Uramichi Oniisan – 06

「思い出せない例のあれ」 (Omoidasenai Rei no Are)
“That Example I Can’t Remember”

Episode 06 of Uramichi Oniisan takes the characters out on a journey as the staff and crew of Together with Maman on a company outing. But when you mix the staff of an innocuous kid’s show with alcohol, plenty of mishaps are bound to happen.

Because you’re dealing with more than just Uramichi’s pessimism, it’s one of those episodes that show off the series’ variety in their humor. Much of this episode focuses on Uramichi’s co-workers, giving them some space to be able to be funny in other regards whether it be humorous bouts with stink bugs, a ping pong game gone awry, Mizuki Nana drunkenly crooning through one of Utano’s enka songs, or the ways that each co-worker interacts with one another. I also have to give credit to all of the unsettlingly bleak songs that are played throughout Together with Maman. Many of them have already been upsetting, but this week’s song takes the cake with a song dedicated to a disorganized person whose entire life ends up being a mess.

The only stain on this episode and Uramichi Oniisan as a whole is the humor centered around the choreographer Capelinni. I wasn’t planning not to mention them since his role in the last couple of episodes has been very small, but this episode had so many jokes involving his desires for Usahara and how the other characters couldn’t care less to protect Usahara from the predatory gay man. He did have a funny moment where he was the only cast member who fearlessly took out a stink bug, but I don’t have much faith for him not to just be pulled out whenever they want to torment Usahara.

On the other hand, this episode did a great job at giving us clearer details about Iketeru’s personal life. You’d think they’d try to make him ugly on the inside with how much enthusiasm he brings to the show, but with how sheltered and restrictive his childhood was, you can tell it stunted how he handles the world around him. Because he missed out on camping trips as a young boy, he wants to live vicariously through sleepover experiences he could have while he’s being dragged to an inn by his job.

It can also explain why his taste and sense of humor are also eccentric and low-brow. On top of all of the weird alien merch he got his hands on, he is also regularly down for the count whenever he hears a dick joke, including an instance where the girls are playing a game known as “Shlong Samurai”. We get little bits of Utano’s home life and a comically drunk take on her one enka hit, but I think it was a stronger episode for understanding Iketeru as a kid-at-heart who is trying to make up for lost time during the company outing.