Well damn! While Happy Sugar Life was a front runner this summer before it aired, it seems that the enthusiasm for it has really cooled down. Still though, the story is good.

In the most recept episode we see the raped boy from episode 1, Taiyou, return and this time he’s working with Satou at her new job. Terrified of older women, understandably, he is scared of his new boss. Satou helps him and then leaves the room. Afterwards, we learn that his new love is shio. SOMEHOW, because anime characters are idiots, Shio gets out, clearly she has been drugged or something as we have no idea why Shio can’t remember anything, Shio meets Taiyou after he meets the other hooded boy, who is clearly Shio’s brother, and is looking for her.

This is a mess. Shio is helping Taiyou feel better, but it’s not his tears, but his mouth watering in desire over wanting to have sex with Shio. We don7t get why Taiyou cannot put 2 and 2 together to figure out that he knows Satou, but the episode ends with him leading Shio away to let her stay with him while he looks for Shio.

Our money is on Taiyou dying in the next episode. Either that, or Satou will drug Shio, take her back, and THEN kill Taiyou. The weird teacher is now on Satou’s side helping her dispose of bodies and it’s just a matter of time until she snaps. Either way, her sweet moments are cute, but the bitter ones are a stark contrast. Either way, Happy Sugar Life is going to get darker and more violent as we go.

In Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes this week, they introduced the notion of a Happiness Strap on the train in Kyoto. This made Aoi a bit solemn as she thinks about her current state and her troubles. While I suppose this is logical, especially for a teenager whose boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend (not explicitly stated but come on, you do the math). Anyway, I can understand how upset Aoi must be, but the inclusion of the Happiness Strap seems a bit odd, not that I have ever used a train to travel around Kyoto so its existence may or may not be real most tourists use the bus anyway). It feels like the Happiness Strap is used just to remind us, rather terribly, that Aoi has her own drama going on, even though it’s really not explored any more than it is in episode 1. When they showed Aoi getting sad, I will admit that I had no idea what was going on at first.
Also, I wonder why you would just have a train strap be some sort of lucky charm to bring you luck. It’s a bit odd. Why not go to one of the many Kyoto shrines for an actual charm? Do you think that holding a train strap would bring luck or do you think they just want to add a bit of superstition? Or maybe that was their weak way of mentioning that there’s drama?

Even if it’s a Sports anime, there’s definitely some drama in Hanebado!... and even if there’s some drama in Hanebado!, you would’ve never expected its main character to become the best badminton player in order to claim her mother back. I mean, in the first episodes we noticed something odd in Ayano’s approach to playing badminton, but this?

After losing to this beautiful yet mysterious and cocky blonde Connie, our sweet Ayano has some doubts not only about her skills but also about her past. For some reason, Connie knows Ayano’s mother —Uchika hanesaki, a legendary player herself— and uses this to mind break her opponent, but after the match is over she finally confess: ¡she’s also Uchika’s daughter! Well, sort of. After leaving Ayano, Uchika has raised this other girl and taught her everything about badminton, thus making her better than her own child. Oh, you gotta see poor Ayano’s look when every puzzle piece came into place, and obviously Connie was enjoying every second of it!

I don’t think Uchika would like to see Ayano “fight” Connie not even if it means just a badminton court, but I can totally see where this is going. Are you up to some “winner gets to keep mum” kind of match?! To be fair, we yet have to see how things develop, but that would be cruelly cool for an anime. Yeah, you keep saying it’s just fanservice with great animation.