I don’t even know how to start this post. Did I just watch a loli self-help video?
You know when you’re doing something and you do it all the time, but then something weird happens that just makes you reevaluate everything? That’s what the first half of this episode was for me. Between Natsumi trolling the shit out of them and then watching her get massaged and beautified to restore her confidence, I think I lost my mind. At one point, if I recall, I just had my head in my hands waiting for the episode to end. I don’t know for sure. The catatonia set in too fast.
So, it looks like along with their appearances, Natsumi also changed their behavior? But not really? The opening scene makes it look like they’re all at the thinking level of children. Fighting over candy, arguing, saying their ‘tummy hurts’, etc. Later in the episode though they are transforming and fighting to help Natsumi. Now, Natsumi did get injured and her power was weakened (as noted by Ellen returning to adult form) so maybe that explains it? I don’t know, it was kind of inconsistent in that way. Then again, all the characters are argumentative enough that maybe those things I described as children’s behavior was just how they normally act anyway. Huh.
To be honest, I found the first half of this episode kind of boring. I feel like after the original puzzle and then turning them into kids, Shidou just shouldn’t even be shocked by anything else. He should be as uncaring about her pranks as a middle-aged salary-man is about his outlook on life. She’s trolling you. Didn’t anyone teach you not to feed the trolls? Internet rule #1. Then again, her version of trickery was putting children in sexy outfits inside a cage. Maybe Shidou didn’t want it to stop. It was also in the privacy of their own home instead of in public where it’d actually be embarrassing to see. Yeah… Maybe Shidou didn’t want it to stop…
There was also that weird fever dream sequence that Shidou has for like 10 seconds. ‘Too much cake’. What even was that? Is it some relevant clue or callback I’m missing out on or did they just really feel like doing a dream sequence?
Anyway, as expected, it looks like the goal is to build the self-confidence of Natsumi in her original form. Luckily, it turns out that some skin care and fashion is all she needs. Who would’ve thought? It’s always fun to take a step back in situations like these and imagine the anime as directly addressing the viewers. Like an advertisement.
‘Are you tired of being ugly? Do you not have magical girl powers that let you transform into anything you want? Well, here, try making literally any effort whatsoever to take care of yourself. See? You’re not ugly. You just need to try a LOT harder than other people to be presentable in public. 👍’
I digress though. What I really ended up liking was the 2nd half. Or maybe the last 5 minutes is a more accurate statement. The villain’s plans are finally beginning to unravel! It’s exciting, people! DEM industries. That’s… well, that’s about it. That’s all we know, really. There’s also the people in the boardroom, who I affectionately refer to as the arm-cast gang. They have somehow decided that the best course of action is now to kamikaze the city with orbiting satellites. I’m sure that will be an interesting episode in the future. Glad they were able to come to a reasonable, rational decision about this situation. I hope I’m not the only one who laughed when they cut to a room full of people with their same sided arms all in casts.
HOWEVER, what I really wanted to talk about from the 2nd half was something I had totally, completely forgotten. Origami and the parents-death-fire-burning-Touka situation. Between obtaining that knowledge and the fact that she was surrounded by like twenty FBI agents in an alley in her pajamas, I can’t really blame her for giving in to Ellen’s demands. So now the actual plot is underway. Don’t get me wrong, I like the, uh, ‘plot’ too but it’s nice to actually get the main action and antagonists going as well.
Oh, right. Friends, let’s not forget that this episode featured the brief yet triumphant return of Shiori. Makeup extraordinaire. Second only to Koutarou from Zombieland Saga. I swear, not remembering the past seasons is actually making this season so much more fun. Every episode I’ve been getting pockets of callbacks to previous jokes. I love it! Now if we can get some damn Kurumi action my life will be complete. She’s in the OP! Surely we wouldn’t be toyed with in this way!?