First Impressions / Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

「おおかみさん地蔵さんとダブルデートする」 (Ookami-san Jizou-san to Daburu Deeto Suru)
“The Wolf Goes on a Double Date with Jizou”

I guess it would be pretty wrong to say that Ryouko is much more attractive when she’s 13 years-old, but that’s the message I got when she came down with an acute case of amnesia. On the surface, it was a textbook trap to lure out pedophiles, whereas story-wise it was to showcase her true girlish self before Hitsujikai laid his filthy hands on her. To that end, the pretext was a double date with their senior Jizou Ami (Takahashi Mikako), whose earnest desire to repay the baseball team’s ace, Hanasaki Jin (Yamaguchi Tarou), for giving her his umbrella was homage to the Kasajizou Japanese folktale she’s modeled after.

Given Ami’s shyness and indirect way of thanking Jin by sneaking into his place to cook and clean, I kind of wish they gave her character more focus here before shifting to Ryouko and Ryoushi. She somehow mustered the courage to confess to him after Otogi Bank caught her in the act, and went along with a date even though Jin didn’t feel the same way, so the awkward silence when they were together was just begging for some screen time to break the ice. I was secretly rooting for Ami as well, since she reminded me of a lot of Nishizawa Ayumu and her sincere feelings, which could never be conveyed properly. She also happened be another character played by Takahashi Mikako who had her moment in the spotlight stolen by an Itou Shizuka-voiced tsundere acting all cute all of sudden. (Boo, spotlight hog!!!)

On the plus side, Ryouko did bring the cuteness in full force with the outfit Ringo got her to wear, while Ryoushi himself proved to be pretty reliable for diving into the pond after her and not taking advantage of her memory loss by lying about being her boyfriend. I just loved the drastic change in Ryoushi’s voice when he pulled her out of the water too, where he was pumped full of testosterone and didn’t end all his sentences with “-su”. He even manned up in the face of Hitsujikai later on after all the crap he spouted about how tasty Ryouko is and how she gave him signs to come onto her in the past. The one surprise is that Shirou isn’t all talk with the way he preyed on a very innocent Ryouko, seeing as sliced through Ryoushi’s slingshot in a blink of an eye. If nothing else, that made him seem worthy of being perceived as the ultimate antagonist in the series and the one Ryoushi has to beat the snot out of to win over Ryouko completely.

Leading up to that, the time they spent alone had the makings of a rather sweet date, where the Ryouko’s true self gave me every indication that she already likes Ryoushi a fair bit. From the sound of her disappointment upon learning that they aren’t dating to her frustration when Ryoushi unintentionally ignored her spoonful of ice cream (indirect kiss chance LOST!), it looked like another confession would’ve easily gotten the favorable reply he’s been after all this time. And to think, it wouldn’t have been part of Ringo’s doing either. The saving grace out of all this is that Ryouko still recalls everything that happened even though she claimed she didn’t, resulting in another step forward in Ryoushi’s relationship with her. This also marks the second time he’s protected her from Hitsujikai, so he must have scored some huge brownie points in Ryouko’s eyes for that. Ami somehow formed a relationship with Jin by just feeding him, so Ryoushi should be able to get away with one protecting Ryouko… sooner or later.

 

Preview

51 Comments

  1. I’m still not sure if I like this series but your posts are what keep me wanting to check on it every other episode. Maybe I should rewatch it from the beginning…? Thanks for blogging as always!

    OtakuLeader
    Reply

  5. Omaiga Zettai Kaoru. I WILL HUNT YOU. Probably one of the best lines of badassness Ryoushi said this entire series so far. It’s almost like the author of the actual series just made Ryoushi act as a wimp jsut to deter and haters and then show his fans how badass he could be lol.

    Either way, very cute episode. Very evil look from Ringo included. However it seems like our sheep herder is more skilled then it seems. Especially taking out Ryoushi’s sling shot. Still, I’m glad Ryoushi showing more of this side as the episodes go along. However, now I’m extremely curious on how what the truth is between Ryouko and Hitsujikai. If he didn’t “eat” her, then what truth would cause Ryoushi even greater despair?

    Sora no Kaze
    Reply

    1. “I will hunt you!” Yeah, that line made me grin like an idiot, not gonna lie.

      Also, I think the truth Sheep-Head was talking about was that right now he’s never touched Ryouko in a sexual way, but he’s planning to in the future and doesn’t think Ryoushi will be able to stop him. It’s like he’s saying that even though Ryoushi’s closest to Ryouko right now, Hitsujikai will still “eat” her first one way or another, and Ryoushi’s just a minor inconvenience that could never stop him. It’s an even worse degree of failure, basically.

      Aex
      Reply

    2. Hmmm, I could see that happen. Btw, I was so excited about that line that I couldn’t even type the sentence afterward properly. Time to correct it.

      It’s almost like the author of the actual series just made Ryoushi act as a wimp just to deter haters and then show his fans how bad ass he could be lol.

      There lol.

      Sora no Kaze
      Reply

      1. Seems like the hunter needs to show the sheep who’s the boss.Ryoushi somewhat needs to switch his weapon of choice from a slingshot to a Barrett M107 .50 caliber BMG,i mean his attitude currently sucks even when he is showing his manly side recently,he still needs to grow some more chest-hair imo. Btw Ringo isn’t your average Little Red Riding Hood.

        fluidity
        Reply

      1. The allegory is a “Wolf In Sheeps Clothing” isn’t it? So chances are he’s not really a sheep but a wolf hiding behind his appearance of a sheep. The best thing Ryoushi could do is both defeat him and unmask who he is behind his sheepskin.

        soldierx
        Reply

  7. Damn, the kind of trauma Ryouko had to go through to suddenly break down like this makes one think Kaoru did more than we think. The episode was a great example of what changes one goes through over a few years. Looking back 3 years ago, I can barely tell the difference between the me of then and the me of now, but had I done it between 13 and 16, I’d definitely be able to tell a difference.

    Can’t wait for next episode.

    TehJawknee
    Reply

  8. I hate being right. I knew there was no way Ryoushi was gonna hear about Ryoko’s past from Ryouko, but did it have to come out from Sheep-Head?! Well, at least Ryoushi manned up and kicked it right back in Hitsujikai’s face. I’m predicting that the final fight will be Ryoushi softening him up, then Ryouko dealing the finisher. Collective effort of love FTW!!

    I love that Ryouko remembers everything, and that better include how badass Ryoushi was going back and forth with Hitsujikai. The ribbon at the end really was adorable.

    Aex
    Reply

  10. The narration makes this anime extra funny. Anyway Ryoushi is not a crowdy as the anime imply. I can’t imagine myself giving praise to the girl I like so often, not to mention that he had been rejected thrice.

    dusthoof
    Reply

  12. All im saying is maybe ryoko wouldn’t get raped if she wasn’t nopan all the time. Apart from this episode of course, which is funny because 13 year old her would’ve been like wtf am i wearing lol. jking of course but the nopan thing is kinda odd for someone trying to act strong

    rofl
    Reply

  15. That’s… quite the ironic placement of where her memories reverted back to. It couldn’t have been that long between when Hitsujikai assaulted her and when she transferred, half a year max, but probably less. Obviously, irony is what anime lives off of, so I’ll let it slide since it’s basically to set up the conflict between between Ryoushi and Hitsujikai by showing Ryoushi just how much Ryouko changed after he messed with her.

    On another note, absolutely loved how Ryoushi was all macho voiced while trying to wake up Ryouko and instantly reverted back to wuss mode when she woke up. Plus after seeing just how cute Ryouko was back then, it really makes you dislike Hitsujikai, so kudos to the author on making people legitimately hate his villain in such a short amount of time.

    Kuntzy21
    Reply

  17. Man, I love the smell of plot devices in the morning.

    On one hand, this was definitely the funniest episode of the series (narration included for once). But the amnesia was… annoying. It was played for laughs at first and showed Ryoushi the contrast between her former and present self. But spending all of last episode to build up the idea that Ryouko will talk about her past when she’s ready, only to have the dude reveal it here…. what’s the point of that?

    I’m confused as to how much she remembers about the “date.” You’d think she’d react a little more to realizing Ryoushi knows everything about her. Does she only remember bits and pieces or are they going to deal with this next episode?

    AuroraFlame
    Reply

  20. She needs to quit kicking the shit out of Ryoushi. What’s up with girls knocking the guy they like out all the time this year? First “Working” did it last season and now this anime. I wonder if Ryoushi will break out the “magic hands” soon?

    Karmafan
    Reply

  21. I have my anime all mixed up 🙂 I thought occult academy was serious; but it was a comedy. I thought ookami was comedy and boy was I upset with this episode. I know the amnesia was a cheap way to bring her past up; but the confrontation had me raging all over the place. That was some serious moments there! An evil guy talking bull about the girl you love when she is utterly defenseless. I will put out the sling shot, the pistol, a shotgun and my fist as a last resort to kill the… Ryoushi is the best male lead of this season. I don’t care about the rest of the stories of series. This must be settled with blood by the end or I’ll take justice in my own hands!

    Island Esper
    Reply

  22. Ryouko was so cute during this episode! Hopefully we see more of that cute side in the future when she becomes more honest with Ryoushi. Also, did anyone notice the Misaka cameo during the crepes scene?

    shirolong
    Reply

  24. “Ryoushi himself proved to be pretty reliable for diving into the pond after her and not taking advantage of her memory loss”

    Yeah, but that didn’t stop Ryoushi from going all gaga at Ryouko’s cuteness. XD
    ttp://randomc.net/image/Ookami-san%20to%20Shichinin%20no%20Nakama-tachi/Ookami-san%20to%20Shichinin%20no%20Nakama-tachi%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2021.jpg

    Ringo sure is one evil loli. LOL

    Jizo’s stalking merely provided her with the perfect excuse to get Ryoushi and Ryouko on a date. Not to mention blackmailing Ryouko about Ryouko actually remembering everything.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  26. I like how Ryoushi uses his manly voice when he talks on the phone and when he is trying to wake up Ryouko… it takes a lot out of his apparent wimpiness though when he reverts back to his obvious not natural voice it… is kinda shocking.

    Suppa Tenko
    Reply

  28. Ryoushi better beat the crap out of Hitsujikai or else I won’t be satisfied. Bonus points if Ryouko gets the final hit in. And Ryoushi has gained even more respect from me by not taking advantage of Ryouko (even though she was utterly adorable) when she had amnesia.

    Next time, what fairytale is it gonna be? Goldilocks? Three Little Pigs?

    akani
    Reply

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