Berry’s Impression
Morgana’s lack of presence makes everyone feel on edge. The others want to look for him and so they look into Okumura. And finally with this episode, we got the proper introduction of my second favorite female of the group, the pink fluffy Haru! And wow, it’s hilarious that last episode’s animation was incredibly bad, but this episode’s animation was incredibly good. Lots of fantastic expressions and fluid movements. Probably because it dealt with more serious issues, I guess.
You know, I’ve mentioned that the anime has been rushing things but I can finally say that rushing things this time was beneficial. I’m not a fan of the Morgana/Ryuji subplot of this arc. It was incredibly frustrating to play in the game because it made Morgana and Ryuji a little unlikeable to me. Ryuji was being an ass, and it irritated me that no one really called him out for all the mean teasing towards Morgana. And Morgana suddenly getting desperate and going against the group was also annoying. But because of that we got to meet Haru! I’m just glad the anime got it over with, although I have to say that Morgana’s self-doubts and anger in the anime didn’t work so well for the same reasons I gave two weeks ago. In the anime, it all kind of came out of nowhere. That nightmare Morgana had happened more than once and the game made us second guess what Morgana really was. Was he actually a Shadow or is he really a human? It made things more curious, but made Morgana frightened early on. In the anime, it all just comes out of nowhere and isn’t as strong. So I’m just glad that it’s been resolved, though it took the entire episode to do that.
Futaba does some digging on Okumura and she’s (somehow) found the keywords for his palace. Wanting to find Morgana, all of them enter his palace without knowing that a certain someone was near them. You know, each palace has been pretty unique. We’ve had a castle, an art museum, a bank. Now all of a sudden the gang is in outer space in a spaceship. I mean, being in a pyramid was pretty out there, but space is literally out there. It’s the most unique so far, but just as scummy as the rest. The rumors surrounding Okumura is that he treats his workers poorly and we see that here as they thieves find robots. Okumura sees his emplyees as nothing but robots, and when one robot broke down, it was immediately disposed of and replaced with another. It’s despicable and pretty much confirms the rumors. However, they don’t get to meet Okumura because…
They get to meet the Beauty Thief instead! Maybe it was because of the well-drawn silly expressions of this episode, but I found this scene even funnier in the anime than in the game. Morgana and a mystery girl appear out of nowhere and spout lines of intimidation…until the mystery girl forgets her lines. She forgets lines, she repeats them, and she insults Yusuke and Ryuji per Morgana and I loved it. It’s silly and ridiculous and I love it. They announce that they’re going to get the treasure and head for a door the Phantom Thieves couldn’t open themselves, although Morgana and the girl could. However, a hoard of robot guards came to attack them all and they split off and escape. The gang is surprised at Morgana’s sudden ally and wonder who she is, but Makoto thinks she does. Somehow. In the game, the group went through the school’s roster blindly, but then found a picture of Haru Okumura only because of her last name. In the anime…I guess Makoto just knew? The next day, the group head to the garden and confront Haru.
Haru met Morgana when she saw him wandering the streets alone. She followed him and accidentally entered the Metaverse with him. Upon learning everything, Haru decided to become a Phantom Thief after hearing all the stories she’s heard about her father on television. She wants to learn the truth about him and she wants to stick by Morgana, thinking the group can’t help him.
But they try when they find out lots of requests on the Phan-site have been getting solved, so they wait for them in Mementos. Ryuji tries to apologize but messes up because he’s an idiot and they all leave Mementos. But that’s when a certain guy in a white suit comes out of nowhere and violently grabs Haru. Morgana tries to help but ends up getting hurt, the whole “useless” thing coming back to haunt him. Ren and the others come just in time and they learn the guy in the white suit, Sugimura, is Haru’s fiance.
Haru’s situation is awful. From the little we saw in his palace, we know Okumura is a bad guy. What’s worse is that he doesn’t really care about his own daughter’s well being and only cares about himself and securing his name. He’s arranged a marriage for Haru with Sugimura, the son of a politician. Merging their families together with help him a lot, but he doesn’t seem to care that Haru doesn’t want any of this to happen. Sugimura is a disgusting person, and he even tracks Haru’s movements by GPS, which her own father approved of! It’s disgusting! When the gang take Morgana to Ren’s place and they all make up, Haru admits that she doesn’t want to marry Sugimura. After watching Morgana rid of his lies and say the truth to the rest of the thieves, it inspired her to also tell the truth, because she would always keep the truth to herself. She yells out that Sugimura is a creep and it makes her feel a lot better. By the end of the episode, it seems Haru has gotten a little closer with Ren and the others, and she’s sure to join the Phantom Thieves. Especially with the news her father gives her in the very end.
Haru is kind of like Makoto in that she’s always been told what to do and how to act, and she’s always kept things to herself and just listened. But she’s realizing, especially with this marriage with Sugimura, that she doesn’t want things to be this way anymore. She also wants to learn the truth about her father.
I really love Haru and I can’t wait to see more of her. She’s so lovely and cute! Her Japanese voice makes her a lot more mature and soft than in the dub. In the dub, she just sounds really cute. I think I’d have to go with her Japanese voice though because of how soft and pretty it is. And with that, Haru is finally added in the ending! I can’t wait to see her in the OP too, and I wonder if they’ll give us different visuals this time like with the first OP because I’m never a fan of OPs where they just use clips from the show. I gotta say, I liked this episode and it’s been awhile since I’ve said that.
