「君のためのドッグファイト」 (Kimi no tame no Doggu Faito)
“A Dog Fight For You”

Well, this sure was an intense episode. From the way it began, with Mamiya Yumi’s (Gibu Yuko) stylish introduction, you would think that this would be a mere comedy episode dedicated to her. Instead, we took a completely different turn and picked up from where the story left off with Yuno’s trauma. It was definitely a nice follow up, with Tarou running off to challenge the punk pretty boy that hurt Yuno, giving a Kamijou Touma-like speech in the process and finishing up with a just as familiar Imagine Breaker. Needless to say, such heroic speeches and fights seemed a bit out of place in this series, given it’s art style, but nonetheless it was a very well done and executed scene. I must admit, my heart was swayed when Tarou was standing there giving his “why you suck” speech, and I felt the small jolt of excitement that I usually get when I see Touma deliver the same speeches in Index. Of course, his victory wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Mio, who sent a gift from god in only the way she could: a metal bat that should have broken his knee. I suppose we can take it as a sign that Mio knows not to get physically involved in a fight between men, but jeez, could she not have thought of a less painful way to help Tarou!? At least Tarou himself was grateful for the bean, as was obvious from his vision of Mio as an angel. This scene in particular actually makes me wonder if this anime will explore MioxTarou, as so far it’s been completely YunoxTarou. You see Mio alongside Yuno as a main heroine, so one would expect her to become a love interest at some point. Then again, this series has already betrayed my expectations more than once; in a good way of course.

Mio love flags aside, the girl who has actually become a love interest has developed well from her first appearance in episode one. When she was first introduced, I thought she was just a bitch who found Tarou disgusting because of his fetish. This initial characterization only serves to show how the story was set up to surprise viewers, and it certainly accomplished that with flying colors. Perhaps I’m just a sucker, but I find it quite refreshing to be this floured by a series which I didn’t have much expectations for other than ecchi comedy. Hell, XEBEC didn’t even ruin any of the moments after the fight by throwing in unneeded comedy. I’ve read that so far, XEBEC has remained fairly consistent in its adaptation of the light novel this is based on, and once again I commend them for not taking this and turning it inside-out. It appears that Yuno is well on her way to recovering from her Androphobia, even telling Tarou that he was walking too far away from her at one point. Speaking of which, that scene really made them look like a couple, and is miles apart from last episode at the train station. Yet, despite this stark turn in dynamic between the two, it doesn’t feel forced to me at all. Yet another example of excellent execution on the part of the creators.

Of course, I can’t end this post without commenting on our newest addition to the fetish family tree, Mamiya Yumi. This series continues to entertain me with it’s fetish laden characters. This time, we have a pseudo-lesbian (or bisexual?) who goes into a frenzy when she sees cute girls, wanting desperately to give them a massage and loosing all sense of self in the process. I can’t recall ever seeing such a fetish in anime or real life for that matter, but it certainly makes for shamelessly justified and well placed yuri scenes. According to Tarou, she has some history with Tatsukichi (who I thought was gay) which is what prompted my bisexual theory. You can also clearly see Chibi Yumi chasing down Chibi Tatsukichi in the OP, so it’ll be interesting, if not comedic, to watch where this connection goes.

 

Preview

*Note: If anyone knows a proper name for Yumi’s fetish, please let me know in the comments and I will immediately find someone similar and bring back pics.

34 Comments

  1. Great episode, I really did not think that this anime would have this kind of character development. From the looks of the preview, we’ll get a date next time, I’m looking forward to it.

    ClementIV
  2. Very fast high kick from Taro for an untrained high school student. Ridiculous that Taro wasn’t just crushed, but…he’s much more likable (awesome?) than the main character from Ookami-san (Ryouma?..).

    rufe
  3. When I saw this seasons preview i wasnt quite sure if i wanted to watch this – but i watched it to see whats it would be like. And IM SO GLAD I DID! The comedy is soperfectly placed in the drama that it doesnt ruin the plot but still makes me laught my ass off XD! One of my fave shows this seaon XD!

    OtakuFreak
      1. Different fetishists have their own preferences. This chick only likes feeling up good looking girls… how is that so different than the fact that Tarou only likes getting abused by good looking girls? You didn’t see Tarou getting all hot and bothered when pretty boy beat his ass this episode. Why? Because pretty boys aren’t his preference.

        Jaysus
  4. This episode was exciting and the follow-up with that ass of a senpai was exciting and fun to watch. I even yelled a HELL YEAH when Tarou knocked the hell out of Yuno’s tormentor. The change of pace was nicely done too and didn’t feel disconnected from the rest of the episode. Tarou gets a good nod from this side of the monitor!

    Shinjiro
  5. This easily had one of the weakest first episodes of the season imo…making the drastic turnaround in only 2 more eps. that much more amazing. Definitely a keeper…I’m just about speechless at how natural and fluid all the character/relationship development has occurred in such a short span.

    Xin
  6. Wouldn’t be surprised if Yumi was one of the people who (really) thought Tatsukichi was cute as a girl, lol. Heck, wouldn’t surprise me if she probably supported him about keeping on with it.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  7. Just gets better and better. Wasn’t really expecting some potential character development after seeing stuff like Kanokon and LadyxBato. 2 thumbs up for Tarou doing a 2 hit knock out!

    fall3nbs
  8. I tottaly didnt expect MM to be so awesome. I really thought it would be another slow pace comedy series which is totally the usual, and terrible as well.

    The World God Only Knows and MM totally exceeded my expectations

    Alec

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