Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo – 09

Short Summary:
Tatsumi tries to clear things up with Tomatsu, declaring that he has feelings for only one person. The situation finally ends when Ureshiko rushes forth to protect him. On the way home, Ureshiko is happy to hear Tatsumi’s concern, but says that she wants to protect him. Tatsumi is called the next day to go to Yuuko’s engagement celebration. From it, he gains a determination to move forward, and the first thing on his agenda is to succeed at the high jump once again. Meanwhile, Ureshiko and Maiko-san receive a visit from Freya, Maiko-san’s daughter and also a previous Manager, bridging the gap between Ureshiko’s mother and Ureshiko herself. Freya’s purpose is to tell Ureshiko that the council will not sit by idly while she continues to be Manager. Freya isn’t happy with the situation and thinks that protecting what’s important is also essential. In her room, Sayaka is prodded to take action by her superiors who have decided to erase the world by force. The first thing she does is to call up Tatsumi. Arriving in the rain, Tatsumi has decided to break things off with her, because he feels that he truly likes Ureshiko. Sayaka wants the same, even though she still has feelings for him. Sayaka has a hard time handling his kind and friendly manner, even after he tells her that he has someone else on his mind, until she finally pushes him away and decides to move forward herself . Having accomplished what he set out to do, Tatsumi returns to Ureshiko and declares his feelings to her again. Ureshiko takes off her ring, and gets within millimeters of kissing him, but its sparkling light reminds her of her duty. She’s unable to go through with the kiss, instead falling to the floor while crying and apologizing.

I like this episode for two reasons: the plot is moving forward and the animation is good. Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo has always been pretty good about plot, but not animation. Today’s animation isn’t fabulous since none of the scenes are breathtaking (the last scene comes the closest) but the characters are very well drawn and consistent. So it doesn’t quite make up for the low quality of last week, but the episode does stand on its own fairly well.
It pains me to see how many close calls we’ve had in this series. I just don’t understand how the girls can be weak to the approach of a kiss, but always gain resolution to pull out of it at the last moment. I guess the answer for Ureshiko is that she’s that devoted to protecting the world and the people in it, whereas Sayaka probably just doesn’t want to lose her powers. Still, I got the feeling that Ureshiko doesn’t have as strong feelings as Tatsumi does, and might have only given in (almost) because of Freya’s warning about having regrets. The good thing about the near kiss is that at least Tatsumi and Ureshiko’s relationship is moving forward, if even just a little. The next episode, “心を開く”, implies that there will be even more progress in their relationship. It actually feels like big things are going to happen, but we’ll see.