Himouto! Umaru-Chan R Episodes 1 - 3

By: EyeSpyeAlexOur favorite hamster girl is back and ready for action! I’m of course talking about Umaru in the newest season: Himouto! Umaru-Chan R! While it took me some time, I am finally caught up on the first 3 episodes of the season! Below are my thoughts on the show so far.This latest season continues to give us all that we love about Umaru. She’s still an anime and manga obsessed perfectionist. She can still own anyone when it comes to video games or physical sports. She still relies on Taihei for nearly everything. However, she is growing more as a person when it comes to her relationships.Her relationship with Taihei feels a little more like a brother-sister one than a parent-child one. She seems in tune with his expectations of her. She also is more open to socializing with Bomber and Alex, whom Taihei invites over more regularly. With their common interest in pop culture and video games, Umaru and Alex soon more a friendship.Umaru also strives to improve her relationships with her peers. When Sylphyn is hanging out with UMR (Umaru’s alias), Umaru strives to help Sylphyn hone her soccer skills. Instead of teaching Sylphyn how to be the best, Umaru instead teaches her how to work on a team. She does this, assuming she and Sylphyn will be on the same team, which ultimately doesn’t happen. However, the lessons Umaru gives resonates with Sylphyn, and she is able to communicate and lead her team more effectively. Seeing this growth in Sylphyn allows Umaru to do her best.After the soccer match, Umaru tries to be more outgoing. She notices that all of her friends are connecting with their classmates more, with both sides communicating. Umaru then realizes that all communication she’s had has been initiated by others. She then tries to initiate more interactions with both Kirin and Ebina, which delights them both.I look forward to seeing where this season takes Umaru. The first season did a good job of establishing her character. It will be awesome if this season focuses on developing that character into a dynamic individual. I think both parts of Umaru’s personality have a lot to learn from the other. Let’s see if they’re good at learning.New episodes of Himouto! Umaru-Chan R stream on Sundays exclusively on Anime Strike.