First Impressions / Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

「海の家でもメイドラテ」 (Umi no Ie demo Meido Rate)
“Maid Latte Even at The Beach House”

A new ending sequence with a lovely shot of the cute couple and a beach episode to boot. This week sure delivered, as Maid Latte kept the aprons but ditched everything else for swimsuits to help Satsuki’s younger sister Nagisa (Kobayashi Sanae) try to re-spark their beach house business. I should probably be grateful that Aoi wasn’t allowed to take part despite how much he wanted to, because the last thing I would’ve wanted to see is him in a girl’s swimsuit with his junk hanging out. It was much better when he behaving like a jerk saying how the business should just go down under so he can go home, than when he was lecturing the girls on how they should be worry about protecting their skin from UV rays. Odd, how I prefer an asshole over a cross-dresser. I even amaze myself sometimes when weighing options. Interestingly enough, Aoi did “feel” something when Misaki slapped his ass and took over the shower cleaning duties for him. That is, before he called her an old hag and ran off of course.

Seeing as Misaki only had her school swimsuit (with speed cap and goggles) and wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about it like everyone else, I wasn’t that disappointed about her not taking part in the Maid Latte Guerrilla Event at the beach. The same couldn’t be said about Takumi though, as it looked like the world shattered before his very eyes when Misaki didn’t come out in some sexy two-piece. That disappointment he bottled up exploded into a burst of sexual desire later on, when Misaki finally decided to help serve customers and got another swimsuit from Satsuki. Takumi literally ran up right behind Misaki after she just got finished changing, grabbed her arm with one hand, placed another over her EYES, and planted his lips square in her lower back to leave a huge hickey. That was some pretty hot sexual harassment to say the least, but the fact that Misaki doesn’t try to pound Takumi’s face in right after must mean she’s okay with it at some subconscious level. At least, that’s the way I’m going to interpret her simply coming out in a t-shirt to hide it and her swimsuit appearance from unsuspecting eyes just like Takumi wanted.

At this point, it’s probably safe to assume that Misaki’s reached a very, very high level of tolerance towards his sexual advances, even when he insists on being the one to give her CPR if needed. In any case, we all know she secretly wants some Usui love, so the last part of this episode involving a trip up to the hot spring was surprisingly good even without any actual bath scenes. I know that sounds crazy, as it even amazes me how I can say something like that without following it up with a ton of sarcasm. However, it all started off with Honoka and her awesome ghost story scaring the daylights out of Misaki. It’s not always the case that a tsundere is afraid of ghosts, but it sure as hell works better when there’s a guy around to capitalize on it to his own benefit. I probably should have felt bad for Misaki passing on the rare opportunity to go to a hot spring for free, especially when she was bawling her eyes out in front of Takumi for giving her the hickey she doesn’t dare show the the others, but she was so cute when she was scared that I was enjoying it more than anything else. She somehow mustered enough courage to try and bring everyone the free passes she thought they left behind, which led to Takumi scaring the crap out of her when he went after her.

It was at that point that I really did feel bad for Misaki. By the look of it, Takumi quickly realized that it was no laughing matter too. It’s one thing to scare her when other people are around, but it’s not so cool when she’s scared to death and about to cry. He wasn’t intentionally trying to scare her though, hence why the hug he gave her to try and calm her down was really cute to see. Seeing Misaki shaking and clinging onto him helplessly is what made this hot spring portion of the episode better than any bath scenes would have. To top it off, Aoi showed up, figured that Misaki likes Takumi, and told her to just admit it already. It was like music to my ears to finally have someone tell her that straight-up, which got her pondering about it as well. Ultimately, things ended off on a lighthearted note, with the free passes Misaki brought being extras and Takumi dragging Aoi off to the men’s side of the hot spring. Still, the humor there didn’t overshadow that awesome Takumi x Misaki moment one bit. The next episode looks like it’ll take place at the beach again and involve a volleyball tournament (woohoo!), along with some big moment between Takumi and Misaki.

As curious as I am about that, the new ending sequence hinting at more of Takumi’s childhood, his seemingly wealthy roots, and who I imagine to be his mother leaving him, has me hoping they’ll cover it in the anime at some point. I’ve purposely refrained from reading up about it, but I already have some ideas based on what’s been shown. I wouldn’t mind a hint on who the other guy shown is though!

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「∞ループ」 (∞ Loop) by heidi.
Watch the 2nd ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Preview

39 Comments

      2. Show Spoiler ▼

        qntiria
        Reply

  11. Ah yes! Finally they got around to doing the beach scene…I’ve been waiting for it for a little while now. It was very adorable, and I’m glad they didn’t cut the fluff out in the anime. And that last image of the new ED is one of my top favorites! KWMS <3

    Kireiryuu
    Reply

  14. Aw, watching the ending reminded me that the Misaki and Takumi scene was based off a chapter from the manga. Makes me wonder if jcstaff is going to that chapter into an episode or not, it’ll be a nice, sweet episode if they did.

    ShadoWanderer
    Reply

  15. “The same couldn’t be said about Takumi though, as it looked like the world shattered before his very eyes when Misaki didn’t come out in some sexy two-piece.” That made me laugh so hard. Usui looks like a sad, sad puppy.

    I like Aoi mainly because he’s straightforward. He sees what Misaki herself doesn’t notice and tells it straight out to her. I don’t really like his wig (he’s cuter if he gets a better one or when just as a boy) but that’s another story. Also, they should leave him alone about his crossdressing, it’s his preference.

    I really like the character development here. Usui seems to be changing a bit lately with a bit wider range of emotions and Misaki (with the help of Aoi) seems to be realizing she might just love him. Looking forward to more episodes.

    akani
    Reply

  16. Well I know his advances were played for laughs, and this show, being a comedy, simply glossed over what consequences would actually happen to someone who would otherwise belong in the slammer. It’s all good fun, and fanservice. BUT THIS is the first time in the series where I really think Tamaki went way too far! How could he just abuse Misaki by embarrassing her, giving her more than a kiss (really, the Wiki article gave me more shivers than the ghost story!), thereby skipping a trip that she was obviously so excited about, to the point where she was nearly crying?! I hope she eventually joins them after that trouble of returning the tickets to them all for nothing. She’s there anyway, so most likely, she’ll get what she wanted and I’ll be a happy fan!

    starss
    Reply

  19. well considering the manga is still ongoing, we might get a conclusion of some sort but not a true ending juz yet. Though i havent read the manga juz yet since i’m holding out on it.

    Though certainly quite a few steps forward this episode with Misaki x Takumi. The forest scene was terrific! Though Misaki was scared stiff due to it 😛

    And I DEMAND A WALLPAPER BEING MADE OUT OF THE EDing SCREENSHOT OF THEM BOTH!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀

    L3g0la5
    Reply

  20. I wouldn’t mind a hint on who the other guy shown is though!

    The other guy is:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    shante
    Reply

  21. When Misaki was forced to stay behind to conceal Takumi’s kiss-mark, I think I just heard Takumi’s mind said “Just as planned!” when I saw him also staying behind.

    Misaki’s cuteness level has been steadily increasing, and this week she continues to delight us all.

    I think it’s safe to say beach/onsen scenes and traps just don’t mix along very well. Because as Divine puts it well, no matter how cute he is, none of us here would like to see Aoi being scantily clad in female swimwear with “his junk hanging out”.

    BTW, while she appears very briefly, Suzuna continues to be very interestingly funny this week.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  22. I don’t know if it’s just me, but Misaki seems to be sounding more childish in the way she talks than she did in previous episodes.

    Then again, I may be reading too much into this, since I went on internet break for 2 weeks.

    Satoida
    Reply

  25. First we have the “kiss behind Haruka’s knee” in Amagami. Then we have “kiss on the small of Misa-chan’s back” in this one. Lol. I personally favor Usui Takumi’s possessive kiss than Tachibana Junichi’s wan-chan kiss. XD

    I don’t know if it’s just me but Misa-chan looks a bit… old in the ED. Must be the hair.

    lil' lilly
    Reply

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