Here we are, another week, another episode. This time the focus has been briefly shifted away from butts and onto balls. So many balls. They’re our friend. With each passing episode, I become more and more convinced that Ikuhara was watching the new Captain Tsubasa and thought “Okay cool… but let’s make it gayer”. And here we are with Sarazanmai and guess what, I fucking love it.

Right now, this is probably my show of the season (either that or Carole and Tuesday, depending on my mood and which one I’ve seen most recently). This episode might have been my favourite so far. Things seem to be accelerating with every episode, but it doesn’t feel too rushed; the pacing is just right for me (though I’m still sad we only get 11 episodes instead of 12). It feels tightly-run, and there isn’t a lot of filler space. Even the repeated scenes feel meaningful, I think. Or at least, I enjoy the songs so I don’t find them annoying.

Surprise, Kazuki is the very model of mental health now! And all it took was… all that crazy shit from last episode. Okay sure, I guess he earned that psychological turnaround. I’m genuinely happy for the little weirdo. This heartwarming turn of events leaves Enta as the number one degenerate of the show. His parents must be so proud. God damn it, Enta. You think maybe, just maybe he’s turned himself around and set himself right, and then he once again reveals himself to be a garbage boy, both figuratively and literally. Spare the poor child another Sarazanmai, for no psyche could bear the weight of such constant humiliation. Toi continues to be a good and cute boy. I feel like he hasn’t had much time to come into his own compared to the other two, but I imagine he’ll get his chance soon enough, now that Kazuki’s issues have essentially been resolved (or so it seems for now).

Jeez, Reo and Mabu’s relationship has gone in a Direction and I was not expecting it. They have been killing it with the post-ED flashback scenes lately. Now everything’s falling into place. Reo’s “Everything would work out with the dishes” line is interesting, too. I wonder if he’ll switch sides to bring back the real Mabu. Or just try to steal the plates. Reo’s a wild card, I could see him doing basically anything. Poor Fake Mabu, though. Hated by the man he’s been programmed to love, controlled by the most menacing otter I’ve ever seen. He’d probably be glad to be wiped out of existence. Does he have some sort of connection to Kazuki and Haruka? Are they the people he cares about? How could that possibly be?

Reo and Mabu’s new song lyrics were terrifying, though I’m not surely I entirely know what it means, though, in terms of the story. Does it mean that their latest victim was different from the previous ones somehow? Maybe, but the lyrics seemed more like they referred to Kazuki and Haruka. I don’t know, I guess I’ll just wait and see how it plays out. I’m definitely going to be marathoning this after it finishes to see what I’ve missed. A ton, I bet.

So it looks like Sara and Keppi know each other after all. Really know each other, apparently. I guess they’d have to. I mean, they’re the last of the Kappa nobility as far as we know. I wonder what this means for Sara, though? It looks like they’re finally starting to draw her into the main plot, little by little.

I really can’t wait for the next episode, I’m completely hooked on this at this point.