「パンチドランク・デー」 (Panchi Doranku Dee)
“Punch Drunk Day”

Wow, a title drop this early on? Can’t say I expected it. But a welcome surprise nonetheless.

New Eggs, New Pets

Talking about the new eggs, new pets hatch from them. Although there’s nothing explicitly said about magical girls, I can feel the premise heavily lending itself into that territory. Additionally, while they may look really cute right now, something’s making me hesitate. I reckon it’s some sort of trap to keep them hooked or invested in saving eggs.

After all, Rika had her moment just recently where her resolve wavered. I think these two mannequins could smell that they might lose their free lunch money, and deployed incentives to entice the girls into furthering their cause. Which is being paraded as a noble cause, but we’re not entirely sure whether the mannequins are coming at the situation from an angle of good faith.

Ai’s Self Realization

Weirdly enough, though many people saw it from a mile away, there was something going on between Sawaki sensei and Ai’s mother. You know, that’s actually really unprofessional from Sawaki. And although Momoe defended her uncle and demonstrated happiness that Ai might become family, she completely overlooked the… oddity of the situation, which Rika was not afraid to point out. I really like Momoe. I think she’s a good girl and believe her characterisation is the most fantastic so far, since she seems to have the most depth and nuanced complexity out of the cast if we’re talking about her personal situation.

However, her outlook is undeniably naive. And I sure hope Momoe’s assessment of her uncle’s character is correct. Otherwise, these girls will be in for a rude awakening plus nasty surprise. At the very least, her heart is definitely coming from the right place. And I can’t fault that. But the best of intentions don’t necessarily yield a good outcome.

Ai is struggling to internalize her experience with Koito’s death. Not understanding why Koito chose to commit suicide. And the red flags from Sawaki that she can’t distinguish as being real or an extension of her imagination – the struggle which sends her into the throes of depression. However, because of her association with the other girls and Wonder Eggs, her spirits are inevitably roused out of that dark place. And she’s resolved on returning to school – finally being able to face Sawaki again instead of flinching away from him as she usually does. Let’s hope tomorrow will be a brighter day for these girls. That Ai’s been having manic fever dreams that do not reflect reality and her misgivings about Sawaki are unfounded.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you all next week!

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