Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack – 12 (Fin) – Not Just a Dry Run

On a perfect, dazzling day, suddenly Naoto and Hayase are off on their first date together. When Senpai steals a glance, Hayase makes clear this is just “practice”, but I didn’t believe her for a second. Meanwhile, Gamou and Yoshi are following the couple close behind, while Hana and Sana are in hot pursuit, with Hana fanatically determined to protect Senpai’s love.

Gamou and Yoshi are worried it’s several centuries too early for Naoto’s cherry to pop, likening it to Kushana releasing a God Warrior prematurely. When there’s a dang Nausicaä reference in the first two minutes, you know it’s going to be a special episode!

Despite all the potential interference, Naoto and Hayase end up having a blast, even with Hayase constantly “docking points” for various demerits. At the same time, she takes an unironic selfie with her arm around her Senpai, and he accidentally does exactly what she wants him to do when she takes her hand in his and runs. He’s spotted her friends, but thankfully, Hana and Sana block them from following.

The dating bliss continues with Hayase messing around with tasting each other’s ice cream until their cones collide and they get the indirect kisses she was teasing about. At the dolphin show, Naoto acts super cool by keeping a splash of water from hitting Hayase, who thanks him by drying him off with a towel (she came prepared!). Also hilarious is the way Hayase mimics penguins and turtles messing with each other in how she messes with Naoto.

Their date reaches its finish with a romantic sunset walk on the beach. Hayase tallies up all of Senpai’s point deductions and additions, and comes up with 50 (out of a thousand) points, which Naoto thinks is pretty harsh. That’s when he asks what she thought of her role in this date, whereupon she says she considered it “the real thing” (as opposed to just practice).

Naoto says he never thought of it as a dry run either, phrasing that Hayase immediately jumps on, as it sounds like he wanted a “wet run”. At this point, Gamou and Yoshi are ready to stop Hayase before she “takes Paisen’s virginity”, but in a shock twist, Yoshi acts on her own for the first time in the series and stops Gamou, lest they become “cock-blockers.”

Hayase proposes one of two endings for their date, since it is for real after all: a hug or a kiss. Naoto goes the safer route, which is more than enough for Hayase as at the end of the day she’s as shy about this stuff as he is. They open their arms to each other and draw nearer, only to be interrupted by the Sunomiyas chasing her friends. Hayase then pretends she and Senpai are merely practicing judo. No one is fooled, but the moment is spoiled.

Back at school, Hayase avoids Gamou and Yoshi for a time, but at Sakura’s urging, makes up with them by inviting them to eat lunch in the clubroom with Senpai/Paisen. Hayase is mortified to find Hana feeding him a homemade lunch as an apology for following him on his date. It’s here we get perhaps Yoshi’s best one-liner: “Foie gras!”, in reference to Hana stuffing Naoto with food.

Hana offers to make his lunches all week, but Hayase puts a stop to that by declaring she’s got his lunch covered tomorrow. When she asks Senpai if that works, he brings up her morning practice and not wanting to be too much of a nuisance. This pisses Hayase off, but he’s not done: he’ll make lunch for her tomorrow, then she can make it for him the next day. Needless to say, it’s a deal!

That afternoon on their walk home, Hayase exploits the fact they’re alone again and proposes they finish the ending to their first real date. Naoto is flustered, but ultimately game. What follows is one of the warmest, most tender and heartwarming scenes I’ve seen in an anime in recent memory, which not only another utterance of “creepy” from Hayase can spoil.

Seeing the two gently come together and stay that way, and seeing how happy it makes both of them to finally be able to be this close without putting on excessive airs, is the perfect way to end the episode, and the season. It wasn’t a kiss, but it didn’t matter. I award full marks, no deductions!

 

DanMachi IV – 22 (Fin) – More Beautiful than Before

DanMachi didn’t seem like the kind of show that would kill off one of its more endearing characters, but in the final episode of its fourth season, anything could happen. Thankfully, it didn’t go that route, and with good reason: Ryuu Lion has too much left to do in the world of the living.

Her familia tells her as much as she wanders towards them on the etheral plane. There’s still hope in her heart, and they know she wants to save Bell and go to back home with him. So she wakes up, stands up, and joins the fight against the Juggernaut.

Ol’ Juggyshit may have added a bunch of tricks to its repertoire, but in doing so it sacrificed its most devastating advantage—its speed. Now it’s slow enough that Bell can not only dodge (most) of its attacks, but actually land damaging blows on its weak points. A Fire Bolt-infused dagger and an Argo Vesta spell later, and Juggernaut is officially on the ropes.

That’s where Ryuu comes in, chanting an incantation not just for Luminous Wind, but to summon the spirits of her dearly departed Astrea family, if only long enough to deliver an attack or two by her side. You could say they’ve been waiting all this time not for her to join them, but to forgive herself so she can call upon them when she needs them most.

After a decisive Luvia right to its kisser, the long nightmare that is Juggernaut is finally, satisfyingly ended. Bell and Ryuu managed to do it all by themselves, fueled by each others’ determination, refusal to give up, and digging deep into their abilities. Neither could have won alone, but as a party of two, they achieved the impossible.

This leaves them in an exhausted, critically wounded heap on the ground, still on the 37th floor. But they managed to survive just long enough for Wiene and the Xenos to find them. They administer Marie’s healing mermaid blood to both of them, then make themselves scarce before Lili’s team shows up (since not everyone among them know the Xenos are good guys).

Once Lili and the others do arrive, the elation and celebration begins. It’s just such an enormous relief that Bell and Ryuu can finally stop fighting and worrying about dying every waking moment and see the damn sun again. When Ryuu comes to in the hospital after three days, she’s so concerned about Bell she leaps out of her bed and runs to his room.

When he finds him, flanked by Hestia and Lili, their faces make her realize she’s wearing nothing but a skimpy pink hospital gown…that thanks to her alacrity becomes undone and allows Bell to see the sun, moon, stars…all of it. Hestia and Lili reflexively slap him, forgetting that he’s critically wounded. Thankfully a doctor gives them a stern talking-to.

As their convalescence continues, Bell tells Hestia by his bedside that he wouldn’t be there without Ryuu. Bell’s friends thank Ryuu for saving him, but she tells them they’ve got it backwards: it was Bell who saved her from her own despair. She also learns that as far as the Guild is concerned, “Gale Wind” is dead.

Taking the new lease on life she’s been given and running with it, Ryuu borrows a gorgeous white dress from Syr and meets Bell on a date when they’re both discharged from the hospital on the same day. Rather than be cooped up indoors, they decide to have a walk around the city, under the blessed sky.

At the peak of their adorable date, Ryuu takes Bell to a breathtaking view from an ornate stone balcony where she and Alise used to spend time. That she’s shared both the story of her familia and this space to Bell shows how far she’s come in opening up to him. He notes that the way she smiles at him “from her heart” makes her more beautiful than before.

Bell, unfortunately, isn’t aware of the critical damage such comments make, and Ryuu, suddenly unable to look him in the eye anymore, turns around and makes a break for it. As she runs, she clutches that heart of hers, now released from all that guilt and regret. In its place, love now resides, and Ryuu finds herself asking Alise what the heck she should do with it.

Alise’s reply, and the parting words of the fourth season, are “don’t let him get away.” Bell has his share of suitors—from Ais to Ryuu’s bestie Syr—but no one but Ryuu can claim to have been to hell and back with him. But for now, All Hail Ryuu Lion, the Champion of Justice, and absolute legend Hayami Saori for yet another phenomenal vocal performance.

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack – 11 – Almost There

After art club, Hana gets a ride on her cousin Sana’s motorcycle, and tells Sana the situation with Naoto and Hayase. Sana’s advice to Naoto is to simply follow his heart. These Sunomiyas may be a bit kooky and intense, but they’re also good people looking out for Naoto’s happiness, and their encouragement is just the kick in the bum Naoto needs to take action.

After waiting for Hayase to be done judo, the two have a perfectly nice and relaxing walk home. Along the way, Naoto finally works up the courage to vaguely ask Hayase “where she’d want to go on her day off”. Hayase can see what Naoto is getting at, but since she misses messing with him, she messes with him here, telling him places like Everest, the Amazon, and the Mariana Trench.

This almost backfires spectacularly when Naoto drops the topic and the two part ways. Naoto’s problem is he isn’t sure where she’d want to go, but when he sees a construction sign with a penguin, he remembers she wanted to see them. The South Pole is out, so…how about the Aquarium? Naoto’s “Well?” isn’t quite direct enough for Hayase, who tells him if there’s something important to say, he should say it properly.

With this, Naoto remembers Sana telling him to follow his heart, and he comes right out and asks Hayase if she wants to go the aquarium on their next break. He fully expected her to mess with him, slap him down to size, and say the word “creepy” a lot, so he’s surprised when she doesn’t do any of those things, and instead says “sure” with one of the biggest grins she’s ever mustered.

Now it’s official: Naoto and Hayase are going to go out together. Even then, when announcing to an extremely ecstatic Hana of their plans, he says “it’s not really a date, we’re just hanging out.” Like hell! Hana knows better, and as someone who has never experienced love but is rooting for Naoto all the way, she pretty much gets him to accept it’s a date worthy of hearty congratulations.

Hayase is out of it too, and Gamou and Yoshi witnessing her being hyper and “freaking out” to just plain spacing out. When they ask her if she wants to visit Paisen in the club room since they’re done practice early, she says no; she’ll save seeing him for their date instead. Shocked, Gamou and Yoshi see her look in her eyes and believe that she is after Paisen’s virginity.

That night, we get twin scenes of Naoto and Hayase working out what they’ll want to wear. Naoto’s mom doesn’t bother him, but Anetoro can’t help but mess with Hayase, telling her to wear something sexier. All I could think is that after nearly two full seasons of circling one another, these two dopes are finally going to have an honest-to-God, no-holds-barred date.

The big day arrives, and the two have no trouble meeting up—Naoto in subdued but sufficiently un-dorky duds, and Hayase in an oversized tee, jean shorts and red kicks. Hayase starts messing with him almost immediately—not that he minds—but little do they know they’re being tailed by Gamou and Yoshi, who are determined to protect Paisen’s chastity.

Little to Gamou and Yoshi know that they’re being watched by Hana and Sana on the latter’s bike, determined to stop the two “demons” from ruining Naoto’s date. If this show knows what’s good for it, it had better deliver a lovely and adorable date with minimal problems that may or may not end with some kind of kiss. It has that one job next week. Don’t let me down!

Tenten Kakumei – 10 – Duty and the Heart At Odds

With the big bad that was Prince Algard dispatched and MagiRevo having now fielded not one but two episodes that could have been fine finales, I was, like everyone else, wondering “what now?” At least in terms of the succession thing, this week answers that immediately: Anisphia is the successor to the throne once more. It means, among other things, she’ll eventually have to take a prince consort, despite being gay as hell.

Both Euphie and Lainie are a little unnerved not by how okay with all of this Anis is—she clearly isn’t—but how resigned she is to her new fate to ascend to a throne she had previously refused. While they are more polite and subtle in their concern, Tilty makes no effort to hide her distaste for this resignation, and almost tries to wipe that fake, sad smile of Anis’ face before storming out of the room.

That night Euphie finds Anis keeping to herself atop the castle battlements, feeling low about how things went down with Tilty. Anis soothes her bad mood by inviting Euphie on a plainclothes date into town to pick up Arc-en-Ciel, which she sent to her go-to-smith Tomas for repairs. A woman recognizes the princess, and before long she’s swarmed with adoring commoners.

Her queendom feels like a wave she’s caught in, and even if she’s able to escape, she won’t try. When asked for her unvarnished opinion by Euphie, Ilia says she knows Anis may be the only one who can unite the nobles and commoners, but the fact she’s being forced into rule may not suit her.

Ilia then shows Euphie the completely stripped down magicology lab, saying Anis likely have to abandon it forever to be “a ruler for all”. And it probably won’t be the only precious thing she casts aside for the sake of duty and country.

The thought of Anis never having a genuine smile once she assumes the throne and does her royal duty is unbearable to Euphie, who goes to Tilty for help, knowing she also objects. Tilty gets Euphie to be completely honest by saying she doesn’t want Anis to be queen, even if it’s her duty to support her with everything she has. Tilty tells Euphie there’s nothing wrong or right about those feelings; they should inform which path she takes.

Euphie marches into her father’s office and declares her objection to Anis taking the throne. When asked why, it’s because the throne is somewhere Anis will never be able to smile. She knows that smile can’t be traded for the lives of everyone in the kingdom, but she still doesn’t want to automatically accept her ascension as the only possible outcome.

Euphie clarifies that at its core this isn’t about duty or sympathy, but simply her love for Anisphia, which makes protecting her smile a hell of a lot more important than it would be to just anyone. Grantz tells her as Duke Magenta he cannot accept her position, leaving unsaid the fact he likely feels more sympathetic to her in his capacity as her dad.

Grantz reminisces on how Anis’ father Orphanse was just as much a wild child as his daughter, and “threw away his dream of happiness” to ascend to the throne and put down the rebellion, just as Grantz supported him with all his strength. His story is interrupted by the arrival of several magical spirits, which then float out the window and surround a mysterious blonde lady in the courtyard.

Grantz introduces Euphie to Miss Lumi, a spirit contractor. Spirit contracts establish authority as a member of the royal family, which means those who enter into spirit contracts can start new royal dynasties. Just as Euphie is considering this as an option to keep Anis off the throne, she learns that not only did her father consider but ultimately choose not to do that way back when, but that Lumi is here specifically to stop Euphie from doing it.

I’m torn. I want to see a kingdom ruled by a Queen Anisphia, but I don’t want her to abandon Euphie, nor her magicology studies. She could place Euphie in the role of Royal Magicologist, and keep her close as her mistress. With Algard creating a power vacuum, things are suddenly very complicated and have the potential to get messy. But the simple fact remains that Anis and Euphie love one another. I hope it’s enough.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie – His and Her and Their Circumstances

In the prologue, Uesugi Fuutarou is in a wedding tux, summoned by the bride, only to find five identical brides: the Nakano quintuplets. Polygamy is as illegal in Japan as it is in the states, so what exactly is up here? Rewind to the eve of Fuu and the Quints’ final school festival. Fuu gathers them in a classroom and tells them he likes…all of them. However, he realizes he owes one of them an answer, and she’ll get that answer, at the end of the festival.

From there the narrative takes a non-linear approach, starting by showing each of the five sisters alone at the end of the third day, followed by an account of the festival from each of their points of view. Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki all get some quality time with Fuu, and all of them (except Itsuki) manage to steal a kiss from him. During the festival, each sister steps forward.

Ichika with her acting career; Nino with her resentment of their distant doctor dad;  Miku learns to be confident and assertive and mend fences between boy and girl classmates, and vows to go to cooking school; Yotsuba learns that sometimes she can be the one being helped rather than always helping; Itsuki rejects their asshole biological father who can’t even tell them apart, and embraces her dream of becoming a teacher like her mother.

Each of these segments represent both a summing-up and resolution to each of the girls’ arcs and points them forward. Indeed, each could have been its own episode in a third season. But when we come to the end of the third day and the movie throws every misdirection it can on who Fuu will go to, he ends up choosing…Yotsuba.

Yotsuba was “Reina”, the first sister Fuu met, and together they shared one of the happiest and most fun days of their young lives. But Yotsuba initially rejects Fuu, and it’s not him, it’s her who feels unworthy. The movie digs deep into Yotsuba’s past as the maverick of the quintet, the first one to differentiate her hairstyle with her green rabbit ribbon.

Yotsuba wanted to stand out from the crowd and be useful; this we know. But in trying to do so by joining (and excelling) at every club at school, she ended up flunking her exams, having to repeat her grade. When her father told her she’d be transferring to another school, the other four sisters said in no uncertain terms where she goes, they go.

Yotsuba runs from Fuu and his confession because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be “the special one” after trying to be just that in the past caused so many problems for her family. And yet, Yotsuba’s independent spirit was bolster by her meeting with Fuu, who like her wanted to work hard to become someone who was needed.

Even after calling herself “the best of the sisters”, the others had her back when she thought she’d cast away to be alone. When Fuu stumbles and falls and grabs Yotsuba’s ankle when he turns around to check on him, he tells her how much that day with her shaped him into the Fuutarou he is today. He chose her, he loves her, because she is special in that way to him. And when he asks directly, she can’t lie, she loves him too. She always has.

But just because Fuutarou loves Yotsuba and Yotsuba loves Fuutarou doesn’t mean they’re on easy street. Each of her four sisters reacts to it in different ways that suit their personalities. Ichika accepts her loss to Yotsuba, and now knows how Nino felt when she said she’d support her sister even if Fuu chose someone else.

Miku sings karaoke with Yotsuba all night, admits it’s hard to let go of Fuu, but ultimately gives her her blessing. Nino is the toughest, as one would expect. Always regarded as the strongest and sternest sister, the one who cared for everyone, even her older sister Ichika. She initially feels betrayed by Yotsuba for hiding how she felt until Fuu made a choice.

As Fuutarou and Itsuki are talking in a dark classroom, they have to hide when Nino and Yotsuba walk in to hash it all out. Ultimately, Yotsuba accepts that Nino can’t accept matters, at least not yet. But Yotsuba also assures Nino she won’t lose. In this context, Nino tells both her and Fuu to be on their guards; she’ll be watching, and if there’s any sign their love is false, she’ll swoop in and steal Fuu away.

A litte bit later, Yotsuba and Fuutarou have their first official date together, and it’s as adorably awkward and sweet as you’d expect. Fuutarou puts a lot of thought into the structure of the date, first taking her to a family restaurant where his family went, then to a library where he always studies, and finally to the playground where the two of them had a happy memory.

After Yotsuba takes a huge leap off the swing, Fuu attempts the same and ends up breaking the chain and falling on his face. But he rises to one knee and pledges to become a man worthy of standing beside her, and proposes marriage without a ring…on their first date.

Yotsuba points out he’s skipped a lot of steps, and warns that just about any other woman would probably hit the road…except her. By proposing to her, Fuu helped her remember another dream of hers: to become a bride. So while they can’t get married right away, she accepts his proposal.

Five years later, Ichika arrives back in Japan from her new home in America, Nino and Miku run their own café, and Itsuki is a schoolteacher. Yotsuba meets her sisters there and is all sweaty from riding the bike, even though the marriage ceremony is later that day. Their bridal gift to her is their mother’s diamond earrings, but they have to pierce Yotsuba’s ears so she can wear them.

The earrings are a sign of their collective love for her and blessing for her marriage. The momentary pain of the piercings are a reminder of the initial collective pain they felt when Fuutarou chose Yotsuba over them. With time, that pain has subsided. In the end, the quintuplets stuck together.

This brings us to the prologue of the film, in which Fuutarou is faced with five identical brides. Only unlike their asshole biological dad, and like their real date (Dr. Nakano), Fuutarou has long since been able to tell the five sisters apart. Fuu correctly identifying the sisters one by one is intercut with Yotsuba’s reception speech, where she thanks the sisters she loves so much for helping her become the woman she is.

Fuutarou then walks down the aisle with Yotsuba and puts a ring on her finger, and hey presto, a question two seasons and a movie in the making is finally answered. It was Yotsuba all along; the one who wrongly felt least deserving or worthy of Fuutarou’s love and favor. I for one couldn’t be happier.

And when it comes time for the honeymoon, naturally Yotsuba’s four sisters decide they’re coming along (though hopefully in separate, non-adjacent rooms). The only question is where they should go. On the count of three, the five girls point to five different spots on the map, just as they did years ago for their graduation trip. For all the ways they’ve changed and grown, they remain quintessentially quintuplets, and I loved each and every one of them.

Urusei Yatsura – 17 – If Wishes Were Bras

This week’s outing is evenly split between two stories, the first chronicling Ryuunosuke’s quest to obtain her first bra and cast away her chest binding. It all starts with Shinobu being stalked and photographed by three delinquents from a neighboring highschool whose boss is infatuated with her. Ryuunosuke is walking by, so Shinobu gloms onto her, and the hoodlums assume she’s Shinobu’s guy.

When Ryuunosuke informs them she’s a girl (with her fists), the delinquents work out a deal with her: a 5,000-yen gift certificate (enough to buy a bra) if they can snap a bunch of photos of her on a date with Shinobu so their boss will stop barking up the wrong tree.

Ryuunosuke, with just a scant 400 yen to her name and no concept of inflation, grudgingly agrees, even though she could simply borrow a bra for free from any of the girls in her class.

These photos must be convincing, so Ryuunosuke and Shinobu dress up for their date. When Ryuunosuke applies the same passion she has for fighting to date with Shinobu, she’s rewarded with a slap for being too forward and Shinobu’s concern she may actually have the hots for her.

Adding to the complexity of the situation is that Ataru is not okay with Ryuunosuke dating Shinobu, whom he is still pining after, and Lum keeping Ataru honest.

At the end of the day, we know Shinobu’s prime criterion for dating is good looks, so when the grotesque abomination of a bossman shows up in the mood for-a-smoochin’, we know he has zero chance. Ryuunosuke, torn between chasing after the airborne gift cert and protecting Shinobu, leaves her vulnerable to attack.

But Shinobu is ready to repel the bossman with her fist. He then contents himself with eating what he believes to be Shinobu’s bra, which is actually Ataru’s mom’s bra, with which he tried to bribe Ryuunosuke earlier.

From there, we move on to something completely different: The Moroboshi family settling in for a meager dinner of three shumai and one bowl of miso soup each. When Ataru predictably eats more than his fill and starts bickering with his parents, Lum ducks and covers, as she hears something descending from the sky with great speed. It turns out to be a sentient Wishing Star.

The star will grant the family three wishes—anything they want. Ataru’s folks are skeptical, but the first wish—cleaning up the room the star ruined with its arrival—they realize it’s the real deal. Sakuranbou (who shows up out of nowhere) uses the second wish for yakisoba.

Then Ataru, his parents, and Lum begin arguing ad nauseum about how to use the remaining wish. Ataru’s mom wants cash. His dad wants to “redo his life”. Ataru wants a harem, and Lum wants his cheating to be cured.

When the Wishing Star asks for something to drink and is directed to the fridge, it locates Ataru’s dad’s beer, and ends up passing out drunk. Since its wishes are only good until dawn, everyone tries in vain to wake it up. Sakuranbou ends up using the final wish to simply wake the Star up, at which time it says all three wishes have been fulfilled, and departs by flying through the kitchen window.

A shame; it would have been nice if one of the wishes could have been spent to put a little more cash in the Moroboshis’ pockets…or to cure Ataru of his lecherousness for Lum’s sake.

Urusei Yatsura – 16 – Ryuunosuke-chan Is a Girl!

Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendou head to the beach, but the waves are too hazardous to swim, and all the beach shacks are closed. What they do find is an extremely spirited and energetic father-son duo telling the waves to screw off, then darting away before they get hit. When the son messes up the timing, the dad punches him, he punches back, and they just start brawling.

Turns out they’re hating on the ocean because it’s killing their business right now. As our guys have lunch at their café, they learn the boy’s name is Fujinami Ryuunosuke. His dad has groomed him to take over the family business when he’s gone, even though Ryuunosuke doesn’t want to. Oh, also? Ryuunosuke is a woman. Ataru and Mendou were ready to peace out until they heard her say this, then they’re all-in to help her out.

The best way to do that is to keep Ryuunosuke and her dad from whaling on one another, so after they knock each other out, Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendou literally chain them to the pillars of the shack so they have to use their words. That doesn’t work out so well, as the two Fujinamis are so strong they snap the wooden pillars and bring the whole café down, then start using their chains as weapons.

Because there’s no such thing as a coincidence too farfetched on ol’ Urusei Yatsura, Ryuunosuke’s dad takes over the school store…at Ataru and Lum’s school. This means Ryuu is transferring there. Her dream since childhood is to wear a beautiful sailor fuku, and her dad agrees to let her…if he can beat her. Ataru is so excited he hugs Ryuu, leaving her open to be easily defeated by her dad.

Despite clearly stating she’s a girl when she introduces herself, Ryuunosuke becomes the new toast of the class, and all the girls fall for her, leaving Ataru, Mendou, and the other boys eager to make her more feminine. They beat up her dad and purchase a sailor fuku, but while she’s genuinely happy to see it, she’d rather beat her dad on her own before she wears it.

She also wants to learn more about what it means to act like and carry oneself like a woman, and in Ran she finds a muse. But while she just wants to befriend Ran and learn from her, Ran mistakes her letter for a love letter, and when Lum says Ryuu is a girl, Ran assumes Lum is trying to sabotage her love live as usual. To stick it to Lum, Ran agrees to go on a date with Ryuu, who is amazed how long it takes Ran to run to the school gate to meet her.

Naturally, Ataru cannot allow anyone to have Ryuu or Ran, so he shadows their date with Lum in tow (who apparently is content to get a quasi-date with the distracted Ataru out of it). Of course, Ran thinks it’s Lum who is following her and Ryuu so she can meddle. When Ran cuddles up to Ryuu on their boat ride, Ataru can’t abide it, and launches himself like a missile and causing both boats to capsize.

By day’s end, Ryuu observes “Dark Ran” laying into Lum and feels she has a long way to go to understand the complex secrets to being a woman. I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of Ryuunosuke (and Takagaki Ayahi’s voice performance) and can name her among my favorite Urusei Yatsura characters after just one episode. She paved the way for characters like Tomo-chan.

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible – 03 – You Can’t Go Wrong with Mittens

Shiraishi returns the tracksuit he borrowed from Kubo, and she asks if it was small on him. It was, but only a little, as he’s 5’4″ to Kubo’s 5’3″. She gets onto a higher step on the stairs to become 5’9″, because she heard six inch difference is ideal for couples. Then she gracefully jumps down to Shiraishi’s level and declares that she prefers it this way. Give this girl an inch…

Kubo wants to hang out after school, but Shiraishi rushes out in an apparent hurry, with plans. This turns out to be taking his baby brother Seita to the park to play in the snow. Shiraishi is no fan of the cold, so it’s fortuitous that Kubo (who lives nearby after all) spots him. She has a warm bottle of cocoa which she offers to Seita, who then offers it back to her. But when she offers it to Shiraishi, he won’t take the obvious indirect kiss bait.

Shiraishi has to go a little ways to get a limited edition manga magizine with a poster he wants, but when he finds it among the stacks, an adult magazine is laying on top of it. Assuming no one can see him due to his presence, he prepares to take a peek, but is caught red-handed. Just his luck Kubo’s sister Akina works there—and that apparently all Kubos can see him!

Akina doesn’t 100% buy his innocent explanation, but when he drops his school ID after leaving, she notices it’s the same school as her sister, and asks her to return it to its owner. When Kubo says it’s Shiraishi’s, Akina stirs the pot a bit by saying he was looking at a porno mag featuring big boobs. This leads Kubo to asking him if he likes big boobs, calls him ecchi, and flees before he can explain.

Kubo isn’t sore about it for long, as she overhears other girls hanging out with their boyfriends for Christmas, and decides to cash in Shiraishi’s promise. Only she asks if they can hang out “Saturday after next” and he agrees, and only later realizes that it’s Christmas day.

Nevertheless, he’s at the agreed-upon spot 30 minutes early, while Kubo comes 10 minutes early. She manages to deduce that he was waiting longer than a couple minutes by the coldness of his hands. She also came with a Christmas present for him, and gives him fifteen minutes to buy her one with a budget of 1000 yen.

Shiraishi draws a blank on what to get her as he mills through the mall, until he realizes that like him her hands must be getting cold as she waits, so he buys her a pair of cozy pink mittens that go well with rose sweater dress and pale pink coat. Kubo is elated to receive a gift into which he clearly put a lot of thought.

As for his gift? A highlighter yellow shirt that says “Main Character,” so he’d be more noticeable to others. Something of a gag gift, but still a thoughtful one. Put it all together, and this was another sweet, cozy, charming episode to warm the heart on a cold winter day.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 03 – Youthful Indiscretion

Naturally, Tomo is shocked and feels betrayed by the fact she’s only now hearing about Jun and Misuzu going out. Misuzu only kept it from her because she herself preferred if it never happened. Jun asked her out on a whim, and they dated for a grand total of three days. I’m also convinced Misuzu calls it “youthful indiscretion” since that was practically Hidaka Rina’s character Yume’s catchphrase in My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex.

We also learn that Jun avoided Tomo for the entire first year of middle school, and they didn’t reconnect as best buds until he’d dumped Misuzu. Like her, I don’t think that’s a coincidence. It’s likely that Jun asked Misuzu out because he was trying to avoid the fact that he had developed a thing for Tomo, and wasn’t ready to deal with that.

It’s become ever clearer that Tomo is not the best judge of whether Jun sees her as a girl, since the moment Jun learns that she’s in the boy’s karate club, he freaks out, and is particularly hostile towards Misaki. The two end up bonding (somewhat) on a bus ride when Jun admits that in a fight with rules like karate, he can’t beat Tomo either; she’s “too incredible”.

The next day after school, Jun asks if Tomo is free to hang, but she has plans with Misuzu and Carol to get tea. She runs into Ogawa and Mifune, who are harboring some very confusing feelings about Tomo and are so shocked by the sight of her in pants that they flee. Misuzu warns Tomo that she can’t keep blowing him off, and shouls arrange a date.

Tomo is dubious that Jun will be as pliant as Misuzu predicts, but when she does take the initiative and ask if he’ll hang, his reaction is just like that of a golden retriever who found out he’s going on walkies. Misuzu and Carol decide on the best outfit for Tomo, one that’s a bit girlier than her usual garb, but not so girly she’ll be too self-conscious.

The resulting white pullover, gaucho pants, and white sneakers ensemble really hit the mark, though Jun doesn’t let Tomo know how cute she looks, the swine. What he does do is let the two of them slide right back into their normal hangout routines: going to the batting cages and bowling. Each time, Tomo is certain she can’t hit a 160 kph fastball or roll a 16 pound ball, but in both cases, she’s still right on Jun’s level.

She then asks Jun if they can go to karaoke, and immediately acts like he said know when he actually said yes, leaving Tomo in a bit of a spot, as she hadn’t thought any further than “going to karaoke.” The place is a lot more intimate than she expected, and since the only songs she knows are children’s songs, that’s what she sings … and Jun records her.

The thing is, he’s not recording for blackmail purposes (though the minute Misuzu and Carol hear he has footage of her singing they want it). He was thrown off how…different Tomo was that day. But not thrown off in a bad way. Clearly it’s a side of Tomo he’d like to see a little more of.

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack – 02 – Her Favorite Animal

Sana-senpai pays Naoto a visit for the first time since the art festival, and suggests he go the zoo to reignite his passion for drawing, reminding him that love is the most important aspect of art. Hayase only catches the tail end of the conversation, in which Sana orders him to make Hayase “come with him.” She googles “zoo date” on her phone and gets super excited.

An awkward battle of wills ensues, in which Hayase blushes and eagerly awaits a proper invitation, and Naoto attempts the most roundabout, least propositional way to invite her. Eventually the right combination of words comes out of his mouth, enabling Hayase to say what she would have said no matter how he asked her: Yes.

When Hayase meets Naoto at the zoo, it looks every bit like the proper date, but she didn’t realize he invited her so they could draw animals. She’s initially grumpy, but when he offers to walk around with her instead, she decides to make lemonade. It’s also an opportunity to tease him into teaching her “hand-in-hand”, but she eventually get serious and has fun drawing.

Hayase’s drawings aren’t nearly as precise and realistic as Naoto’s, but they have an essential charm to them (like Hayase herself), and Naoto is honest when he tells her she’s getting much better, which brightens her up to no end. When she goes to the washroom, Naoto is approached by two annoying “it” people who start laughing at Hayase’s drawings. Naoto gets up and speaks up for Hayase, saying it’s wrong to laugh at people doing their best.

This only incurs the guy’s irritation, but before things get nasty Hayase comes to the rescue, asking what exactly the couple wants with his senpai. While she then tosses a flurry of insults at him for being such a wimpy wimp, the truth is she overheard him defending her, which truly touched her and led to her wanting to protect him that much more.

Before they leave for the day they agree to one more animal drawing. Naoto asks what Hayase’s favorite is, and she points to a sloth enclosure. But while Naoto draws the sloth up close, Hayase sketches further away, revealing that she was actually drawing him.

Naoto is sore about her teasing him once more, but on closer inspection he determines that while it’s not the best drawing, it’s drawn with care, further reinforcing Sana’s words about love being the most important element of art.

Urusei Yatsura – 12 – Little Trouble

With Urusei Yatsura’s second half comes a new OP and ED (neither quite the equal of their earworm predecessors) and another new character: Lum’s tiny cousin, Ten. He’s discovered stuffed into the mailslot by Ataru, who is fleeing his parents fawning over having a girl in the house. Ten is a sweetie-pie to everyone but Ataru, on whom he breathes fire with regularity.

Ten accompanies Ataru and Lum to a formalwear get-together at Sakura’s place; her uncle, Ran, and Shinobu are also in attendance. Ataru is predictably jealous by all the attention Ten gets from the ladies, while Ten burns Ataru’s hand when he abuses the ensuing game of karuta as an excuse to caress the girls’ hands.

Ataru then loses his temper and grabs some cookware with which to attack and defend, but everyone is uniformly embarrassed on his behalf for fighting so seriously with a tiny little kid. Sakura judo-tosses him into the zen pond to cool his jets. It’s gotta be hard to keep your cool when Ten is literally burning him!

In the second half, Ten is writing a love letter to Sakura, who like many a man finds that she has stolen his heart. Ataru decides to offer him some advice as a self-professed casanova, and Ten, while weary of his cousin’s lame human husband, is also just young and naive enough to buy into Ataru’s experience.

Ataru ends up ghostwriting the love letter, which is full of words that can’t be said during normal broadcast hours. Sakura is furious, and waits at the agreed-upon meeting place just so she can slug the author. When it turns out to be Ten, she kinda just goes with it, knowing she can’t very well beat on a little kid.

That said, when Ten tries to take her to a seedy club, goes to see a raunchy film full of double entendres, and intends to end their evening at a love hotel, Sakura starts to get suspicious. Lum gets overexcited by the film, which confirms to Sakura that Ataru was behind this questionable date.

When the evening ends, Ten goes for broke and asks Sakura to marry her. She turns him down gently but firmly, which isn’t anything Ten didn’t expect, considering, ya know, he’s still just a little kid. But also Ataru and Lum are surprised that Sakura is wearing what looks like an engagement ring. Ten then consoles himself by flambéing Ataru once more.

More than a married couple, but not lovers. – 12 (Fin) – Double rainbow

Akari knew she faced an uphill battle to win Jirou’s heart before he and Shiori arrive back at the beach house looking very suspicious. As summer break continues after the beach trip, She offers a thousand-yen bill to the shrine of romantic success. But because Shiori’s sudden kiss in the rain wasn’t a 100% confession of love (she apologized profusely after it happened), Akari isn’t as long a shot as she fears.

Shiori can think of nothing but that kiss, even smelling the dress she wore when it happened, and wants to know what Jirou was feeling. Jirou, in turn, wants to know what Shiori was feeling, and why she apologized. In any case, both of them realize they need to talk about this more, which is definitely the right instinct! They just didn’t expect to bump into each other at the manga store.

Remembering Mei’s advice, Shiori once again takes the initiative, inviting Jirou to her practice dorm. The fact the furniture and layout is the same as his lends a built-in comfort just like the one he has with his childhood friend. When she goes in to make sure it’s not a mess and returns to the door with a “Welcome Home, Darling!”,  I just about squee’d out of my chair.

When Jirou says [the tea] “smells so good”, Shiori briefly thought he was talking about her. They proceed to just hang out on the couch and read, but neither is actually reading their books so much as one another. When she notices him watching her closely, she has to retreat to her room, where she looks in the mirror and worries whether he might hate her, he worries the exact same thing.

The building awkwardness is softened by the auspicious appearance of a double rainbow in the sky, which Shiori says brings happiness. The selfie of the two of them with the rainbow behind certainly brings it too, and Jirou is about to take a step and bring up their kiss in the rain when Shiori shows him another photo: a photo of all of them. A photo of friends.

Presented with a photo like this where it’s not just the two of them, Jirou admirably asks himself the right questions: Which feeling is friendship? Where does love start? He knows he has feelings, but can’t quite understand them yet. But he should also know he’s not alone in this.

After a Jirou x Shiori summer break segment, it’s Akari’s turn. She’s bored, Jirou’s bored, so she LINEs him and nonchalantly schedules a date. He has no earthly idea just how nervous she really is, or how important it is that she look just right for him, which is why she’s fifteen minutes late.

But when she arrives, she’s wearing the kind of demure (for her) dress she believes to be more his taste (which is also generally how Shiori dresses). It’s a little thing, but the fact she wants to suit his tastes while remaining fundamentally Akari is sweet as all-get-out, and even he starts to realize that this gyaru isn’t just messing with him.

Jirou also shows he’s a Good Boy Who Remembers Things, as Akari takes them to a café she’d mentioned before was a favorite of hers. Akari is touched that he remembers, as it bodes well for her overall mission.

She also casually leans in for an indirect kiss (“there is some bitterness, but it’s good” is a resonant line) and when she calls Jirou out for being embarrassed about it, he’s honest, and so is she: she’d rather they get used to this kind of thing than lose their minds about it, because if all goes well they’ll be doing a lot more of it!

The date continues at a cat café, where Jirou gets to see the side of Akari who squees to the max in the presence of fluffy animals. When she shows him a picture of them as she’s holding a cat, he notes that it looks kind of like a family photo, which makes Akari laugh rather than creeping her out (she’s also clearly elated to hear him say that).

While he hews to his standing opinion that spending summer days gaming is best, he admits days like this are nice too. And it’s weird when they prepare to say goodbye at the station, since they’re so used to going home together. That’s when she suddenly heads back to the shrine, and as he follows behind her they run into Shiori. What a coincidence!

Shiori can see what’s going on here, and what needs to be done, but is aggressive and assertive in the best, sweetest, most Shiori way. She happens to be on her way to the shrine too, and challenges Akari to a race to the shrine. Akari, of course, is game, they make Jirou schlep their stuff, and off they go.

As they run with everything they’ve got, they pass a number of people who reflect their past, present, and future. Two childhood friends, a boy and a girl; a young couple, a couple getting married, having kids, and finally, at the top (where the two tie, of course), and old elderly couple, the husband of which is named Jirou!

I love how their competitive pursuit of Jirou goes unspoken, but is clear to both women all the same, even if it’s still somewhat irritatingly less clear to Jirou: this isn’t really the finish line, only the end of the first leg. And both Shiori and Akari are in it to win it.

Thus Fuukoi ends without a clear resolution to who Jirou will choose, and it’s to the episodes credit that it does not try to rush towards one after so much careful deliberation and development. Rather, this feels like a solid culmination of the episodes that came before.

It’s also a credit to the series that after twelve episodes I am myself still on the fence about whom Jirou should end up with, as both women make very strong cases for themselves this week, and there isn’t the slightest hint of mean-spiritedness to their competition. While not a tearjerker, my heart felt fuller for watching Fuukoi, and hopefully we’ll be blessed with a second season in which the three face their next adventure.

Akiba Maid War – 10 – Swine and Punishment

“Romance is a no-no”, it’s right there in the opening theme. But while forbidding maids and masters from dating is a matter of professional boundaries, in this mobbed-up Akiba, a maid falling in love can lead to disownment, even death. It’s in this context that we watch Ranko, finally finding someone she likes, and who likes her, in Suehiro.

Sure that man happens to be a maid assassin, and it’s heavily implied from the start that she’s his next target, but we can’t choose who we love, can we? While Nagomi wants to cheer Ranko on, she’s opposed in principle due to the danger involved. But Tenchou is fine with Ranko going on one date—especially if it’s with a banker who might loan her money (fat chance).

The next day all the girls pitch in to help make Ranko look her best, and she wears, and what do you know, it’s the noir-y outfit she dons in her the Enko ED. The one member of Oinky-Doink resolutely opposed to the date is Okachimachi, blocking her way and even going so far as to speak up.

But Ranko wants to go on the date, and she and Suehiro have a great time in and around Ueno. They stroll the market, visit the zoo, and brings omelet rice and a ketchup bottle with which to draw on it.

The date only reinforces that the two would be quite comfortable and happy together, sharing a love of heater fans and dreaming about getting cozy under a kotatsu. He’s as upfront and earnest as she is, and loves the stoic way she talks. He had been worn out emotionally from his job (as an assassin) but at Oinky Doink Ranko gave him a place of peace and solace.

Something to look forward to. He wants to experience that every day, so he proposes that they take tomorrow’s night train and leave Akiba behind together. When the wind catches Ranko’s hat and she reaches out towards him to catch it, he instead takes her hand and shoulder and kisses her, leaving her with the train ticket in her hand.

After he leaves, Okachimachi shows up again, and speaking in Hirano Aya’s voice (such a great casting choice). She’s holding a gun, and has a story to tell about a maid who came to Akiba to be a maid and was disillusioned until she befriended one of her Masters … our trench coat-rockin’ Suehiro.

Eventually Okachimachi was ordered to assassinate a rival maid cafe’s manager—Ranko’s Miss Michiyo. She was nervous and terrified when she killed her, but Okachimachi ran away thinking she finally had it “maid” in this cuthhroat town.

She was wrong. Suehiro had only grown close to her so her guard would be down when the time came to eliminate her after she killed Michiyo. Okachimachi was lucky a cop entered the ally before Suehiro could kill her, but ended up getting hit by a car while on the run. She survived, and from that point on, decided she’d live life as a panda, eventually being brought in by Tenchou.

This is, needless to say, quite a damn twist: for the murderer of Ranko’s beloved matron to have been hiding under her nose all this time as the café mascot. Okachimachi brings Ranko a warning—that Suehiro will kill her too—as well as a pistol, so Ranko can take the revenge she’s owed. Ranko seemingly doesn’t hesitate for a moment in “sending her off.”

But as the kill happened off-camera, I wasn’t confident it was really a kill. Sure enough, we see that she only shot the panda mask in the head, no doubt correctly assessing that Michiyo wouldn’t want her to spill more blood for her sake. Ranko loves Michiyo more than she wanted revenge.

She also loves Suehiro, which is why it gives her no pleasure to wait for him at the train station with a gun in her pocket, ready to take him out before he can take her out, but perhaps also hoping against hope that no one has to be taken out; that there could be a happy ending.

Unfortunately, Ranko’s mercy has an unintended side effect: Okachimachi is still alive to take matters into her own hands and protect Ranko, both physically and emotionally, by killing Suehiro for her.

But here’s the thing: as we learn after we see Okachimachi shoot him, he called Nagi to tell her he wouldn’t be going through with killing Ranko. In fact, when Okachimachi shoots him, he’s not taking a weapon out of his coat, but a case containing a ring—a pearl ring, for his pig bride.

That’s a gut-wrenching end, especially as it unfolds while Ranko is waiting in the rain and growing more and more miserable. When she returns to the cafe drenched, she sees Okachimachi beat her there. Okachimachi tells her that Nagi isn’t just the one who ordered the hit on Ranko, but on Michiyo too.

While Okachimachi was merely a tool in Michiyo’s hit, Ranko likely won’t be so merciful of her former friend and colleague. Aside from the panda costume, this episode played everything straight, and was better for it due to the dissonance of the bizarre costumes and serious themes that make AMW so great.

While Michiyo abhorred violence—and so did Ranko—against a foe as unrelenting as Nagi, is there any choice but blood? Will Ranko have to lose another piece of her humanity to keep Nagomi and the others at Oinky Doink safe?