Well then…this series certainly went from cute to weird very, very quickly… But yeah, I guess I better explain what I mean by the title. So let’s just jump right into this episode.
So the episode starts up with Takeru waking up (apparently the house is back for some reason) to see a note saying that Nyatan is making breakfast.
And by making breakfast she meant tying chicken and cow to a stick and lighting them on fire.
See, this is a problem. We’re only a few seconds in to episode two, and I already don’t like your main character. This is a bad sign. See, it’s not funny, it’s not cute. I do not care that it’s trying to be amusing, but our main character has tied two people to sticks and lit them on fire. Supposedly comedic or not…that’s not funny. You’ve actually knocked this girl down quite a few pegs. Bad job show. bad job.
So being an actual human being with feelings, Takeru puts them out. The rest of the zodiac show up and they have breakfast. The chicken is still understandably pissed because…you know, Nyatan kind of set her on fire.
Nyatan doesn’t seem to care that she pisses her off though because the chicken has a really bad memory and forgets things after taking a few steps. Nyatan tricks her to move so she’ll forget. Not to stop being a tool, Nyatan chases her with teriyaki sauce, to which the chicken girl kicks her well deservedly in the back.
After this scene we learn what’s going on. Every 60 years there’s a fight to see if a new member can be inducted into the zodiac. If you defeat all 12 of the members, you can become a member yourself.
They then say that Takeru apparently has some of the best energy around and that’s why Nyatan is hanging around him.
So they decide the best thing to do is auction him off for his power. During the bidding however Nyatan says they shouldn’t bid on him like he’s a thing. Oh! Was I wrong? Is she actually a good-
Op, nope, false alarm. She tricked him to get his energy. Ah never mind, she’s a douchebag.
For some reason which I don’t understand, the cow girl has a huge crush on Nyatan. Not sure why, she just kind of does. And so she begins to molest her and rub herself on her.
See…see I’d feel bad for Nyatan but…she DID set this same person on FIRE a few hours ago so…no… no Nyatan can go fuck herself. Unless the cow girl does it for her. Haha ah….I am a terrible, terrible person. But hey, at least i’m not deviously tricking people or setting them on fire. So there’s that.
Nyatan says she’ll accept her love if she gives her her plaque thing. Apparently they’re used to show you beat one of the 12 and if you collect all 12 you win. Kind of like star chips from yugioh. Only all the contestants are Mai Valentine.
Cow girl says they have to battle for it to which Nyatan agrees. Cow girl declares it won’t be a regular battle and she has to run away before she gets her socks within 3 minutes. Yeah..they think the socks thing is weird in the show too.
The Cowgirl is actually one of the strongest one the zodiac, but as this show is about Nyatan, she of course loses. How you may ask?
By Nyatan being a conniving douche of course. She pretends to accept her affections and then blasts her like the lying scumbag she is.
And with that she gets her first token and the episode basically ends.
Oh yeah. And I forgot to mention that the mouse chick kicked everyone else’s ass..so…there’s that.
So what to say about this episode? Well first off, this episode did not help my opinion of the main character. I actually officially don’t even like her. She’s manipulative, cruel, and just a jerk all around. When she’s not setting people on fire, she’s begging for energy from Takeru and just being a derp.
I’m not against main characters being conniving or a jerk, but it has to fit with the show. For example, in Gokudo, the show is set up for that kind of main character. In this show however it seems that they want you to feel sorry for this character and to root for her. The problem is when you have her act that way, I don’t root for her at all. In fact I want her to get her ass beat. I felt more connected to the CHICKEN GIRL then I did to their main character. And that’s just bad writing.
The other 11 of the zodiac that hang out in the house are fun and enjoyable. I like their banter with each other and they’re fun to be around. The only odd person out is Nyatan because she really is a dick hiding behind a “I’m an outcast” motif.
While Kyo from Fruits Basket was an outcast and kind of a douche, the show in itself developed him and you were MEANT to think he was a douche but you had to delve deeper. Also he had that whole…demon curse thing. Nyatan is just played off as trying to be cute when in actuality, she’s really just a spoiled brat.
Long and short show? This episode proved she’s not cute. You nearly killed the entire series for me with her actions this episode. I’m going to keep watching it, but because I like the rest of the cast and Takeru. Not because of her. Get your hit together Nyatan.
There are a LOT of questions I still have. Like..do they answer to a higher power? Are THEY the higher power? Are they just allowed to fuck around however they like? If they get power from people thanking them, do people really still thank the members of the chinese zodiac in this day and age? How come they don’t come public? Do they reproduce? So many questions!!! And I will probably not get an answer to any of them. sigh. oh well.
Still…not gonna lie. That cowgirl is hot.
Episode 5/10
–Hideki