Qualidea Code – Episode 2 [Deep Blue Caricature]

The episode unfolds with Asuha and her older brother Kasumi are getting a bite to eat at some kind of market. When Kasumi steps away to get Asuha something else to snack on, he receives a phone call from Airi Yunami, which Asiha cancels before turning his phone off. Their unorthodox sibling relationship is one of the themes for this episode, and I will touch on it more shortly.

The six city representatives have been given a mission: help repair the Aqua Line, damaged severely by Maihime in the previous episode, while simultaneously guarding the engineering students who will also be working on the Aqua Line. The students are wary of working while the Unknown could attack at any time, so Ichiya and the others have been called in.

I really like that the characters in Qualidea Code pull no punches with each other. It was Maihime’s stupid mistake which put their group in their current situation, and Ichiya and Kasumi don’t hesitate to tell her so. Ichiya is a rude dick, and the scene in the restaurant where Kasumi bestows the nickname “Trash-kun” upon Ichiya was hilarious because he completely deserved it.

Ichiya and the others split into two groups: Hotaru is stuck with the boys, while Asuha, Canaria and Maihime are the second team. Naturally Asuha’s team works very smoothly together and the other students admire their powers and teamwork, while Hotaru has to referee the boys to keep them from killing each other. Hotaru also desperately misses Maihime and wants to return to her side asap.

Lunchtime rolls around and Airi and Gutoku show up with lunch at a local restaurant, where all the students take a break. Gutoku in a very, very small speedo is… odd… but otherwise the restaurant scene serves as an introduction for a new character, Aoi Yaegaki from Kanagawa City. Her mother appears to be Airi. Ichiya continues to be an asshole, and interestingly Kasumi seems to take an interest in Aoi, much to Asuha’s annoyance.

Staying with Aoi for a moment, she has a really neat World: she has a knife she uses to recall scanned information seen and heard by other people, as well as their personal opinions on said information. Aoi can then relay that information to one or more people. It’s useful, but as we see from the recalled scene, sometimes it can be awkward too.

Which brings us to the obligatory swimsuit episode, something that is admittedly happening much sooner than I was anticipating. Asuha gets embarrassed because both Maihime and Hotaru have bigger breasts than her, leaving her feeling somewhat inadequate in her bathing suit. Gutoku is a bit of a perv, but thankfully it is brief. We do get to see the boys in their bathing suits too, so the fanservice is not limited to just the girls in bikinis.

Once everyone’s changed and the group has been briefed, everyone heads into the water. Well everyone except Canaria who can’t swim, and Kasumi who is not a strong swimmer. Aoi also remains above the surface to monitor everyone as they’re swimming. Kasumi has the neat ability to hear sounds underwater and pinpoint their location, almost like a dolphin’s echolocation. It ends up being Kasumi’s World which ends up saving Asuha when the Unknown finds and chases her. Even Ichiya is impressed by Kasumi’s World, but tells him that he needs to start being more serious and less laidback all the time.

After the mission ends, Ichiya and the others head for home, with Airi and Gutoku remaining behind to tie up any loose ends. Kasumi and Asuha share a sullen moment on the train, but Asuha remembers to thank her older brother for saving her out on the water, much to his poorly hidden enjoyment.

After the credits, Airi and Gutoku are shown discussing the Unknown’s underwater appearance. They both share the concern that this recent encounter may have helped the Unknown to better understand the barrier between their world and the human world.

My thoughts: It’s quickly becoming apparent that there are three main pairings in this cast: Ichiya and Canaria, which is characterized by playful banter and childish tantrums. Then there’s Maihime and Hotaru, who present as close female friends but Hotaru is hassled because of her extreme attachment to Maihime. So far the others just consider Hotaru to be strange, and there’s no mention of Maihime or Hotaru being lesbians.

Last is the relationship between Asuha and Kasumi, and if Maihime x Hotaru are the possible-LGBT factor, then Kasumi and Asuha are the sibling-attraction factor, which I am torn between finding creepy and yet somehow a little intriguing.  Maybe I’ll be spared from all the ick and it’ll be revealed that they’re not really siblings? Because they’re clearly attracted to each other, and both struggle to not be overprotective and jealous of the other when they’re interacting with the opposite sex, so yeah. Just, please no incest kthxbai.