Ben-To / First Impressions

「オムっぱい弁当 752kcalとロコもっこり弁当 1100kcal」 (Omuppai Bentō 752kcal to Rokomokkori Bentō 1100kcal)
“Omelettits Bento 752kcal and Tent of Seafood Bento 1100kcal”
♦ ♦ ♦


“Could it be? The legendary.. white..areolas…”

While episode seven brought the token excuse to show our heroines in lesser attire, it was anything but excellent Ben-To affairs. The incredulity of our protagonist’s passion to see his fellow comrades with breasts in swimsuits gave much reason to snort milk out of one’s nose, as the jokes continue to excel with comedic timing and creativity. Even the thickly layered juvenile jokes were funny. Satou’s reactions especially incite some guffaws on their own, no doubt thanks to Shimono Hiro’s long career voicing such characters. Reacting exaggeratively over a female’s ridiculousness has been made into an art form by Shimono, and he deserves no less respect.

Though it’s great that the humor hasn’t lost itself, the change up from the usual “routine” was easily welcome. Having Ren (Mr. Foxy) stick around opposite to Satou gave a new relationship to focus on for a change, and one can’t help but cheer for his crush on the Wanderer. It wouldn’t hurt if they became recurring characters. Ren also brought with him new light to the situation with Satou’s title, and as to be expected, he’s yet again dealt the worst cards. Even though the origin of the other wolf titles were revealed to be a bit short of glorious, at least their names have the illusion of cool. Strategically, “pervert” is actually a great title, with enemies undermining your abilities by not taking you seriously in the least. Fitting for a newbie rising the ranks so quickly.

And as per usual, the episode ends with a fight for half-priced bentos, though it was certainly unexpected one would even occur, much less with a new twist. The brawl that ensued begged the idea that fighting in bikinis should really be a thing. But oh wait, it is. Seeing the various characters from episodes past make their appearances one by one brought a nice sense of continuity, and after all the backstory shown, it’s now much easier to get behind the motivation of the characters to win their bento, which translates to more fun watching for the result. Kind of like sports.

Spreads: 04, 05, 07

Episode 07


「たっぷりニラハンバーグ弁当 765kcal」 (Tappuri Nira Hanbāgu Bentō 765kcal)
“Jumbo Garlic Chive Hamburger Steak Bento 765kcal”
♦ ♦ ♦


“Sis. I got this.” You: “FFFUU-“

Shifting gears in what appears to be a transition into a new arc, we’re introduced to Sawagi Kyou, twins who apparently share the same name. It’s said that the concept of a Ryou was determined to be unpopular after a short meeting one afternoon at David Production. The straight (wo)man is played by Horie Yui, seiyuu legend, while the excitable one a Tamura Yukari, second seiyuu legend. Yukari’s frequent change in tone, from femme fatale to squeals only a child is expected of, brings the necessary entertainment to an otherwise dragged out joke at the hospital. The dynamic between the twins leave something to be desired, as they are not exactly funny between themselves, but more so at the expense of Satou. While this is true for pretty much every other character in the series, the others have more of their own flavor. Despite an entire episode to showcase who they are and why we should like them, the Sawagi twins pale in comparison to Shaga. Perhaps twincest is their actual forte. Plus Sen.

The long scenario at the hospital leaves little room for much else, making this episode dryer than the previous few. Considering the efforts from the twins are completely thrown away like their shoddy nurse uniforms, it probably would have been best if that were actually the halfway point, leading into a bento battle at the end like usual. If you’ll remember, episode three had similar issues. What’s mainly different is the obvious fact that they’re twins, meaning two fighters at once on the field this time. No doubt they have their special double-team moves, well synchronized and unbeatable compared to the wolves who are used to going solo. Will the budget pull through..?

Episode 08

Preview

37 Comments

  2. I just love how sometimes they put in extra efforts in the jokes.
    – Hentai losing his ticket and ending up with the unlucky loli
    – The unlucky loli arriving by cola transport from 2? eps ago
    – The passing by of the loli causing cramps and bathing suits malfunctions
    – The pricing god not being able to sticker and ripping of his penguin arm. And hentai using that arm as rudder
    – The recurring i don’t approve people who lose focus during a match

    And also for some reason the sliding fat dude amused me when he said right in the face

    outcast
    Reply

      1. It just so happens to translate so well. Hence Omupai(Omurice+Oppai) becomes Omelitits. Its one of he few times that a Japanese pun can be translated perfectly to English while keeping the same (perverted) context.

        fragb85
        Reply

  7. I love erotic-made bento and the dynamic twin keeps tagging while they visit [s]Sen[/s] Saito kind of ….
    David Production will manage the twin battle that since they didn’t spend that much on their opening which was evidently used in the Shaga opening budget. I foresee a two on two match between the twins versus Ice Witch and Hentai.

    pedobearmatt
    Reply

  8. Not yet seen episode 8, but the screenshots look promising.

    Though episode 7 was funny like hell, and I’m not even referring to the innuendos here and there.

    Just my 2 cents, a pretty young lady with an amazing figure like Macchan (she should be still 20-something) shouldn’t waste herself on too much booze and ciggies, or she’ll find her figure won’t last for too long.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. Please pardon me for talking to myself as there’s no edit button.

      Placing Half-Priced Bentos in swimming pools… this show ought to have a video game adaptation, ideally by Sega, Satou’s favourite software brand. 🙂

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

  11. Why do I get the feeling Katou Emiri (Shaga) is enjoying her rapport with Yuuki Aoi (Oshiroi) since they first worked together in Madoka Magica? Especially with scenes where Shaga is feeling out Oshiroi’s small chests. 🙂

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  13. 7 was possibly the greatest pool episode I’ve ever seen. I hate to say it, but Omlettitties has wormed it’s way into my perverted vocabulary.

    As much slack as this show has gotten this season, it’s one of my favorite shows from the last THREE seasons. I really don’t understand the dislike/hate for it.

    Ah well! More for me!

    *goes to watch ep 8*

    Wait
    Reply

    1. Indeed it was. Didn’t my hopes high in that episode, especially after seeing the weak start of that episode. But they turned it arround.

      The dick joke is getting lame and old though. I hope they stop doing that

      Alec
      Reply

  18. Count on Ben-to to make a typical pool episode entertaining. Fanservice, hilarity and fighting all in one episode.

    The twin episode was pretty meh though, but they gave great voice actors for the twins.

    fragb85
    Reply

  21. and for ep 08, the twins, the twins… i can imagine how the seiyuu had their fun during recording 😛
    also, yay for the ss#18, the scene had me thumbs up too, though for entirely different reasons – accidental PERVERT played to the max!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  23. Good episodes of course… but I have to comment on your writing style a bit Kiiragi… It feels a little forced, like you’re trying to talk above both what you’re comfortable doing and above the audience. It’s not that anything you write is exceptionally hard to understand, but it feels like when it’s read that you spent a lot of time thinking about the words you wrote ahead of time, and that may be all and good for writing a novel, but when it comes to an article referring to an anime it seems heavyhanded at best.

    From the first paragraph for example… “The incredulity of our protagonist’s passion to see his fellow comrades with breasts in swimsuits gave much reason to snort milk out of one’s nose, as the jokes continue to excel with comedic timing and creativity.” It feels like an attempt at poetic writing, but from an article stand point it just feels… mucky. Like treading through snow, you can see the destination either way, but it feels like more work getting to your destination than it should be.

    “Our Protagonist’s surprising passion to see his female wolf companions in their swimsuits was just exceptionally well written and timed” by comparison gets the some points across but at nearly half the word count.

    Koji
    Reply

    1. Yeah, but what you’re seeing is simply the product of my boredom. Sometimes I write differently because that’s part of how I get my entertainment, e.g. I wrote one for Ao no Exorcist referring to myself in third person. This particular post I decided to write without referring to myself, hence no “I” in any of the sentences. It was also written on purpose with the tone to read like a snobby sophisticate talking about anime, which you mostly got, except missed the joke. Also, I didn’t spend more time writing this one, but I did have more fun, which is why I like to change it up.
      But you’re right otherwise. Not really suited for anime impressions on a daily basis.

      Kiiragi
      Reply

      1. “But you’re right otherwise. Not really suited for anime impressions on a daily basis.”

        This is interesting. Koji is totally right of course, in everything he says.

        I don’t come her to enjoy your fantastic writing skills in writing everything and anything except anime impressions. I just would like an anime impression review, dedicate your energy and writing skills to doing just that.
        If what your idea of a joke is writing like this, then I must say that you’re boring everyone.

        I do get a feeling of what a person you are though, and if you were asked to make a porno, you’d record a naked guy with a hard-on read poetry for 60 minutes. Maybe you’ll get some laughs out of it, but nobody will ever watch it. Neither poetry lovers, nor porn lovers, nor anyone in between.
        Do you even care about your readers?

        Stöt
        Reply

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