Things seem to be going well for Tsukimi and Shu at the beginning, both of them sighing like lovesick teenagers. Kuranosuke is rather irritated seeing his brother like this, but the main Shukimi KimiKura Bakufu conflict takes a backseat to the arrival of a new menace. Threatening both ships and the home of the Amamizukan Sisterhood, a purple-clad villain works to undermine all. Named in a mockery of the goddess, Inari is using every underhanded and dishonorable trick to get the redevelopment project moving. Though it doesn’t help much that Tsukimi’s roomates are completely ineffective in their planned protest at the project meeting, frozen solid and running away just from the glances of the other attendees…
Summary-in-a-sentence:
A troubled Tsukimi and the nuns attend and then run away from a presentation about the redevelopment, leaving behind an equally troubled Shu who fails to recognise Tsukimi but catches the eye of the presentation-lady who promptly plans to seduce him, while Kuranosuke reignites the nuns’ fighto! spirit and proceeds to give them a makeover.
Crusader
- Google, the dating advice source of virgins…
No sooner has the Shukimi ship sailed as Inari, the face of urban development, has fired a full spread of torpedoes. I doubt that Inari seeks to find True Love but rather seeks to gain economic hegemony while breaking Shu’s heart in the deal and making Tsukimi miserable to boot. I am hoping Inari will be the big bad in the series as she is poised to be a formidable foe. Inari is everything the Nunz are not and as a result has a few more positive traits to her despite the vile personality. It will be fun to see how the socially retarded Nunz will match up against the seasoned urban developer, perhaps Mayaya is right that Inari is Cao Cao, but I am hoping Inari will be the Sima Yi to frustrate the Nunz’s Northern Expeditions, perhaps Shu and Kuranosuke’s dad can play the part of the opportunistic Wu.
I like how Kuranosuke succinctly pleads his case that the Nunz will need better clothes to be their armor as no one wants to listen to a pile of trash lecture them about urban development. It is a lesson the Nunz ought to take to heart as I have repeatedly stressed before that in a social setting they have to at least look presentable and not look like rabble. At this juncture they can no longer afford to remain as they are and need to engage Inari in battle. Whether or not this will be the start of their long overdue social development, one can only hope that the lessons of Kuranosuke will stick. With any luck this will be a running battle against Inari who I hope is not some one off villain that will be easily defeated.
While Inari is vile the Nunz are little better even if they showed up to the presentation they barely even stayed and were pretty damn rude to the point I did applaud Inari for shutting them down. I have to make presentations as part of my job and I HATE it when people start goofing off thinking I can’t see their retarded asses. Kudos to Inari for calling the Nunz on it. Much can be said about the Nunz for cowering in fear, and to an extent one has to admire how Inari has an actual job even if it is as a vile between the sheets lobbyist. At least she is honest about what she does and takes pride in her work, underhanded as it may be.
I worry about Shu, though this shouldn’t be the first time some wench has come to him seeking political favors and support. Still being a virgin and all Inari might make short work of Shu with her womanly wiles. Let us hope that once he takes off his glasses that DARK SHU comes out and destroys her.
- She wanted to be likened to Diao Chan.
Still Inari will show you who's Cao Cao.
And that is why you try not to attract attention to yourselves by being rowdy.
The Enemy suits up...
I take it that Shu and Cao Cao are off to fight Dong Zhou otherwise...
Looks like Shu is going to have to watch himself around this one.
Shu wanted to stay home and Google for tips on getting a second date.
Now she is a Ginza girlfriend-on-payroll.
May Shu reject her and the Cancer take her!
We all suspected as much, a testament to her lack of skill that she has to put out every time.
Don't pretend you didn't hear me, bitch.
Indeed she went from Nunz to average over thirty pearl lady.
Here here! Kuranosuke is as honest as he is skilled in the Saotome Arts.
Though if you do like his work Kuranosuke has a job for you...
Enemy sighted, I hope the Nunz have a firing solution in place...
Bamba has a nasty afro... not even Kuranosuke's magic has any effect.
Hana on stolen glances and heavy hearts:
Well, after the kyaarific highs of the last epi, Tsukimi and Shu both seem to be suffering the lows of their budding mutual attraction, in the form of severe withdrawal symptoms and an even more severe attack from a new purple-clad enemy. Yes, as if Shu’s unfathomably cooler reaction to seeing Tsukimi again wasn’t enough to agitate her newly discovered heartache, Tsukimi is further crippled by the sight of her man with another woman. An extremely attractive woman.
Granted, we probably all saw it coming and it’s certainly a very entertaining set-up, but Shu’s misrecognition of his Tsukimi-san in full-on fujoshi mode was still very frustrating and he certainly lost some of the lotsandlotsandlots of points that we awarded him when he gave her DAT HUG in the last epi, due to this current Lois Lane-esque myopia. I guess some of the frustration was slightly assuaged when the ever helpful Clara came along and bashed him for him denseness, and thus also diffused said frustration somewhat by reminding us to suspend our disbelief. Also in Shu’s dense defence, and in stark contrast to his Hosaka-senpai style romantic delusions in previous epis, this epi refused to show us any of Shu’s inner thoughts. In this sense, I thought that this was an excellent move which raised the suspense further and makes me hopeful that he’s not actually that impressed with Ms Purple Suit and doesn’t sleep with her in the next epi.
Try telling that to Tsukimi, though, eh. Poor little tyke. I’m sure mine wasn’t the only heart that went out to her, as she first struggled to understand her new found feelings, and then had to see the object of her obsession sharing an umbrella with the Other Woman. Not to mention the fact that she got bloody soaked while doing so. Well, at least these scenes provided us with some really beautiful and poignant shots, such as when we see her waiting for the tram to pass by and then when she sinks through the pavement and into the sea of her despair. Very Amélie-like, I thought, to add another film reference (e.g. cross-ref. when the disappointed Amélie dissolves into a puddle after Mr Love Interest leaves the café).
Naturally, Tsukimi retreats into her familiar cocoon-/ tank-like haven, literally putting a barrier between her and everybody else. Before our awesome fairy trapmother comes and gives ‘em all hell before once again weaving his magic. Tsukimi’s final words about how her heart feels suddenly lighter no doubt made us all breath a sigh of relief, but, of course, these could mean several things: on the one hand, this could be a ray of light for the Kurakimi (or Kimikura or whatever, I’m firmly sitting on the fence) shippers; or, on the other hand, she might be anticipating her next makeover and thus seeing Shu again as Tsukimi-san as opposed to dat ghoul from the Amarwatsit; or, on yet another hand (well, we are dealing with jellyfish), she might just be slightly happier because at least the house, if not her heart, might be left intact after all…
As always, there’s so much more I could say about this awesome show, but that’s where I’ll leave it for now. Though, I’ll add that, regarding certain shipping wars that are now well and truly being waged by several parties in the anibloggingsphere, I honestly don’t mind who Tsukimi ends up with, if anyone, as both boys clearly have loads going for them. However, Shu certainly looked freaking HAWT in the preview, so, er… *drifts over to her happy place*
Right, I’ll start again with my final thought, shall I… I just meant to add, before I was so, er, distracted, that in addition to the hotness, Shu’s p-p-p-pokerface expression in the face of Ms Purple Suit’s shameless antics was at least something for the Shukimi shippers. Clearly, as an apparently fairly confident 30 year old megané bishie with rich and famous folks, I assume it’s not the first time that he would have had such a vixen try something on him, so, as I said, I’m hopeful that he won’t do anything stupid… *crosses fingers while waiting eagerly for the next epi.*
ExecutiveOtaku’s Army of Dorkness
As much as I enjoyed the shipping material in the beginning of the episode, the central element was the introduction of Inari and her scheming. ShuKimi seemed to be bolstered by the start of the episode, though encountered some rough seas between Shuu not recognizing Tsukimi in Fujoshi Mode ON and him intently concentrating on the presentation and his next political move. It’s hard to say how much of a lasting threat Inari will be given how shoujo shows can go. She may be a temporary sideshow, or she could be a major antagonist. The situation is largely unknown, but I would assess with a low to moderate degree of confidence that she will only play a minor role beyond the next episode. Her scheming aside, I see her more as the villain in the background for the redevelopment fight. As far as the shipping war, she doesn’t seem to have the resources to present a serious threat. She’ll likely present a complication for ShuKimi in the short term, but one that will only be turned back around to reinforce the way they feel about each other afterwards. Much like Zeon, her momentum and resources will soon be exhausted. Kuranosuke’s Lend-Lease to the Amamizukantai was definitely welcome, and they could definitely use his help. As with the West and the Soviets, the conflict can be put on hold for the moment to face a greater threat in the short term.
Get used to it Kuranosuke, for awkward, virgin-love ShuKimi is here to stay!
I think the new recruit ought to be the commander. It was a terrible rout, but at least Tsukimi was able to go back to the field of battle.
So Kuranosuke is doing a Beatrice cosplay now?
And they’d be giving you too much credit.
I dub thee Cummings. Get that woman an airsoft gun!
Now Kuranosuke kind of looks like he’s doing a Arcueid cosplay. Maybe the Amamizukan is starting to rub off on him…
22 Comments
Inari is not ugly. Hopefully she’ll show more malice in the future. Then she’d make a wonderful girlfriend… for enemies (but very entertaining to watch).
More malice?! I don’t think our poor Tsukimi-chan’s little heart could take it!
DEATH TO THE SLUT!
Shuu is so thickheaded but oh so sweet and attractive. I should only hope that his thickheaded, virgin DAWW traits shield him from the wiles of that shameless whore bag. Shukimi FTW!
And I’d like to go on record saying that I prefer “Tsunosuke” over “Kimikura” and “Kurakimi”.
I should hope so too!
Crusader, I’m not worry about Shu-shu at all. If he sleep with any women that seduced him, he won’t be a virgin now, would he?
Let’s hope that we get to see why is is still a virgin, Shu-Shu the nervous wreck would be hilarious I am sure…
Yeeesssss, Shu is VERY hawt in that preview. It’s amazing what a lack of glasses and messy hair can do for a guy.
I adored Kuranosuke’s speech in this ep, since it basically summed everything up neatly. You don’t have to be a slave to fashion, but to be taken seriously in our judgemental world, sometimes you just have to dress up.
‘Amazing’ indeed, that preview was such a tease. Kura-pyon’s speech was certainly well judged, certainly a nice touch when he added the you-don’t-have-to-be-untrue-to-yourself bit. Fairy trapmothers FTW!
The war shall commence!!
BEGIN THE COUNTERATTACK!!
yay for the ShuXInari pairing may he give her his love and she give him her herpies. I really disapointed in shu he should have realised who Tsukimi is by now. i mean unless she is dolled up by Kuranosuke he calls her a goul and thinks she is some freak, he is way too dense. i mean heaven forbid he did date or marry her and was forced to get to know her and realise who she really is. I mean even the hug from last episode big deal he hugged and comforted a pretty girl, thats not the hardest thing in the world to do. This all makes me think all the more that he doesnt like her, he just likes his dillusion of her. Kuranosuke this episode was amazing, he sealed bamba afro lol, which is no mere feat. regardless of pairing i like how he is there to help her, first with the jellyfish, due to the make over he gave her she was able to have her first crush, and now in her despair at seeing her crush walking with another woman he’s there to get her out of her cave and pull her form her despair. At the same time he is giving all of the nunz a make over, and helping them protest to save there home.
LOL (I love your ragecomments). In Shu’s precarious defence, he’s only ever seen ‘Tsukimi-san’ when she’s been all dolled up, whereas the first time he saw them all in full on fujoshi mode, they practically assaulted him, so I can’t blame him that much for bearing some kinda myopia-inducing grudge *sighs*. I do worry if he sees anything in her other than what’s on the surface, however we can say the same about Tsukimi in this respect, seeing as she mainly likes him cos he looks like a fancyjellyfish! Though I’ll carry on sitting on the fence re: the shipping wars by saying that both of their personalities would suit what we’ve seen so far from Tsukimi, so we’ll see. BUT, I can certainly why the mighty KURA already gets your Trap of the Year award, aside from his immature random jealous streak, he has defo been all kinds of awesome so far!
lol im glad you like my ragecomments.
Cu Shu a break the only time h interacted with Tsukimi was when she was not a nervous wreck that fell apart upon seeing him. given the disparity in confidence level it is no wonder why Shu thinks that there is Tsukimi and the icky zombie girl that can barely carry a conversation.
well also i mean the only conversating shu has had with her when she is dolled up are has been “its ok you can cry” and “i tried to deliver your clothes and glasses to you” and “is standing here ok” and “im sorry for my behavior today” he hasn’t really tried to learn anything about her he just sits back and imagines her to be whatever. In my opinion its kinda creepy to sit back and stare at someone the way he does, and him being 30 and her being 18 doesnt help that either. I mean hes thirty and a politician he should know how to socialise, and even if he thinks she is someone else he should do like the great hoska sempi and attempt to “be friendly” with her roommates
Crusader’s final picture of Banba’s fro: I just noticed Mayaya’s kira kira pose in the background! lol XD
I have a feeling next episode is going to be one of those, Tsukimi charges through the doors as the frontlines in her ‘full armor’ finding Inari and Shu in the bunkers, “caught” in the act of doing nothing-but-mistakenly-implied-something.
Indeed it seems that Mayaya is quite taken with herself and is finding Kuranosuke’s magic to be most powerful…
It kind of surprises me that the nuns hadn’t realized by that age how much ridiculous behavior you can get away with when you are dressed up nicely, perhaps in animeland things work differently but really a change of clothes can be the difference between “creepy weirdo who I want to avoid” and “lovable eccentric who seems pretty cool and I want to talk to her” at least in my neck of the woods.
Ah well, I liked the episode anyway.
That’s a good way of putting it; the idea that certain clothes let you get away with certain behaviours. Another example of which would be uncle Kiraboshi, lol.
Roger-doger!
Thanks for the reviews! I really enjoy reading your views on the romantic conflict going on.
I just want to point one thing: Inari is most certainly not a minor character who will stay in the background from now on. She made her way into the show like a cannonball, and has taken the position of NUMBER ONE VILLAIN & RIVAL WHO ALL VIEWERS HATE TO DEATH in such a spectacular manner there’s no doubt that she will play a major role from now on.
In fact, if you watch the opening of the show again, you will notice that she plays one of the main roles in their version of The Graduate: she and Kuranosuke are the ones getting married at the church while Shu-Shu is banging at the window. (You can tell it’s Inari because of the mole at the corner of the mouth.) LOLZ! Such an unlikely development… :3 And I find it most amusing that, if everything works like in the movie, Shu-Shu is supposed to steal Inari from Kura at that point of the script. I think he only realizes it himself when they both turn back to look at him, and that’s what makes the poor guy faint in disgust, haha.
No worries (it’s funfunfun), thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
I’m hoping she’s just a side character that exists mainly to develop the leads, but… OMG! Well-spotted! (I thought that was Tsukimi, and that Shu was upset cos she’d just married someone else, clearly I need to actually sit down and watch that film one of these days, amongst others! Lol.) I at least hope that the Shu turning away from the evil Other Woman in disgust bit is true…
I loved this episode, it was bitter-sweet but at the same time thrilling.
As Hana said, Shuu’s thoughts remained hidden, and we still know very little about his personality in other situations, we know that he has a soft spot for Tsukimi and that he is a virgin, but the rest of his character has been kept secret and I have the feeling that we just might discover it in the next episode.
Regarding the business woman I do hope she remains as the main villain, I want a megane X2 ending and look forward for the amars fashion showdown in the next episode.
Prepare for war!
I share the same feeling too, or, rather, I hope we discover it as well. Looking forward to that showdown too, at least there’s not long to wait now, eh!