This Art Club Has a Problem! Ep. 4: Pulling No Punches with Punchlines

What a punchy post title…I perceive it to pretty much have 100% panache…okay, I think that’s enough alliteration for now.

Today’s theme: Cause and effect (see this episode’s themes and other people’s takes on the same episode here)

In order to figure out the true extent of the cause and effect in this post, while I was watching I enlisted a future version of myself to do some fact-checking – future me’s input is in square brackets. However, so that I don’t overstep the boundaries of what we already know at this point in time, you’ll only see points checked from episodes 1 through 3.

Welcome to the Art Club

• Tachibana-sensei notably only holds two club application sheets, presumably for Subaru and Mizuki. This is why she’s so absent-minded about the club prez…well, it’s a possible reason, at least. [I get the feeling the Club President might not have even signed up for the Art Club…that does sound very in-character, at least.]
• The anime from within the anime stopped, so Subaru switched into the art club, thereby giving us a reason to watch the show (aside from the fact we’re participating in this collab, of course).
• Interestingly, the art club seems to be recruiting at this point in time. When Tachibana-sensei is walking to the art club, you can see a monochrome apple (probably Mizuki’s, knowing her) on one of the posters, and it says “Art Club, recruiting members”. […as of the end of episode 4, this isn’t important now, but it could still be important further down the line.]

I’m talking about the poster in the top left. (Source: Konobi ep 4)

• The season seems to have changed. Subaru’s switched from orange jumper to red hoodie vest (of course, with a white “star” on it) and Mizuki’s done something similar.
• Tachibana-sensei: “According to my files, Uchimaki Subaru-kun is an outstanding member who’s even won an award.” – You remember how Subaru’s waifu won 2nd prize that one time, right? [This has been a joke since the president had a throwaway line about Subaru winning an award if he tried in the second half of episode 1, but Subaru doesn’t win his award until the first segment of episode 2.]
• How the heck does poor Club Prez survive with two clips on his face? I get how he could get away with a small hammer in his hair (it looks fairly thick), but…two clips? Does he even have enough skin on his face for getting it gathered up in clips?…Whose clips are they, anyway?
• It turns out even Collette’s first appearance in front of Tachibana-sensei was a bit of foreshadowing! This show pulls no punches when it comes to punchlines! [That’s…a lot of onomatopoeia for an alliterative sentence…]

Collette’s Walk

• The name of the 2nd segment, Core-sanpo, seems to be a shortening of “Collette-san” + sanpo (walk).
•  “Haven’t we met somewhere a long time ago?” – Remember that one time Mizuki and Subaru helped out Moeka??? [This incident is in episode 2, segment 2 – I had to chase that one up to be sure it was the right girl. While looking for that, I also noticed Subaru doesn’t wear his trademark orange jumper in Mizuki’s flashbacks in episodes 1 and 2, meaning he must only wear the jumper when it’s really cold or he must’ve started wearing it after that.]
• Oh, so Moeka is Koyama-sensei’s granddaughter. Well, in anime especially, it’s a small world after all, as they say. (I almost thought Moeka’s grandpa was dead and the round rock was just an offering, much like how in My Roommate is a Cat, (Mikazuki) Subaru gives sashimi to his dead parents, but turns out it’s nothing like that…*sighs in relief* Thank goodness…)
• I thought the hairstyle on the guy Collette was tailing looked familiar…so when I squinted…it turned out my hunch was right. That was the club president!

Sidebar: For some reason, while watching this episode, I reminded myself that I thought Konobi was based on a light novel, due to its setup reminding me of school series such as Baka to Test and HenNeko (which do actually hail from light novels)…Konobi is actually based on a manga though, so that must have been a preconception I had before this collab…

…the fact that I changed my preconception is, in itself, a matter of cause-and-effect as well, don’tcha think?

Little by Little, Bit by Bit

• Mizuki’s rabbit theme stretches to her room as well (specifically the rabbit on the sign, the 4 adorable bunbuns on her calendar, and the “Usagi” poster on her wall with a big bunbun)…and she even has a star plushie…hmm. The opportunities to ship her and Subaru grow with every little sign…Even Mizuki’s mother ships Subaru x Mizuki (to the point where I literally went, “Go get ‘im, girl!” by the time Mizuki’s mother told her the outfit wasn’t weird)! [Translation: “Bunbun” in this case = bunny.]

The “Usagi” poster is behind Mizuki’s head in this image, while the small bunbuns are on the calendar next to it. (Source: Konobi episode 4)

• It seems my support behind the screen – and the mother’s support/suggestion to swap cell phone numbers – helped Mizuki out, because…well, those two wouldn’t be swapping numbers now if it didn’t occur, would they?
• Due to the power of Anime Parent Absence, I didn’t think we’d get to see any of the characters’ parents…well, turns out I was wrong.

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So what is the ending to the final segment’s title sentence? I think it might be “Little by little, bit by bit, the two (Mizuki and Subaru) grow closer”, but does anyone else have any suggestions?