Everyone needs to study: Rin Namiki and the school library

I was surprised by the library scenes in Kandagawa Jet Girls, which finished airing this past January. In this anime series, Rin Namiki aspires to be a jetter and Misa Aoi a shooter (who fires a water gun) in jet racing, a sport where teams comprised of two girls compete against each other. As the series goes on, the partnership and bond between them grow stronger. Anyway, in the seventh episode, “Why They Race” (“Shissōru Riyū” in Japanese), Rin fails a test, the first time in her life. After being pushed forward by Misa, she studies in the library of this all-girls college in Tokyo. When she walks in, she is surprised to see her fellow team member:

She sneaks up on Kiriko and whispers in her ear. Kiriko is so focused on reading that she doesn’t see Rin behind her:

That part is what makes this library scene one of the funniest in the anime I have seen so far, I have to say. Rin later apologizes, saying that she thought Kiriko looked cute in the library. How nice:

They strike up a conversation, with Rin amazed by the jet racing publication she is reading. She is especially fascinated when she finds the description of Misa and her description, not knowing she was “famous” (not really). Before going on, I just have to say that this is one of the better library scenes I have seen so far in the animated series I’ve watched. Later in the episode, she shows Misa the article about her, proudly:

To be frank, if this is something you ever hear from someone, you might want to be wary, only because you don’t know if the article is good or not. Misa smiles but tells Rin she needs to get down to business and study. She grumbles and continues to so. As such, she returns to the library again, sitting by the far table:

This is a library which is getting a lot of use!…Which is good. Her friends from the Jet Racing Club she established at the school see her there, smile, not wanting to disturb her one bit:

She is clearly deep into her studying, even looking a bit tired from the work she has put in up to this point:

Ultimately, her hard work pays off and she passes the test with 85%! But, she worked herself so far that she got a sickness from all the stress: a cold. Misa helps her feel better as the episode goes on, she is comforted by her friends, while her and Misa, who are roommates in a boarding house of sorts, get closer. Again, however, librarians are missing from the picture. What’s up with these anime featuring libraries but no librarians? Why?

© 2020 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on my History Hermann blog but has been re-edited and fixed before being posted on this blog. Enjoy!

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