The Seventh Grade Course

R.O.D the TV
"The Seventh Grade Course"
Episode no.	TV 04
Airdate	September 16, 2003 (Japan) October 6, 2004 (US)
Year	2006
Episode chronology
Previous episode	"Let's Meet in Jinbocho"
Next episode	"They Shout"

Episode Synopsis

To make the sisters appear a little more normal, Anita King is enrolled in school, where she has an eventful first day at Nishihama Junior High School.

Extended Summary

Over dinner Nenene Sumiregawa informs Anita that she has to go to school. Anita bristles over the order at first, but Nenene points out that not attending school makes Anita and the household look suspicious. Anita later mentions her concern about money to Michelle Cheung, since she needs to buy a uniform, books and other school related essentials, and Michelle reacts with a whine about not getting paid enough. Dokusensha is also first mentioned here, when Michelle and Maggie Mui think about taking their well paying jobs; Anita doesn't like the group, thinking that they are suspicious.

Anita attends school the next day at Nishihama Junior High School. She argues with Tohru Okahara and makes friends with Hisami Hishiishii very quickly. She also meets and makes friends with a number of her other classmates, including Natsume Nishizono, who declares Anita her rival. Anita quickly becomes popular with her classmates, given her unusual background (a transfer student living at a famous author's home) and physical prowess (she catches a baseball barehanded and returns a fierce fastball), among other traits.

Michelle, worried about Anita's well-being, decides to sneak into the school later wearing a (paper) school uniform of her own. Pretending to be a senior student, she talks to Anita about making friends and how she's adjusting to school life.

Later Anita is informed that she needs to join a school club. Anita is hesitant, although Hisami reassures her that she's already very popular and any club would welcome her. Anita decides to join the club that Hisami's in - unfortunately, Anita's just signed up for the library club. Anita bravely copes with her mistake.

Mr. Richards, a man who handles the school's English materials, arrives at the school library. Unknown at the time, he is actually attempting to hide one of the Gentleman Books. However, a mysterious assassin shoots him, while Anita and Hisami are still in the library. Anita orders Hisami to go find a doctor; when Anita is given a book and told to hide it, Mr. Richards is shot again.

Anita enters a tense standoff with her invisible attacker, spreading paper throughout the library to sense him. She successfully dodges a number of gunshots, including one fired point-blank at her head, and eventually manages to corner the gunman after tearing apart the library, with waves of paper flowing out the windows. She expresses shock when she realizes that he's a kid, just like her, and the attacker takes the opportunity to sweep her off her feet and point a gun at her. Fortunately, Michelle arrives in time to back Anita up, disarming the gunman with her longbow in a surprise attack. The gunman flees; Anita attempts to chase him, but he throws a smokebomb behind him.

The attacker is revealed to be Junior, doing a mission for Wendy Earheart. He reports his failure and appears to be wounded by Michelle's attack, although not seriously.

After school Anita and Michelle are at a harbour, watching the sunset and scenery. They talk about who this kid could be, and Michelle reassures Anita that she'll always protect her. They go home to discuss Nenene's sudden absence with Maggie. Lee Linho tells them that this is normal and they will be on vacation until she returns (Michelle attempts to make it a "paid" one unsuccessfully).

A pigeon arrives with a message for the sisters. The episode ends with Michelle saying that it's a mission from Dokusensha.

Trivia

• Anita's form is labeled 1-2, "First Grade, Class 2". In Japan grades start over again when the student enters a new school, as education is more standardized around the country. In the United States, junior high students would say they were in seventh, eighth or ninth grade, regardless of which school they were in before; Anita is in the equivalent of seventh grade.
• Grade levels
  • 6 - 7: Year 1: Elementary school
  • 7 - 8: Year 2: Elementary school
  • 8 - 9: Year 3: Elementary school
  • 9 - 10: Year 4: Elementary school
  • 10 - 11: Year 5: Elementary school
  • 11 - 12: Year 6: Elementary school
  • 12 - 13: Year 1: Junior high school / Lower secondary school
  • 13 - 14: Year 2: Junior high school / Lower secondary school
  • 14 - 15: Year 3: Junior high school / Lower secondary school
  • 15 - 16: Year 1: High school / Upper secondary school
  • 16 - 17: Year 2: High school / Upper secondary school
  • 17 - 18: Year 3: High school / Upper secondary school
• There are some Japanese language honorific gems translated into the English dub.
  • When Anita is first introduced to her class, the homeroom teacher introduces her as "Miss King"; Anita asks to be called by her first name instead. In Japan, calling someone by their family/last name, accompanied by "-san" (e.g. "King-san") is a standard and polite way to introduce and speak to someone you don't know very well. Meanwhile, calling someone by their first/given name introduces more familiarity, and would never happen when meeting someone for the first time.
  • When Tohru teases Anita over milk, Hisami calls him "Tohru dear", and Tohru yells back, "Don't call me that!" This is a reference to the Japanese translation "Tohru-kun". The "-kun" suffix is typically used boys, but more specifically can be used by girls to refer to a boy they've known for a long time, or are emotionally attached to.