Asobi Asobase – 07

「怪盗・あそ研 / 恐怖の女 / 電波でGO / おっぱいの悲劇」 (Kaitou Aso Ken / Kyoufu no Onna / Denpa de Go / Oppai no Higeki)
“Phantom Thieves: Pass Club / Woman of Terror / Weirdo Go / Boobie Tragedy”

Asobi Asobase has taken strides in having its continuity link up from segment-to-segment, so it was interesting to see the extent of the show’s dedication to calling back to everything the girls have done up til now in the “Phantom Thieves: Pass Club”. The segment starts with Aozora buying off the three girls into getting a book the student council president has kept of all the secrets she’s obtained throughout the years. This particular segment has some hilarious side-gags like Hanako training a stag beetle to pick locks, Kasumi’s passion to be a Phantom Thief, and Hanako choosing the worst time to let a silent-but-deadly fart slip.

But where the segment excels the highest is in its callbacks as the Banana Papers turn out to have a record of everyone who has been victimized by the Pastimers Club from the teacher who was hospitalized briefly for encountering traces of potassium cyanide in their pool water he tasted up to the restaurant that Hanako’s pen ended up burning down. Most of which being Hanako’s fault. Their involvement with the book concludes after they help Olivia feel better when the papers reveal the details behind her spicy body odor, but Aozora keeping the book as a means of potential blackmail provides some neat potential for Aozora’s presence to be more plentiful with how much she knows about the girls with the book she confiscated.

The show also continues to have very hilarious segments along with the lore-building skits. Kasumi taking her first encounter with Hanako’s robot boyfriend in mind, she hangs back and lets her make silly faces by herself, but her embarrassment goes from second-hand to first-hand when she pulls up her laptop to reveal her latest story “Locked Up Love: The Taste of a Boy’s Honey”. Seeing Hanako go from the surprising delight in spying on Kasumi’s erotic tale of the Ping Pong Club senpai who traps the protagonist in the gym storage to outright disappointment when the dominant character gets his tongue stuck on tape that he licked was almost as hilarious as their go-to responses now that the two are aware that Kasumi was eavesdropping on Hanako. Kasumi’s outfit troubles as her large breasts cause Hanako to make “updates” to her outfit was amusing, but didn’t hit its crescendo until it was Kasumi’s turn to make “alterations” to Hanako’s yukata. After a long absence, it was a pleasant surprise to see the puppet show return with a variation of “Red Light, Green Light” that pays homage to Metal Gear Solid in a way that only puppets could make twice as comical, especially with the continuous nudity that Hanako’s puppet keeps resorting to by the end of the omake. Time flies by fast with Episode 07 already being here, but it’s pleasant to see Asobi Asobase continue to bring some of the biggest laughs this season.

Omake