Are you ever annoyed by that feeling that you know what something is called but you can’t exactly remember it? You know, that one thing you use daily but aren’t entirely sure what it’s called. Yeah, that thing. That thing that closes up bags? A twist tie! No, wait, that’s wrong too. A bag closer.
That’s the shape this weeks Monster of the week takes. His issue? The fact nobody can seem to remember his name, Usui Hajime.Not even his boss at this part time job at the soft serve ice cream place. Even when his name is right there on his clock in card! I feel for this one honestly, having someone forget your name is a pretty bad feeling. At the end of the day, he’s talked down and told it doesn’t matter if nobody remembers his name as long as people remember him and the things he did. Which makes sense, but at the same time I’d rather people remember my name too? Being called “Hey you.” all the time could get rather annoying.
Monster of the week aside, I loved this episode because it did what I always wanted. Developed a side character. Not just one side character either, but two of them! One member of the defense club and one member of the student council. Nanao Wakura and Taiju Unazuki, the two third year students. Who seem to be very relaxed about their new roles as enemies fighting for the princes.
It doesn’t seem like it’s going to damage their relationship in the slightest. While i’m not sure if they were friends before this, they were at least on friendly terms. They’d worked together in the school festival in their first year making soft serve so popular it won the most popular booth at the festival.
When they are taking over for the Monster of the Week’s part time job at the soft serve place. They sell out of ingredients by doing such a good job. They sell soft serve to the rest of the defense club and the student council and they just sit there eating together. You catch Ata looking at Kyōtarō with a certain amount of contempt in his eyes and I am dying to know the backstory of their relationship!
I got the feeling in the villain development flashback last week that Unazuki isn’t really all that invested in what is going on between the two princes. He’s just in this because Ata is and he seems to really respect Ata. I get the feeling he’s the kind of person who would go out of their way for the people they are close too. So far he is certainly my favorite character on the student council.
At the end of the episode, after beating the Monster. We see Unazuki and Wakura meet up once again and talk, they end their conversation parting ways calling each other “Enemy.” at the end of it. Though honestly, I’m not sure either one really views it that way.
Oh no, I know this feeling. I…I think I ship it. Sound the alarm, this is my first Binan ship since shipping Yufin and Kinshiro in the first season! Though Ata and Kyōtarō…well, we’ll have to see where the show goes with that one. This was overall a fantastic episode, this series has grown so much from the beginning and I think it’s really found it’s groove in Happy Kiss. It might be too early to say though.
It’s interesting to compare Binan’s execution to Mahou Shoujo Ore’s, on how both parody the magical girl genre.
Binan’s is more dry, deadpan humour, whilst Ore is more exaggerated slapstick.
Speaking of parodies, has anyone watched the Last Period anime?
It’s an adaptation of a mobile game, which parodies the mechanics of mobile games and anime via 4th wall breaking (ex. spending yen to buy super-special characters, roulette systems that give you lousy characters, reviving hot spring town by suggesting they make an anime featuring it, plus censorship tools like vapour machines and conveniently placed objects.)