That One Time Your Cousin Prepared a 'Special' Kigurumi

Welcoming a relative into your apartment complex takes a lot of effort. Fixing papers, doing pre-maintenance work, moving furniture, and of course, preparing a special set of kigurumi pajamas.

"Shi-Shion..."

At least, that's how Hana's older cousin Shion handled things. Her nature was always that of someone who loves taking care of those around her. In other words, she's the very type of person who can always treat visitors very well. Though perhaps this time, Hana was right in thinking that she may have treated her just a weeee bit too much like a kid.

Interestingly though, her material "preparations" for Hana seem to consistently have an aquatic theme to it. More specifically, the motif of dolphins sharks. Shark plushies, bath toys, futons, and as mentioned earlier, kigurumi.

"It's as I imagined!"

Shark kigurumi isn't exactly something strange to the eyes, even if we exclude other aquatic-themed animal kigurumi. We have something that's just about the same after all.

"You look absolutely cute!"

However, Shion's personally prepared shark kigurumi for Hana is, shall we say, a bit more anatomically correct. Maybe because of a few spots from it that are purposefully made more rigid? Technically stepping over the boundary of being a mascot-type kigurumi.

In fact. the way Hana fidgets while wearing it definitely made the theme a lot more "immersive" than usual.

"Maybe it's not bad for me to continue being a landlady here after all."

As for what they chatted about that night, it centers squarely on the surprisingly serious theme of Slow Start (スロウスタート). The fact that some people get chronologically left behind by their peers due to various reasons. In Shion's case, getting left behind by her fellow colleagues after being unable to find post-graduate employment. Which, as Hana admits, is technically worse than her own "gap year" problem society-wise.

Behind the cheerful and calming veneer of Slow Start's slice-of-life themes, hides an underlying theme of societal pressures. Certainly not unique as a concept in anime, but it is quite surprising to see for an otherwise boring, uneventful cutesy show like this.

But that is perhaps what makes this series interesting to see through.