WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Diary of our Days at the Breakwater Episode 1, "Breakwater Club," now streaming on Funimation.
The age-old hobby of fishing is a serene sport, one ripe for calm meditation while waiting for the first nibble on the line. That is, unless you're first-year student Hina Tsurugi, who desires for nothing more than to lead a normal, fish-free life in Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, a Spring 2020 slice-of-life series streaming on Funimation.
The series, adapted from the manga by Japan's Doga Koba studios, follows newly relocated Hina on her quest to be a perfectly normal high school student. As part of the school's orientation, she is given the opportunity to join a social club. As fate -- and a little blackmail -- would have it, she winds up a member of Umino High's Breakwater Club, a club dedicated to catching the bounty of the sea.
The series premiere, “Breakwater Club,” introduces the relaxing seaside town of Ashiya and the delicate Hina for whom crafting is a passion. Her eagerness to join Umino High's crafting club is made apparent by her room which is decorated with hand-woven items and cute dolls. Hina is nervous but optimistic about her move to Ashiya, having spent some of her childhood in the village with her father. As she takes a casual stroll along the beach, she notices a person in distress and rushes to her assistance.
The woman in need turns out to be a professional fisher by the name of Yūki Kuroiwa and, by coincidence, is the president of the fishing club. Hina, raised in the city far removed from the art of the lure, is given a quick introduction on how to fish for creatures swimming along the jetty.
Unfortunately, Hina's first catch is an octopus that inches its way up her leg. Before you can crack a joke about tentacle hentai, Yūki offers to rescue the poor girl from the clutches of the mollusk if she agrees to join her club. Stuck between taking up fishing or becoming an entirely different kind of show all together, Hina agrees with gusto and is saved.
Back on shore in a dingy shack, Yūki cleans the octopus and Hina nearly faints at the sight as she contemplates how to cancel her new membership. The thought of becoming a member of the Breakwater Club distresses her to an extent that she begins stabbing her doll with a knitting needle, but eventually, she finds the courage to decline the invitation the following day.
In the morning, Hina readies herself for the upcoming confrontation as her fellow students join clubs to their liking. She notices the crafts club is filling up and turns red with jealousy, which solidifies her commitment to leave the club. She receives directions to the club's HQ and follows them to the same dingy shack from the day before where she runs in to a familiar face.
Natsumi Hodaka is a fellow first-year student who recognizes Hina immediately, clinging to her in a leaping bear hug. Hina needs a bit of a reminder to fully realize who she's talking to -- a childhood friend she played with on family vacations to the village. The familiar face eases Hina's trepidation only a little as she's introduced to the third and final member of the club, Makoto Ohno, whose only clear characters traits are being silent and, as Hina notes, well-endowed.
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Yūki arrives in uniform, a stark contrast from her casual fishing attire from the day prior. Inside, the four gather around and offer introductions. Excitable Natsumi declares her prior friendship with Hina during her introduction, which leads to confusion when Hina musters the courage to declare her resignation from the club. Yūki suggests Hina try fishing just once before she leaves -- to which Hina begrudgingly obliges.
The four trot out to the jetty and learn the intricacies of fishing with a pole. The show presents this lesson in grea detail. Hina takes to the pole quickly but is grossed out when introduced to chum -- a mixture of krill, bread and salt used to lure fish. With Natsumi's help, Hina nervously lowers her fishing line and soon thereafter reels in dozens of small fish, enough to fill a cooler.
Makoto whips out a camping grill and deep fries the fish, which the club enjoys as a snack before packing up and heading inside. To her surprise, Hina admits that she had fun and decides to stay a little longer in the Breakwater Club, presumably for at least eleven more episodes.
The question remains whether or not Hina will advance beyond catching white bait on the jetty and, when she does, will her and her fishy comrades form a bond that will last beyond the fishing season? Only way to find out is to cast a line and patiently wait for a bite as the diary is written.
New episodes of Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater arrive Tuesdays on Funimation.
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