This episode begins with a young girl (Fumi) crying at school, and we hear a voice telling her that she’s always so fast to cry. Then the series moves forward several years to the present day. We see that Fumi’s family has been away for several years and they have returned because her father has gotten transferred back onto town, and it’s Fumi’s first day at her new school.
In the kitchen Fumi is talking with her cousin Chizu, she tells Chizu that she never should have come back to this town and she doesn’t want to be here. She asks Chizu to stay awhile longer, but Chizu says her vacation is finished and she can’t stay any longer. Then we jump to another girl’s house (Akira) she running late for school and her mother tells her that her older brother will drive her to school. Her brother tells her that her new uniform suits her and he’ll drop her off at school, she refuses and tells him to drop her off at the station, she’ll be embarrassed to be dropped of by her brother, and he tells her that she’s only cute when sleeping.
After Akira gets dropped off at the train station she bumps into Fumi at the station and they board the train together, while riding the train Akira notices that Fumi is crying because she’s getting groped by a guy on the train. When Akira sees that Fumi isn’t doing anything about it she stomps the guys foot and saves her. After leaving the train, the two girls walk together towards school, and when Fumi has to split off she thanks Akira for her help. As Fumi walks off, Akira says that seeing such a tall girl who cries is kind of cute, and she heads off towards her school.
Later, we see that Akira is beginning her first year at a private girls school, and that Fumi is attending a public girl’s school. At Fumi’s school we see that she’s very quiet and shy, in contrast to Akira’s outgoing and lively personality. Later, we see three girls from Fumi’s school looking for new members for their drama club so they asks Fumi. But, Fumi doesn’t want to join a club, they tell her that club membership is required at this school. The girl (Pon-chan) who asked Fumi to join their club introduces her friends Miwa “the fluffy haired girl” and Misako “the short haired girl” to Fumi. Even though Fumi tells Pon-chan “no” she agrees to have tea with her on her way home from school.
As the school day ends at Akira’s school we see a girl (Kyoko) introduce herself to Akira, and they walk home from school together. At home Akira tells her family about Kyoko, she says that she gives off the air of a princess, and her brother asks her if she’s sure that she belongs at that school. Soon Akira’s mother gets a call from her old friend and they’re going to hookup and she wants her daughter to be there, and when they meet up we see that Akira’s mother is a old friend of Fumi’s mother. So, the two girls from the train manage to meet up with each other again.
Then the memories come flooding back to the girls, Akira was the girls who always comforted Fumi when she was little, Fumi always cried easily and Akira was always there for her, and they were best friends when they were little. Fumi thought that they would always be together forever, but Fumi had to move because her father had to transfer work offices. Both girls had promised to write each other, but neither Fumi or Akira ever wrote to one another.
While the mothers talk, Fumi is hanging out in Akira’s room and Akira tells Fumi how much she’s changed, she now taller than her but she’s flat chested, and Fumi now has a sometimes scary face. Back at home, Chizu is up in Fumi’s room talking with her, and Fumi tells her about every thing that’s happened. She even tells her cousin about the flat comment, to which Chizu says they might be small but they’re perky. After a little while, Fumi’s mother calls the girls downstairs where she presents Chizu with a cake celebrating her upcoming wedding, Fumi is shocked at the news and Chizu says she’s sorry.
The next morning, Akira rushes out of her house to head off to school, and we see an argument between Akira’s brother and her mother. Akira’s mother thinks that he’s too worried about his sister and not worried enough about his own future, like his future job after her finishes college. When Akira makes it to the train station she sees Fumi crying by herself, Fumi is upset about her cousin’s marriage, she thinks that it’s only natural for Chizu to get married because she’s a girl. Akira walks up to Fumi and hands her a tissue and makes a comment about how easily she cries, Fumi than thinks about how a 10 year time leap occurred in an instance. Well, that’s all for this episode.
Well, I like the Aoi Hana manga, and I really like this anime adaptation. When I watch most anime that contain yuri subtext or a yuri storyline I find them too over the top and silly. But, I think that the yuri subtext in Aoi Hana is very subtle and nicely done. I think that Akira and Fumi make a nicely contrasting couple, Akira with her perky and outgoing nature matches nicely with Fumi’s overly serious and sensitive nature. I look forward to watching how Akira and Fumi will fit in at their new schools, how they’ll get along with the other student, how they’ll make new friends, and how they’ll rekindle their old friendship.
Crystal Tokyo Anime Blog 
July 4, 2009 at 7:10 am
Lol subtext.