Subculture Anime Blog

Needs more Tsukiumi screen time.

Summary:

The girl who has approached Minato in the bath quickly introduces herself as Sekirei number two, Matsu. Matsu becomes annoyed when Musubi returns faster than expected, effectively stopping her advances on who she believes to be her Ashikabi. Matsu quickly traps Musubi, but before she can continue her business, Miya appears to stop her with her usual warnings. Matsu is properly introduced as a member of the Izumo Inn afterwards, and Minato is surprised to see that her room is located behind a hidden wall. After Matsu mentions her departure from the M.B.I., Miya reveals that her late husband was also a member of the group. Yukari has trouble in her room in the meantime, as Shiina asks for a kiss in belief that she should become his Ashikabi.

Homura confronts Mitsuha and Akitsu in the city, though they quickly escape when they see that they cannot easily defeat him. Homura finds himself drained after this encounter, however, and further finds that he cannot control is powers properly. Tsukiumi appears to help him in this predicament, then declaring that the two of them cannot be defeated as individuals. Homura contradicts Tsukiumi by saying that she should be one to acquire an Ashikabi, as it would make her more powerful. Tsukiumi then expresses her realization that her body seems to be reacting to an Ashikabi, but she believes she should find and kill this person.

Minato is shocked to see Matsu enter his room late at night, but she quickly gets to the point by making herself his Sekirei. This moment doesn’t last for long, as Miya enters to punish Matsu once again. The next morning, Matsu finally joins the rest of the group for breakfast. Minato notices that Uzume is not there, and is further surprised to see that Kagari seems to have injured his hands. While having dozed off later in the day, Minato sees a vision of Tsukiumi in his dreams. When she declares that she will kill him, he quickly wakes in shock. Minato gets a mail from Yukari soon after, expressing that she will not be able to visit because of various events. Minato recalls that the dream he just saw was similar to the one he saw with Kusano, then guessing that Matsu may know something about this.

When Minato visits Matsu in her room, she reminds him of certain details in the Sekirei plan. There are 108 released Sekirei, all who must fight until only one remains with their Ashikabi. The mastermind of the project is, of course, Minaka. Minato suddenly wonders if he has the power to do anything, not caring about the final prize, but concerned about what could happen to those close to him. Reminding him that he was able to win over herself, the number two Sekirei, Matsu simply tells Minato to have more confidence in himself. When Minato brings up the dream he just had, Matsu describes the ability for Ashikabi to become stronger when they acquire more Sekirei. When she finds the Sekirei that he has seen in his dreams, however, she panics due to Tsukiumi’s personality and nature.

As Musubi and Kusano are confident, Matsu comes up with a plan to intercept Tsukiumi. While Minato and Kusano travel through the city later, they run into Seo after catching a falling cat. Hikari and Hibiki meanwhile confront Tsukiumi, though they are forced to retreat after seeing that they are not much of a match for her. As Seo notices that Minato has become Matsu’s Ashikabi, he reveals that he was the one to actually built the hidden room for Miya’s husband Takehito. This conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Hibiki and Hikari, and Tsukiumi soon after. Upon seeing Minato, Tsukiumi’s body immediately reacts. With this, she again declares she will kill him.

ED: I didn’t see anything, alright. Nothing.

Preview: I saw Tsukiumi. Wait, something else is going to happen too….yea…something.

Impression:

No. No, I don’t care about how important Matsu is to the story. No, okay. What this show needs is…more Tsukiumi. I dunno, I typically like the light-headed main character types like Musubi, and I’m still the big Hayami Saori fan that I always have been, but number 09 has been my favorite ever since her introduction in the manga. Sure, she’s got a pretty stereotypical and cliched role…but….it’s a enjoyable stereotypical role? I expressed slight problems I had with Inoue Marina’s playing her role earlier, but after watching this episode, I really didn’t think it was that bad at all. I thought it was quite fitting actually. I think I might like Matsu a bit more in the anime than I did in the manga too. It’s interesting what animation and voice can do for an experience. I’m loving Kusano, for one, five times more than I did before hearing her awesome squeals and seeing her random antics in motion.

Other funny parts included Matsu’s netting of Musubi, yuri kissing, Miya’s statement that “Yobai is not allowed!”, and Minato’s “Ero da!” It continues to amaze me how advanced computers are always presented in movies, T.V., and animation too. I mean, are blue backgrounds and windows popping up rapidly really a sign of the future? I also thought that Tsukiumi’s dream scene was pretty cool, even though it was just a simple filter. I’m such a sucker. There was some plot development and stuff too, but according to my recent poll, about 85% of people watching this show know what it’s really about. Next week has more Tsukiumi…..and bishounen…..you know, if you’re into that…