Migi to Dali – 10

「ビーバーズvs一条母」 (Beavers vs Ichijou Haha)
“Beavers vs Mother Ichijo”

Episode 10 of Migi to Dali amps up the tension as the twins plan to clear their name by exposing the murky secrets that linger behind the doors of Eiji’s home. But if they want to even the odds with Maruta and Akiyama’s support, they must come forward with their biggest secret.

THE BEAVER COUNCIL HAS DECIDED YOUR FATE

I wasn’t sure what to make of Maruta coming around because he had been hard to trust, but it was great to see how he was secretly the sentimental type. After all the times he’s tried to go to his mom about Hitori in this episode, he was surprisingly moved to tears when Migi and Dali told him about their life story and connection to Eiji’s family.

They fleshed out Maruta even further by revealing his hidden relationship with Eiji’s sister Karen. It was cute to see that someone who’s as abrasive and malicious as Maruta wound up being a romantic with a soft spot for a pen pal whom he could only speak to via Morse code.

Maruta’s redemption in this episode is at its most successful when this is part of a larger plan to help Migi and Dali avenge their mom. While he was more than happy to use their plot as a chance to see Karen in person, he winds up being a major trooper when he fakes out Migi and Dali into thinking he is abandoning them when he wants to give a greater vantage point for them to hold Eiji hostage.

A LIGHT IN THE DARK

The art direction of Migi to Dali is something I’d like to dive further into with final impressions, but these last two episodes have been noticeably impressive as they aim to instill a deeper fear in the audience. While the anime’s polished character designs and heavy shadows made light of the twins’ dead-serious approach to the wildest situations, it made the last two episodes incredibly intense as Reiko is in hot pursuit of anyone who knows too much about their family.

The use of heavy shadows engulfs the boys in a hopelessly complicated scenario as the difference between life and death could be as simple as being unable to keep Eiji quiet or reach the high ground in time. Reiko’s presence also adds to this urgency with how easily she blends in with the shadows, leaving only her ice-cold gaze and contorted expressions within the audience’s line of sight. I can’t wait to reflect on the art direction of this show because I feel like I could be phrasing this far better.

Considering how it manages to make interior spaces and the daylight as menacing as the evening scenes, it’s a notably impressive feat for the staff to pull this off just by adapting the manga as is. Nami Sano’s elegant, macabre, and sleek character designs and use of shadows also make the manga quite the treat, so I’m impressed with how the staff hadn’t compromised a single detail to make it as haunting and graceful as the manga. I’m looking forward to seeing how they adapt Metry’s origin story in the next episode.