Subculture Anime Blog

Ikuto is traveling with Suzu through the South Forest to vist her master, Osho-sama. It is the person who taught her jujitsu, and the lord of that part of the island. Ikuto remembers an encounter with one of the other lords of the island, so he isn’t too excited about this. Suzu assures him that it will be fine, when somebody approaches them from behind. It turns out to be Osho-sama. Ikuto is surprised to find that it is a really small cat. Osho-sama tells them that the reason he called them there was for a survival game. Suzu explains to Ikuto that this is held every so often between the cats and dogs in the area to decide who is the lord of the forest. Osho-sama wants Ikuto and Tonkatsu to enter the competition for the cat side. Ikuto isn’t sure why, but he tells him that he will do his best.

After the horn is blown to begin the competition, Ikuto mentions that the rules are a bit strange. They use brushes to paint mustaches on their opponents to disqualify them. Suzu trips, causing Ikuto to notice that there are banana peels all over their path. One member from the dog team ambushes them, but Ikuto throws a banana peel at its face before it can mark any of them.

As they continue running, Suzu notices that Tonkatsu has gone missing from the top of Ikuto’s head. However, Tonkatsu comes hopping back to them from the bushes. Ikuto expresses his relief, when Suzu takes out a bento and starts to eat. Ikuto doesn’t think she should be eating at such a critical time, but Suzu says she is hungry. Suddenly, a group from the dog team appears and starts to circle around them, causing Suzu to get a little dizzy. Ikuto comes up with a plan, so Ikuto and Suzu thrust out their brushes at the same time, causing all of the dogs to trip.

They get in more encounters with the dog team along the way, but they defeat all of them. They approach the finishing point, but two members of the dog team come out of the ground, marking both of them. They are surprised to find that it is Ayane and Maki, who have joined the competition. Ikuto faces Maki, who suggests that if she wins she can do whatever she wants to Ikuto and vise versa. Suzu who is paired with Ayane, successfully dodges all of her attacks, and causes Ayane to fall into a trap. Ikuto also manages to dodge Maki, and marks her.

Elsewhere, two sneaking members of the dog team declare victory for marking Osho-sama at the cat’s finishing point. However, they are shocked to find that it was actually Tonkatsu, only desquised as Osho-sama. The real Osho-sama jumps out of his Tonkatsu costume and marks the last dog opponent, declaring his victory. Ikuto notices that after the contest is over, both the cats and dogs of the forest get along very well, despite the results. When Tonkatsu returns to them, Ikuto checks to see if it is the real one, then they head home.

The next morning, Ikuto notices that there is something heavy on his body. It turns out to be Maki, who has been sitting on him for an hour, waiting for him to wake up. Ikuto finds out that everyone is going to travel to a part of the island to view cherry blossoms. Once they reach a certain point, Suzu informs Ikuto that they have to split up to avoid the dangerous inhabitants along the way. Maki suggests they draw straws to decide pairings, and Ikuto is the first to pick.

This was obviously Maki’s plan, and Ikuto finds that he is paired with her while traveling along a high cliffside. Rin, Yukino, and Chikage are traveling together, glad that they weren’t grouped with Maki who always chooses the high routes. Chikage mentions that she is worried about Maki who might try to do something to Ikuto. She then collapses from pain, causing Rin and Yukino to worry. We then see that Maki has a voodoo doll in her hands.

Ayane, Suzu, and Kuma Kuma are running together elsewhere. Suzu mentions that it is dangerous to be running at such a fast pace, when she trips and falls. Ayane praises herself for holding it together the best, when Kuma Kuma trips and rolls over her, causing her to hit a tree. Ikuto and Maki find themselves at another high peak. Ikuto tries to go home, but Maki captures him with a rope. Ikuto gets thrown off the cliff, barely missing the ground, and Maki comes sliding down right after.

Everyone meets up, and as they walk, they panic to find the lord of the north forest. However, he informs them that he is no longer the lord because he lost to someone else. He then tells them the way to continue to the cherry blossoms. They come to a river, where the bridge has been broken. Everyone gathers materials for creating a new one, and work together to knock a tree over. With the new bridge created, they travel across and make their way to the cherry blossoms.

Ikuto starts to think that it isn’t worth all of the trouble to view the cherry blossoms, so Suzu grabs his hand and starts running with him to the destination. Once they reach it, he is surprised to see the beautiful sight from the large cherry blossom tree. He takes back what he though earlier, and everyone sits down to enjoy a lunch. On the way back, Ikuto and Maki travel across the high cliffs again, but Ikuto is shocked to see everyone else traveling by sea on dolphins.

Impression:

To me, this episode was a bit boring compared to the past ones. It was fun to see Tonkatsu in the first half, and Maki in the second half though. The second half was a lot more fun with Maki teasing Ikuto with the heights that he hates. Like many others, I find Maki to be one of my most favorite characters. She’s just so fun! Seeing the lords of the island was kind of interesting. Ikuto ran into the panda from the east, the cat from the south, the whale of the sea, and now the retired tiger from the north. I wonder what the other ones will contribute to the story.