In this second episode, it’s Kyouko’s turn to have an interview with Tetsuo. He’s fascinated by the flame emanating from her body, and during the course of their conversation together he learns about how her detached head functions in relation to her body.
We learn that Kyouko is having some difficulties interacting with her classmates. She’s new to the school, and many of her classmates are having a hard time accepting the reality of a dullahan being one of their peers. It also seems like they are stuck in the “is it ok to joke about her separate head?” boat, so no one talks about her dullahan nature, leaving Kyouko feeling somewhat lonely.
Tetsuo suggests that Kyouko should make some jokes about her dullahan aspects, so that her classmates know what kinds of things are ok to talk about with her. Kyouko is one of only three dullahan in the world after all, so it’s a little understandable that her classmates have no experience interacting with a dullahan. Kyouko agrees to give this a try.
The other main issue is that Kyouko’s loneliness has also resulted in a strong desire for physical contact. In the past she’s been told that she’s older now and she should put such feelings behind her, but she can’t help wanting to be hugged by someone. Tetsuo ends up honoring Kyouko’s request for him to hug her head, but that almost gets him in trouble as Hikari accidentally walks in on him holding Kyouko’s head, then tries to make the situation into a huge scandal for the biology teacher.
It’s also pretty clear that Kyouko has a huge crush on Tetsuo. Kyouko ends up revealing this tidbit of information to Hikari, who makes it her mission to set the two up together. Not on an “official” date of course, because that would be inappropriate even for anime (well for most mainstream stuff anyways), but instead merely an “experiment”: Hikari will keep Kyouko’s body at her house while Tetsuo carries Kyouko’s head around town for the afternoon.
The “experiment” is a success, so much so that Hikari gets a little jealous and tries to sabotage the situation for Kyouko by… poking her breasts. Yes you read that right. Kyouko of course freaks out, but can’t explain what happened to Tetsuo. There’s also a funny scene where Kyouko realizes that her body needs to use the washroom after consuming a large drink and struggles to communicate this to Hikari.
As the sun starts to set, Tetsuo starts to return to Hikari’s home. He’s holding Kyouko’s head differently now, as he’s realized that holding her head with both hands subconsciously helps her from getting motion sick. They return to Hikari’s house and Kyouko bids him & Hikari good night.
The next day, Tetsuo discusses with the school principal the option of Kyouko being allowed to use a backpack instead of the standard schoolbag which is carried in one hand. This gives Kyouko some more stability, as she can now use both her hands to hold her head without worrying about dropping it, and it will eliminate any motion sickness she might experience. The new math teacher, Sakie Satou, accidentally stumbles across this conversation without Tetsuo noticing, and she’s impressed. Could there be another crush blooming at the school?
My thoughts: I know I said it last week, but this show is just so fricking cute. <3 Kyouko in particular. I think many people can relate to having a crush on a teacher, especially around the ages of middle school and high school.
I’m not a huge fan of Hikari? Like she’s cute and all, but she’s also proven herself to be somewhat bratty and petty. She’s not above trying to make trouble for others in order to make herself feel better, like announcing that she walked in on Tetsuo being in a somewhat inappropriate situation with a student, or poking a private part of a friend’s body in order to sabotage her happiness. :/
Next week’s episode focuses on the new teacher Sakie, so I’m curious to see what will happen next! Will she put Tetsuo under her spell…?
I thin you’re misreading Hikari. She’s not trying to sabotage anything or be petty. She’s just a prankster. She has fun getting her friends flustered, but she isn’t trying to cause any harm. In fact she would be very upset if any harm actually came from any of this.
I know there’s no malice behind her actions, I just have a hard time enjoying petty/bratty characters, I guess. But I know she means no harm to Tetsuo or her friends. 🙂 Sorry for not being clearer about that in my review.