Subculture Anime Blog

I think the above image should give you enough reason to watch this episode. Ok, if not, this episode has lots of cute puppy action, Yumiko wearing an apron, and Touka going emo. More after the jump! (I’ve always wanted to say that.)

Short Summary:

Touka finds a dog in his room that won’t leave him alone no matter how hard he tries to get rid of it. Touka eventually gives up and lets it stay in his room. When they discover it, Momoka and Nene become quite attached to it as well. The dog Wan-chan, later named Nero, even waits outside for Touka in the rain while he and Momoka are at school. One day, Nero goes after Touka while they are away and gets lost. Everyone helps search for him, and they eventually find him on a rock in the middle of the river. Touka saves him, leaving everyone relieved when they get home. While all of this has been happening, Yumiko has been writing a love story. It ends happily, but she loses herself and starts rewriting the story violently. The next day, Nero goes to find the shoe Touka lost during the previous incident, but is killed by a pack of wolves. This makes everyone sad when they find out, and Touka even sheds tears for his lost friend.

Full Summary:

Yumiko holds a cockroach in front of a frightened Nene and Momoka. Momoka tries to make her stop because it is cruel…for the cockroach. Yumiko loses it, but Touka enters to kill it with a slipper. Touka mentions that it is just a bug, while Yumiko thinks to herself that he used to be a much nicer child. Later, Nene scolds Yumiko for not working on her story, while they do some cleaning in her room. Touka enters his room to find that it is a complete wreck. Sitting in front of him is a small puppy. It avoids him no matter how hard he tries to catch it, but he eventually tricks it by pretending he doesn’t care anymore. Touka uses the opportunity to throw it outside. However, when he turns around, he finds that it is back already. He repeats this a few times, before becoming very frustrated with the dog. That night, Makoto tries to get Momoka to accompany her to the bathroom, because she had a scary dream. They become frightened at something on the ground, but find that it is just Touka wrapped in a blanket. Momoka wonders why he is sleeping in the hallway, so he tells them that he got kicked out of his room. Momoka and Makoto take a peek in his room, to find the dog sleeping there. Meanwhile, Yumiko has started on her work, which is something of a love story.

In the morning, Momoka asks Nene if she can have some food for Wan-chan. She enters Touka’s room and tries to convince Wan-chan to eat, but he won’t budge. However, when Touka gets up, it happily accepts the food from him. Later while Touka is sitting outside his room, he finds Wan-chan peeing on his leg. Touka tries to force him to take a bath, so Nene comes to help him. Nene scrubs Wan-chan gently, and tells Touka that dogs are the same as people. Elsewhere, the triplets have been working on their doujinshi.Yumiko’s story is developing, when she ends up spilling something on it. Touka and Momoka wonder how Wan-chan is doing while they walk home in the rain. Nene tries to convince Wan-chan to come in and eat, but he won’t budge from the front entrance. However, he happily greets Touka when he gets home. Nene tells Touka that Wan-chan was about to die from loneliness. Touka doesn’t think it is possible for him to die from loneliness, but Momoka and Nene assure him that it can. Later, Makoto and Momoka play with Wan-chan in Touka’s room. When Touka mentions that it doesn’t have a name, Momoka and Makoto tell him to at least give it one.

Touka and Momoka head off for school the next day, but this time, Nero goes after them. Nene informs Touka and Momoka that Nero has gone missing after school, and everyone gets together to search for him. It is dangerous because the storm has made the surface slippery, and the river is overflowing. They eventually find Nero on a rock in the middle of the river. Everyone worries when he almost loses his balance, but Touka starts going in to get him. Logs travel down the river, and one knocks Nero in to the air. Everyone becomes frightened at this, but they are relieved when they find that Touka has Nero in his arms. Afterwards, they think Nero is trying to tell them something. They guess that he may be thanking them or saying he is hungry, but Touka tells them that it is about his missing shoe. They see that Touka really has lost a shoe, as he walks home with Nero.

Yumiko’s story ends happily, but after she finishes, her eyes glow white and she says she won’t accept a happy ending. After throwing away the original story, she starts rewriting the ending very violently, even breaking the pen. In the morning, Yumiko mentions to Nene that she wants to eat some cake, but first she will take a shower. Nene congratulates her on finishing the story, but notices that some of the scrapped paper has missed the trash can. Nene starts to clean it up, but is horrified when she sees what is written on it. When Touka goes out the next day, he takes a pair of slippers instead. Nero goes out again, this time to find the shoe Touka lost previously. He spots it on the side of the river, but a pack of wolves attack him. Touka rushes home to find Nene and Momoka crying in his room. On the ground is Nero’s dead body. Touka remembers the time he spent with Nero, and starts shedding tears. He wonders what this is, and despairs that he couldn’t do anything about it. As Momoka goes to comfort him, Nene mentions that those are farewell tears, and what happens when someone dies.

Note: I didn’t know how to fit this into my summary so here you go…Yumiko’s story parallels with what happens between Touka and Nero. Her love story starts with the meeting of a man, told in the eyes of a woman. She later realizes that it is love that she is feeling, and even says that her lover’s name was Nero. They end up happily together, but the story is rewritten and the love is destroyed.

Preview: Yakata

Impression:

So I thought this was going to be a serious episode, but I guess I was wrong. Well, you could say it was a serious episode in its own way. The reverse order plays a major role again in this episode, as we all probably knew that Nero was going to die (this is the first time we’ve seen him). It seems like Touka’s attitude has not always been cold either, as he even went emo over his death. Nero was cute and all, but I think most people will be more interested in Yumiko. I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped when they showed her in the apron get up. This show never ceases to amaze me. Other than the fanservice, we also got to see her go Death Note mode while she was writing her story. I think it’s safe to say that Juna was responsible for that. I’m almost certain that anything that Yumiko wishes will come true. We’ve seen that power more than enough, and it makes me think of episode one where her story was on the computer screen. After this episode, I don’t know what to expect from the next one, but I won’t mind either way. I like love comedies after all.

The Touka Gettan OP and ED singles are out!