Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru

Episode 7

Episode 7 is titled “Idyllic Happiness,” and it is, indeed, a fitting title, as it perfectly embodies the content of the episode. Despite vague, lingering concerns held by a couple of the girls over their situation, this is their time to enjoy life, and it is made all the sweeter by what the Hero Club did to earn an all-expenses-paid outing at a luxurious resort provided to them by the mysterious Taisha. The girls take full advantage of the opportunities provided, whether it be a sumptuous meal, playing in the bath, frolicking on the beach, or telling unexpected ghost stories. It is all very common fare for anime beach/resort episodes, and, except possibly for Mimori's elaborate rendition of Takamatsu Castle in sand, it all plays out just like you would expect for an ordinary group of middle school-aged girls. While they do spend a little time talking about issue of romance or whether or not anyone is going to hit on them, they mostly just enjoy each other's company. And that includes Karin, who demonstrates that accepting the invitation to permanently join the Hero Club last episode was not just for show. She acts here like camaraderie with the other girls is a perfectly natural thing.

In other words, this is another one of those “warm fuzzy” episodes, the kind that will bore some viewers but delight others with the charmingly natural ways that the girls interact with each other. It is also, by far, the most light-hearted episode to date. While there isn't much for true laugh-out-loud moments, it has plenty enough gently humorous fare smoothly integrated into the slice-of-life moments to keep a smile on viewers' face through most of the episode. Even in this the quality of the writing and directing shows through, as while veteran anime fans have seen this kind of content innumerable times before, somehow it is done just a little better here.

The series' attention to detail also continues to impress. I had never imagined that there might be special wheelchairs specifically designed for use on the beach – even being taken into the water! – but we get a look at a very meticulously-rendered one here, and that allows Mimori to be every bit as much a part of the activities as the other girls. It shows up in other small details that are shown in passing but still things that you just don't see in most anime series, such as the five-way phone charger that the girls use in the bedtime scenes. And once again it shows in the warmth of the interactions, especially between Yuna and Mimori.

Of course, all of this does not prevent some fan service from popping up; this is a beach/resort episode, after all. Each of the girls gets a chance to show off a bit in her swimwear, the bath scene does have one shot that gets steamed out, and a couple of breast size comments do surface. However, none of this is as lurid as what might typically be seen in a more fan service-intensive series; the camera gives a couple of the girls full-body-pans once but then doesn't linger on or overly emphasize the girl's sexuality and nothing is in-your-face. We do finally get to see Karin with her hair down, too, and that doesn't disappoint.

The one potential knock on the episode is that this is now two full episodes of peaceful interlude, so when the epilogue comes and shows that the girls might not be done with their task after all, viewers may be just as enthusiastic about the prospect of another fight as Fu seems to be. As most probably suspected, we aren't done with the magical girl battles after all.

Rating: B+

Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.