Himouto! Umaru-chan R – 01

OP Sequence

OP: 「にめんせい☆ウラオモテライフ！」 (Nimensei☆Ura Omote Life!) by Doma Umaru (Tanaka Aimi)

「干物妹の帰還」 (Himouto no Kikan)
“The Himouto Returns”

Well boys and girls, it’s returned. It’s been a long wait for us hamster aficionados, but Himouto is back for all the slapstick humour and chibi hilarity our parched souls could ever need. While certainly debatable if we even needed this sequel, I don’t think anyone will be complaining too long once the shenanigans start and our hamster hoodie demon goddess gets down to business. Himouto knows what works and wastes little time in giving it to us.

While a largely conventional episode by Himouto standards, I’m quite happy the show hasn’t seemingly missed a beat in its two year break. Umaru (Tanaka Aimi) remains the dichotomous wonder woman, going from kira-kira smartie of perfection with the following of millions (give or take) to uber otaku with a thing for midnight snacks and death glares. Also UMR to Sylphinford’s (Furukawa Yurina) TSF, but that’s an adorable romance of rivalry for a later date. Poor Taihei (Nojima Kenji) of course remains at the tender loving mercy of Umaru’s impulsive charm, and while getting off lightly this week (thanks to the demands of work), that guaranteed will not last. Big brother is Himouto’s unfortunate punching bag, and no matter the love Umaru may have for him (remember last season?), he’s destined to suffer at her demanding hands. Training sisters is never an easy task.

Particularly pleasing too is how Ebina (Kageyama Akari), Kirie (Shiraishi Haruka), and Silphyinford have not changed a bit. Ebina’s bubbly clumsiness remains for all to see, and no effort was similarly spared in showing her superheated Taihei love (just in case you forgot all about that). I think Ebina jigglies and the law of inertia were also featured somewhere this episode, but honestly I could not tell you, I was too busy busting a gut at the coach-announcer interview. At least Kirie keeps things simple, her Umaru obsession is clear as day, and her hilarious introverted inability to speak her mind always lying just under the surface. Blend S’ Maika may be the sadist of the season, but that girl has nothing on spastic purple hair let me tell you—just wait for the other brother to enter the picture. As for Silphyinford, well, we have not seen her true passions air just yet, but I imagine it won’t take too long before the UMR competition comes roaring on back. With a showcasing of friendship early on, you can bet the fun (and games) between these girls is just getting started.

It might have only been a light refresher for all things Umaru, but Himouto is now here and ready to get the party started. With lots of material to adapt and no ending to the funnies, I seriously doubt we will wind up disappointed with Himouto’s new offering. Sure it may not be perfect or the best humour to ever grace our screens, but it’s hard beating Himouto when it comes to simple entertainment.

ED Sequence

ED: 「うまるん体操」 (Umarun Taisou) by 妹S (Sisters)