Sabagebu! – 09

Josephine (aka Platty with paper ears taped to his head) is dragged to Dog Paradise by Momoka for some a french food and doggie nosh.

Unsurprisingly, Platty is not thrilled with this and soon he and Momoka are fighting, which draws the ire of Inugami-san, the starry eyed owner-hippy of the shop.

Soon Platty and Inugami’s dog are competing to see who’s the best, with Platty only accomplishing his tasks through Momoka’s brutality.

Things fall apart, Platty’s not-dog-ness is revealed, the shop is lit on fire and everyone saves face when Platty is willing to jump the fire (to bite Momoka’s face) and Inugami’s pup is not.

Then Miou shows up atop a lion. (end act 1)

Urara’s pleasant moment down the ocean (actually the school pool) is ruined when Kaya brings up rumors of a classmate drowning and subsequently haunting the pool.

Urara and Maya laugh this off as nonsense but things get serious after Sakura-sensei locks them in for the night.

Without windows, phones, or even clothes, the three girls rapidly descend into madness. Fear of hypothermia, needing to use the toilet and general survival club mania all come to a head and the group decides their only chance of survival is to experience brutal pain.

Then Miou shows up in a sexy combat bikini, drawn by the chance to fight a ghost, only to find her comrades in tatters. (end act 2)

Miou finally starts an act showing up at the beginning! She’s taken the Survival Club to Australia and they will be fighting old people on a mixture of trucks and motor cycles and even a heli-plane!

Momoka suspects this whole act is the result of Miou watching a certain movie recently, but quickly gets into the fun when she discovers Fried Chicken Lemon will be driving a semi for her.

Unfortunately, the other girls don’t warm to fighting the elderly in time and Maya, Kaya and Urara all find themselves gunned down. At least their deaths fuel Miou’s thirst for victory, as she rides past them on her motorcycle embroiled in a duel with a preachery-looking elderly gent.

Momoka remains entirely unaffected by shooting those who could be infirm, and slaughters her way from one end of the race to the other. In her grandest moment, she convinced Lemon to take out the heli-plane by driving off a cliff and into it, before she thanks him and bails to safety. 

Later, everyone celebrates with a happy soak in the hotel pool. The Sydney Opera House is behind them. Much much time later, the most senile of the geriatric survivalists is found in the outback. (end episode 9)

Sabagebu! number nine remains all about brutality and brutally defying our expectations — and the absurdity is still quite delightful!

Expect that old man who’s taken the entire act to lift his rifle will finally make a difference? Nope! Momoka shoots him in his moment of minuscule triumph.

Expect Momoka’s thoughts to linger on Lemon’s sacrifice as she holds his glasses? Nope! Momoka tosses them over her shoulder with a smile and trots off to victory.

You tell’em, Granny!

Episode nine also showed us that Lemon and Sakura’s returns over the past weeks were not simple hints at a greater world. Rather, that both characters exist fully in the world and will be around often, even if only as side characters. (Heck, Lemon was almost in this episode as much as Miou!)

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that i don’t get the sense Sabagebu! is going anywhere with anything, nor trying to make a point, nor especially pretty, this show would easily hit a 9+ each week. As is? It’s remarkably good at brightening my day with laughter, parody and violence.

…And that’s good enough for me!