Episode four returns to the roots of what makes this series good, it’s self-aware humor is what makes it best. It’s still got a lot of the fan-service but it’s aware of everything again. So, what’s the plot of todays episode? Well, as promised in the title and the preview to last episode, it’s about being young.
The plot begins itself with a childhood flashback of the glasses guy and the leader of the student council [4 episodes in and I still have to wiki most of these names…] Atsushi and Kinshiro when they were friends as kids and were laying under the stars. Making wishes on them. We see that this is Kinshiro’s memory as he stares up at the shooting stars from the school building. His team mates ask him what he wished for, he says World Domination but somehow…I’m not entirely sure that’s true.
Anyway, cut to the mandatory bath house scene this show has become so known for at this point. [first time they go an episode WITHOUT visiting this bath house or establishing the plot here, I’ll have a mini-heart attack.] They’re sitting there discussing the wonders of youth. Picking on Yufin for having the most mature face of the all of them and vice-versa picking on Yumoto for being the most baby faced of them all.
In walks this guy, who is apparently a student at their school who is famous for being the ‘Highschool student with the face of a 50 year old’ among the other students. Well, guess who is getting turned into a monster this episode. [my bets are on this guy..] Yumoto accidentally calls him an old man, he leaves.
He’s bitter, student council gets him with one of their hedgehog needles of evil doom. You know how it goes. Yay Monster of the week magical girl shows and their predictability! [er, Magical boy]
So, Igarao Oyaji, wow, they’re just trying to nail this one home. They literally named him ‘old man’ guys, wait, naming people after their scheme for the episode. Common, oh this show and it’s tropes.
So, the boys are in club. They start joking around and tickling each other. [The yaoi fangirls go wild…cept me, I still think they’re just friends.] Then they realize that they’ve become little kids.
The Wombat runs in to tell them that there is trouble and they run out to see that it’s not just them that’s turned into little kids. It’s pretty much everyone at the school.
They see ‘Monster’ er, pretty boy Igarao on the school’s roof. Okay, feel free to correct me if i’m seeing things but I am pretty much looking at a off animation version of Mikage from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I’d say you take his face, shift the animation style to something more akin to Cutie Honey/the style that is Binan KouKou and it looks like him…I’m not crazy right?
They transform to fight him but there is a slight…problem.
Their transformation uniforms didn’t size down with them. I got a huge kick out of this, it reminds me of the Sailor Moon episode where Usagi and Chibi-Usa switch ages and their uniforms don’t switch. So they go to fight him only to realize that their powers have been down sized to kiddy grade and they can’t even fire up to where he is.
He turns them into little cherub babies, thank goodness for leaf censors am I right? Best line of the episode goes to Ryuu for this one.
Seriously, he’s been reduced to being a baby and that’s ALL he cares about. I love this guy so much. Blah blah blah, Yumoto figures out it’s an illusion, blah blah blah, he beats the Monster with no help from the others….AGAIN. [plz, let the others shine. I think the ENTIRE FANDOM WOULD THANK YOU.]
Everything is back to normal, they go back to the bath house. Meet with Igarao again and find out that he’s perfectly happy because he has a girlfriend now. Yufin asks if she’s into older men and he says yes. I think it’s nice to get a follow up on this kind of thing, find out that Yumoto’s speech is not the end of the persons problems but helps them break out and do things like ask a girl out or something along those lines without having to worry about what was holding them back.
This episode was good, much better than last in my opinion but still this show isn’t without it’s severe flaws. I get the idea of a main character, but even the Sailor Senshi did things to help Usagi. Yumoto, stop hogging the spotlight. It’s called Battle lovers not, Yumoto takes the show and runs away with it.
I’m interested to know more about the childhood friendship between Kinshiro and Atsushi. How it fell apart and such, what made Kinshiro bitter enough to want to dominate the world? We’ll find out sooner or later I hope…maybe sooner…please?
~Midnight
I really enjoyed this episode overall (especially Ryu’s boss line), but I rolled my eyes when Yumoto saved the day by himself again. I really like the other guys too (especially Ryu and Yufin), so I’d like them to have more spotlight! I guess my biggest issue with the anime so far is how repetitive each episode is in its general format. Introductory conversation –> random dude who’s mad about something –> transformation –> battle scene –> Yumoto saves the day –> end. Repeat cycle. While each episode has definitely been entertaining, it’ll be disappointing if the next 8 or so episodes all follow the same format.
yumoto and yuu are my favorites, they have my character. But dear god this anime asking for a yaoi scene right now..