Masamune-kun no Revenge – 06
Shrimp! What more can I say?
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Have you ever wondered…”This is what I could have…”?Well, if you’re you, then that is perfectly normal. If your Makabe, then you’re too dense to allow that to penetrate… |
Life’s Rich Pageant
A quiet yet hot day, with a simple – but revealing – moment…
I love the cold open for a couple of reasons. First, it provides us with a brief interruption – it keeps the show from picking up where it left off last episode, expanding time and space in such a way to suggest that there is more going on besides the two main characters. Second, it underscores the contrast that the rest of the episode will explore – Neko is quick to change to her new school uniform, she assesses things around her just as quick, and Yoshino needs more time than that to acclimate, at least that is my read on the situation. But for an episode that had less to do with Aki than previous, and one that stood against Makabe’s attitude, this was a good way to start us off…
…and this was just priceless…
But in getting back to where we left off, we get just a bit of evolution between Makabe and Aki. I love how he has to view her just to get a kiss. Are you kidding me dude, it’s as natural as anything in life. But perhaps it’s Aki’s demand for the kiss that puts him off? Or maybe you are hallucinating you’re real hearts desire for both the girl and the food you’re denying yourself for vanity’s sake? That’s a whole other layer to unpack, but I think the show has laid pretty good foundations for Makabe’s one track mind when it comes to his insipid “Love or Death” plan. “We do end up nearly kissing, yes, but not now, and not for any other reason then for me denying the kiss, and by extension, you!”. But other tropes reassert themselves and Aki takes the matter into her own hand again, or a punch in this case. She knew she jumped the gun, and she got control back as quick as she could. So this is a good first bookend for this episode.
Caught by the loli-mama
The rest of it belongs to just how well Neko adapts herself to her surroundings, with a huge helping of what Makabe could have if he, say, dropped his nonsense revenge plan? Now at the outset I’m not sure how to fit Neko’s need for All The Vitamins into a her character’s framework, other than to twin that sort of conspicuous health consumption with Makabe’s fitness freak on; they even hang a lampshade on that when Neko visits his room, soon after it seems that’s the vitamins are all she’s going to eat. Despite the calorie laden feast she helped create. But she has a zest for life that is for sure, and she appreciates new things and the home environment that Makaba’s lolibaba and imouto provide. The seemingly random fireworks at the end even celebrate that simple home life, a life far removed from his scheming and planning. A trait that Yoshino shares, as she was also somewhat standoffish from the activities. These two also had another twinning moment, where she reveals that she isn’t always in control of Aki, and it’s hard for her to assert that control when she does. They same thing Makabe feels around Aki. I love those little crispy complexities the show does…
Tamaya (and more…)
Ptoi! Ptoi! Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi! Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!Ptoi!
But even with that simple life, the scheming is still strong in this one. We get a tiny clue that mama-sama knows Neko from times past – more on that later I’m sure. We also get the continuing story of Makabe trying, in vain, to come up with the perfect line to impress Aki, stealing from Neko in the process! That’s our other bookend, showing that Aki will own this “shelf” so long as Makabe won’t admit the most simple of things. He can’t find a reason to express why he likes her, because, well….yeah.
She likes her snacks more than you…
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 46 comments
Makabe stealing Neko’s line without understanding how to use it was simultaneously cringey and hilarious. The guy can be such an ignoramus, I bet he’d willingly tell Aki he thought of her as a piece of meat when going in for the kiss if Yoshino told him it would sound romantic.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh , that would be the endgame. When all is in tattered ruins, and there is no more dignity left in him, Yoshino will whisper in his ear, “Tell her she reminds you of dry-brined pork cutlets, that’s her favorite”. And he will, and Aki will go through him like xenomorphs into Colonial Space Marines. But then again, I’m sure the person you don’t want to piss off isn’t Yoshino, or just Yoshino, but Loli-baba!