Before I begin this review I’ll just start off by saying this. Yep, this series didn’t finish. I thought perhaps this series would end with this episode as I didn’t see it on the “Fall carryover” list, however, to my surprise, this series has right now an unconfirmed amount of episodes and is going to keep moseying along. And that means I’ll be here for another season covering this show that is in Raw Japanese (So far 2 episodes have been subbed. Because, you know, that helps) For anybody who reads these reviews, looks like we have some more egg god wackiness to get through. We may have lost Attack on Titan Junior High, but hey, at least we get to keep our underwear…egg…gods. Hooray!
That being said, this episode is a two parter, however, it’s more of a….different viewpoint kind of thing. Here. I”ll explain.
So the episode starts off with Kokoro telling the Cocotamas that she is going to a Christmas party and will be giving a Christmas present. The Cocotamas don’t know what that is, so the book one explains it to them.
With that, Kokoro heads off to the party where all of her friends are. They play a bunch of games, until finally it’s time to give out the presents. However, they do it a bit differently. They decide to hide the presents one at a time and when you search around the room, whoever’s present you find is the one you get. (This is actually a pretty cute idea actually)
Unfortunately, when it’s about to be Kokoro’s turn, she realizes she doesn’t have her present and she accidentally left it at home. Freaking out, she runs out the door to go back home, only to see that the present is sitting on a step for her in front of the friend’s house.
She wonders how it got there and her friends make the joke that maybe it was Santa. You know what? If the choices are Santa or tiny gods that live in eggs who are born from the magic of you loving an object…I think Santa would make more sense than the REAL explanation. Just saying.
She goes back to the party hoping she’ll get the boy she has a crush on’s present, but she ends up getting the girl who’s hosting the party’s. A little saddened by this, after the party, she starts to walk home only to have the boy she like walk her home with an umbrella.
That ends the first half. The second half are the same events, but from the Cocotamas’ point of view. So the episode picks up with the gang realizing that Kokoro forgot the present. Being the helpful egg gods they are, they decide to take it to her. However, as they’re on the second floor, they notice there’s a problem with that. First they have to unlock the window to get out, which…they do quite gracefully…. yeah. Gracefully…that’s the word.
As shown in the first picture, they then use the garland to shimmy down to the ground. However, as they begin walking along with the package, they realize the danger of being spotted and nearly get run over by a car, and almost get discovered by the brother.
When it looks like they’re about lost, the cat shows up and gives them a ride to the party. They’re able to deliver the present without her seeing them (as seen in the first part of the episode).
After the party, she returns home and they tell her that it was them. She’s extremely happy and gives them their christmas present and won’t tell them about the boy saying that thing that all anime girls say when they have a secret and they don’t want to tell it. You know, when they go “Hi – Mi- Tsu!” Because ひみつ (himitsu) means “Secret”. There class. There’s your Japanese lesson for the day. I hope you were taking notes.
And that’s the end of the episode.
This episode was cute. It’s always nice to see them incorporate Christmas at least in some way. It’s neat to see how Japanese people celebrate Christmas. It’s so different from the way that we do it in the states it’s like a window into another world when you watch it in these shows. You’re like “Is…is that all they do?” But you have to remember, Japan is mainly Shinto and Buddhist. Yes there’s a small Christian percentage (about 1%) but to them, Christmas is more of a cute novelty than an actual real holiday. New Years is really one of their big days as that’s the day when they pray and go to the temple. So seeing Christmas as a party is kind of strange for someone here, but at the same time, it’s cool to see it done differently. Also they eat cake on Christmas. Like…as in a Birthdayish cake. Who eats a cake on Christmas? Anyway, i’m getting off topic.
As I’ve said in the past, I’m not really a fan of the whole romance aspect of this show. I don’t know WHY they feel the need to add them to shows that are meant for 6-10 year olds. I’m not just talking about this show either. I’m talking about like…even cartoons in the states. Weren’t most kids like “Eww Cooties?” when they were this age? Maybe in Japan they mature differently, but I know in American cartoons they should have that philosophy. It just seems superfluous and odd for a show about an innocent girl who has egg gods living in her house (Shrugs) just my thought on the subject.
Besides this little side rant, this was a pretty good episode. I liked the way it looked, I liked how they all worked together to help Kokoro out, and I liked the overall moral. It was a very sweet episode. Unlike Osomatsu, this episode actually DOES make me want to continue with this series. I thought this episode would end it, but apparently I have misjudged the allure of using a series to sell toy merchandise. So, the Japanese raw commercial series review will continue. Yes. So that means, next season I will be carrying over Kamisama, Ushio and Tora, World Trigger, and Gate is coming back as well. FOUR SHOWS i’ve already covered. (rubs temple) lord help me.
Episode 7/10
Seriously though. Lighten up on the romance. ….it’s weird.
-Hideki