When Renge receives a bike from her grandma, she’s eager to practice so she can ride everywhere with her friends. But the rainy season is in full swing, so she sets about making a teru-teru bouzu in hopes that the rain will stop. Meanwhile, Renge is on duty to take care of the tadpole shrimp she caught while playing in a field, and she grows very fond of them.

As summer vacation begins, Renge’s older sister Hikage comes home from her school in Tokyo, hoping to impress the others with her know-how about city life only for Hotaru to outshine her. Later, Renge meets another girl her age named Honoka Ishikawa, who she quickly become friends with. After spending several days playing with Honoka, Renge is saddened when she learns Honoka had to suddenly leave due to her father’s work. However, she cheers up a week later after receiving a letter from Honoka saying she’ll come back next summer.

Renge goes to visit Natsumi, but she and her family aren’t home. She’s about to give up and leave when a hand starts talking to her from the other side of the fence! She thinks it’s a monster, and is relieved to learn that it’s the next door neighbor Konomi. But Konomi then tells her that she is, in fact, a monster… Later, the Koshigaya sisters tell Renge they were in first grade when they took off their training wheels, so Renge starts to practice riding her bike without the training wheels.

New Year’s is here, and that means New Year’s money! What will everyone spend their cash on? And is there a way to get even more? Or perhaps that’s not a good idea…

Once the kids are asleep, the adults get to partying! …wait, what’s that noise? Ren is awake!? Uh oh…

Following a graduation ceremony, Renge and friends spend the day playing in the great outdoors. It’s days like these you wish would never end…

After sleeping through the New Year, Renge joins Kazuha, Hikage and Kaede as they decide to go up a mountain to watch the first sunrise of the year. Along the way, Kaede recalls five years ago when she was first asked to look after the one-year-old Renge, initially finding her to be quite a handful but soon taking a liking to her. They eventually manage to reach the top of the mountain and watch the sun as it rises.

Ren pays Candy Store a visit to spend her New Year’s allowance, but her purchase puts Candy Store in an awkward position — one Natsumi finds absolutely HILARIOUS.

It’s time to go camping! Ren’s heart and mind are prepared, but a nighttime stroll through the woods will put her willpower to the test.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe Hotaru is still in elementary school! But even Hotaru needs to act like a kid now and then… or at least that’s what Konomi thinks.

Beep boop! Koma-plushie is live, boop beep! But Hotaru isn’t a master of robotics just yet, and her pet project still has a long way to go before it’s ready to fly.

Parents’ Day provides Natsumi a particular variety of anxiety, but she finds a way to relax when Renge brings home a new friend.

Hotaru is finally getting used to how kids play in the country, although she’s still afraid to jump off the bridge into the river. Hotaru returns home from playing to find a letter from her friend in Tokyo, with a photo of her old friends at an amusement park, making her feel nostalgic. Meanwhile, Hikage is home for a visit and shows off pictures of Tokyo Tower to Renge.

It’s another idyllic day in the countryside, but things are anything but ordinary when Renge meets Akane, a flutist who has trouble playing in front of other people.

After breaking a bonsai planter with a Surefire Kill Shot, Natsumi and Hikage practice the art of apology… sort of. Turns out neither one of them is very good at it.

Akane and Konomi go shopping, and they take a detour to play some festival games! But beginner’s luck will only get you so far, and there’s something weighing on Akane’s mind…

Komari receives an unexpected visitor. Now she’s making a weird face and can’t seem to knit properly. But don’t worry — Natsumi will cover for her. Sort of.

Due to a snowy blizzard, the girls end up having to spend the night at school, with Hotaru and Natsumi competing against each other to see who gets to sleep in a futon, eventually decided to just kick Kazuho out of hers. Later that night, Hotaru decides to check out the snow and see the starry night sky, leading to some misunderstandings from Komari and Natsumi. Later, on another snowy day, the gang decide to try their hand at skiing before building a snow house and having some hot food.

Natsumi’s mother asks Natsumi to go catch something to live in the family’s pond, and Natsumi agrees when she’s told she’ll be paid. She lends Natsumi a watch and tells her to be home by curfew, and all the kids go out for a day of fishing. Later, Konomi sees that Natsumi still doesn’t seem like a girl at all even now that she’s in middle school, and brings some of her old outfits over for her to try on…

During spring break, Renge and Hotaru head to school to feed the rabbits and end up finding Renge’s Legendary Sword.

Hotaru and Renge are invited to the Koshigaya’s house for breakfast. Afterwards, the girls, accompanied by Kazuha, go to the beach, where Komari’s height leads her to be mistaken for a lost child. On their way home, the girls stop at a railside noodle restaurant, where a prank by Natsumi on Komari backfires due to Renge’s innocence. They manage to catch the last train home on time, but accidentally leave Kazuha behind.

As Spring arrives again, Hotaru and Komari go on a picnic together, where Hotaru ends up eating Komari’s botched up homemade lunch in order to not hurt her feelings. Later, the girls get together to search for some edible plants, eventually coming to a field of renge flowers where Natsumi makes a costume for Renge.

One morning, Natsumi uses a toy fortune dispenser to read Komari’s fortune, and tells it her, “bad luck: beware of water.” Komari says she won’t be near any water that day anyway, but when they get to school, they’re told that they’ll be cleaning the school pool… The next day, the Koshigaya sisters are bored at home on a day off from school, so Natsumi reads Komari’s fortune again and draws yet another “bad luck”…

The second semester has begun, and the Asahigaoka students are making wood crafts in class. Renge and Natsumi pair up to make something together, but can’t come up with any ideas. Just when Natsumi starts to panic, Renge demonstrates her unique sensibilities again. Then at lunchtime, the smell of curry fills the air, and the Koshigaya sisters recall a tragedy that befell the school long ago…

One morning during winter break, Ichijo Hotaru and Koshigaya Komari are on a walk when they run into Fujimiya Konomi on her way back from practice. Komari takes great interest in Konomi’s cellphone.