Wagaya no Oinari-sama. – 23

「お稲荷さま。だいえっとする」 (Oinari-sama. Daietto Suru)
“Oinari-sama. Goes on a Diet”

Episode at a Glance:
After badminton practice, Misaki weighs herself with the rest of the girls and becomes depressed because she gained weight over the Christmas holidays. She later runs into Noboru and some of the guys and is annoyed that they can eat so much yet gain no weight. To make things worse, she finds out that Noboru is only a little bit heavier than she is at 55kg (~121lbs). Outside, they run into Momiji, who gives Noboru a bag full of meat buns. She also invites him for some cheesecake and tea, but Noboru refuses because he has to make a cabbage roll for Tooru tonight, causing his friends to wonder what the hell he’s doing. Misaki however notices them all admiring Momiji’s slim figure, so she refuses to eat any of the buns.

Back at home, Noboru finds Kuugen and Kou snacking away at a bunch of buns they bought, which makes him worry about breaking the monthly budget again. He then tells them they’re get fat at this rate, prompting Kuugen to say it’s hard for her to get fat. Kou on the other hand feels like she gained some weight, so they go and weigh her and find out that she’s a bit overweight. Because of this, Noboru forbids them from snacking between meals for the next while. Meanwhile, Misaki starts a new diet for herself, cutting her meals in half and avoiding carbs and fatty foods, in order to lose 3 kilograms.

After school the next day, Noboru is surprised to find Misaki running laps around the track, but he invites her to go to all-you-can-eat yakiniku with him and his friends. While originally overjoyed at the invitation, Misaki refuses and runs off to the book store looking for diet books, where she bumps into Kuugen and Kou. After hearing how Kou’s on a diet too, Misaki really starts to think that Noboru likes slim girls. The three of them then leave and are drawn to a cheesecake store, making Kuugen yell at Kou to hurry up and lose weight so that they can start snacking again. Having received a pamphlet about a new sports club, the three of them stop by and start running on treadmills. Kuugen on the other hand gets bored and ends up destroying the butterfly machine, so they decide to go take a swim instead. Kou however gets a cramp and starts to drown, so she uses a jutsu to get rid of all the water in the pool.

Confused as to what happened, Misaki leaves with Kuugen and Kou, where they run into Noboru after his all-you-can-eat yakiniku. Kuugen however isn’t happy about being left out and asks what she should be eating if everything’s high in calories. Sakura then lists off healthy foods, so Kuugen tells her to stay over for a diet training camp, which Noboru is completely fine with. Thrilled about staying under the same roof as Noboru, Misaki starts packing a few things that night, including some sexy panties that her sister gives her.

After school the following day, all of Noboru and Misaki’s friends are shocked to hear that she’s staying overnight at his place, but are more surprised at how clueless Noboru is. Stopping by the grocery store on the way home, they pick up some daikon that are on sale, which Misaki uses to prepare dinner for everyone. With Noboru taking a bath first, Misaki starts becoming happy that she gained weight and is now on a diet. Over dinner, everyone’s impressed by how good and healthy Misaki’s cooking is, so Kou asks her to teach her how to make these foods. Thinking that Kou’s doing this for Noboru’s sake, Misaki becomes more determined and weighs herself again while getting ready for a bath. Noboru mistakenly comes in thinking it was Tooru inside, making Misaki think he saw the fat she gained.

At school sometime later, Misaki is still constantly tempted by food, but managed to lose 6 kilograms, much to her delight. On her way home, she passes on going out for pizza with her friends and ends up collapsing due to hunger. Hearing her stomach growl, Noboru offers to treat her to cheesecake as thanks for the other day, which she insistently agrees to. At the new cheesecake shop, Misaki asks Noboru if he hates girls that eat a lot, but says likes girls who know how to enjoy their food. Relieved, Misaki eats happily away, but Noboru comments on how that was one hell of a stomach growl earlier, making her extremely embarrassed.

At the Takagami house, Kou weighs herself and finds that she hasn’t really lost any weight. She then loosens her kimono and all the things she’s been carrying falls out (including the Sakasaen), so Kuugen yells at her saying she’ll be heavy for sure if she’s carrying all that stuff.

 

Next Episode:
「お稲荷さま。初詣に行く」 (Oinari-sama. Hatsumoude ni Iku)
“Oinari-sama. Goes to the New Year Shrine Visit”

Impressions:
If my memory serves me right, I think this is the first time they’ve shown Kou in something other than her shrine maiden outfit. As a bonus, she was also in a swimsuit. I found it a bit odd that a protective maiden who uses water jutsu can’t really swim, but it did lead to a pretty amusing outcome for Misaki at least.

Overall, the episode was fairly laid back in comparison to some of the previous arcs, and as such, didn’t really accomplish much in particular. With everything centering around Misaki’s diet (and to a lesser degree, Kou’s), there was very little interaction between her and Momiji. Seeing as there’s only one episode left, it doesn’t look like they’ll delve into this love triangle sub-plot any further. While I figured they wouldn’t do so anyway, I’m a bit disappointed they didn’t work this in somehow to the current episode.

Given how this week was episodic and didn’t start a short, two-part, mini arc off, I’m kind of curious as to how they’ll conclude the series. The preview hints at Gyokuyou‘s (a.k.a. Tama-chan’s) continued disdain for the Mizuchi family, which would be a fairly climactic way to conclude things, but I don’t suspect it’ll give much time to wrap up any loose ends. Granted, they may choose not to wrap up anything and just end the series with the emphasis that Kuugen and Kou continue to stay with the Takagamis as-is. While I would personally like to see a finale that pulls everything together and makes you reflect back on the series with more appreciation, I don’t expect such a conclusion for such a lighthearted series, so I’m just going to sit back and enjoy what’s left. That’s not to say I’d be unhappy with an open-ended finale though; it’s just that something to keep in mind so that your expectations are reasonable.

 

Cast:
– Tenko Kuugen (天狐 空幻) / Yukana (ゆかな)
– Kou (コウ) / Hayami Saori (早見 沙織)
– Takagami Noboru (高上 昇) / Mizushima Takahiro (水島 大宙)
– Takagami Tooru (高上 透) / Shimura Yuu (嶋村 侑)
– Sakura Misaki (佐倉 美咲) / Kano Yui (鹿野 優以)
– Miyabe Momiji (宮部 紅葉) / Itou Shizuka (伊藤 静)
– Takagami Haruki (高上 春樹) / Miyamoto Mitsuru (宮本 充)
– Sugino (杉野) / Nakayama Masahiro (山中 真尋)
– Ootsuka (大塚) / Fujii Keisuke (藤井 啓輔)
– Teraoka (寺岡) / Nakano Daiki (中野 大樹)
– Sakura Chiharu (佐倉 千晴) / Takeda Hana (武田 華)
– Female club member (女子部員) / Ishikawa Ayano (石川 綾乃)
– Female club member (女子部員) / Honda Mariko (本多 真梨子)