws the recalcitrant Komari into the sea. She also wins some fireworks in some sort of “beach diving” competition I don’t exactly understand. Eventually Anna gets her BBQ after all, and it seems as if Nuku’s brocon imouto actually followed the group to beach (unless she was coincidentally nearby on whatever her own out of town business was).

The headline moments are Yanami feeding Nukumizu some steak in a very couple-like scene – though I kind of picked up a little vibe with he and Remon earlier. Then, Komari almost blowing her own face off with a “dud” roman candle, only to be saved by the Prez. This eventually causes her to confess – which already sets her apart from her compatriots in the loser camp – though I can’t imagine that ending well for her. This all has a breezy charm to it that works quite well – a beach episode that feels pretty comfortable in its own skin. Considering the source material I can’t not be a bit cautious about committing to Makeine, but I can unequivocally say I hope it avoids the pitfalls that laid waste to so many of its predecessors.