English Dub Review: Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan “Long, Hot Summer”

 

Overview:

The Maman crew are tasked with shooting a summer preview video. The only problem is it’s the middle of winter. No problem for someone tough like Uramichi! Iketeru catches a cold from it, however, making the crew have to pick up the slack. Something must be going around because Kumatani gets sick as well and everyone seems to have a reason to think it’s their fault.

Our Take:

I was cracking up a lot in this episode. Kids can sure be observant huh? When Kumatani was sick, Usahara attempted to wear the costume but the kids could tell it was him. They even said that they wished it was Usao who went missing instead, poor Usahara can’t catch a break with anyone.

Uramichi’s interactions with the two mascot characters (especially Usahara) are fantastic. That was where all of the comedy came from this episode. Breaking a watermelon is a summer staple in most anime and this is no different. Unfortunately, watermelon is not in season during the winter so they had to make do with a winter gourd and just paint some lines on it. As he usually does Usahara annoys Uramichi, so he gets tied up next to the gourd and his life is threatened and everyone just went with it.

Utano was great this episode because every time someone got sick she would make some big speech about how they need to act like comrades. This led to some pretty great interactions with her and Iketeru later. Jessica Calvello is doing an amazing job with her role as Utano.

I really love how Ray Chase and Adam Gibbs’ characters play off each other. There really is some amazing voice talent and they really get to flex their comedy muscles. It’s probably just the shows I have chosen to watch but I feel that these two actors are usually in pretty serious roles. The way they deliver their lines really adds to the comedy. One thing I know is that comedic timing is everything.

This episode was definitely the best yet. I was laughing almost the whole time and I hope the rest of the season keeps this up. The cast is great and I really enjoy the relatability of the characters. I think anyone who isn’t quite where they thought they would be in life would appreciate this show. I do hope something happens to brighten Uramichi’s outlook but we will cross that bridge when we get there.