It’s the day before Sara/Souju’s 16th birthday, and the atmosphere is tense. Rentarou comes back to the office to find a bishounen in stylish black clothing waiting for him; the man introduces himself as Mitsugi Kimihiko, the guardian of the Shirogane sisters. Rentarou is a bit put off by this anti-Rentarou who is rich enough to afford limited edition Sara/Souju car ornaments, and ambitious enough to have a rocked out business card, but invites him in for a chat. Kimihiko reveals that his father owed a great deal to Sara/Souju’s father, and so after the Shirogane parents passed away in an accident, the Mitsugi family took the twins in. In a bit of misguided caring, Kimihiko’s father stipulated in his will that Kimihiko must marry one of the Shirogane sisters on their 16th birthday or forfeit his place at the head of Mitsugi family. Unfortunately, they never were happy at the Mitsugi estate, despite Kimihiko’s best efforts. Obviously Sara and Souju didn’t like that Kimihiko forced them to wear goth-loli clothing and live in a dark brick room lit only with candles. Although he is surprised that real life doesn’t mimic He is My Master, Kimihiko appreciates all Rentarou did to allow the Shirogane sisters to be their true selves.
Kimihiko understands that he has a right to rain on Rentarou’s parade, but he is decent enough to give the three the rest of the day to be together. Sadly, the remainder of the day proceeds in a sort of uncomfortable malaise, even through Rentarou’s attempt at a birthday party. Rentarou then shows amazing fortitude in not taking advantage of the twins through moments of see-through clothing, hot showers, and foolhardy desperation. When Sara asks Rentarou to hold them and make love to them, Rentarou does not buy her argument that it will be OK since they will be gone tomorrow. He tells Sara that it probably wouldn’t change anything, and asks what would happen if they were still there tomorrow. That night Sara and Souju head to the bus stop, as Rentarou gives chase in the rain. At the very end, Sara makes the decision to leave Souju behind, and continue on to Kimihiko’s home alone.
This was a very powerful episode, and the music really did a lot to set the tone for how the characters were feeling. Everyone was put into a difficult situation by their parents and fate, and now it is useless to go around pointing fingers or assigning blame. I agree with Rentarou’s decision, because while Sara always seems so cool and collected, she is no doubt in a storm of swirling emtions. Although it might seem to some that Rentarou is wimping out in the classic harem-male way, his inability to make a decision is especially understandable in light of how much has been revealed to him and then taken away in just one night. It’s rather interesting to see how sometimes the best of intentions can lead to pain and heartache, as Kimihiko’s father undoubtedly just wanted everyone to be happy. Unfortunately, in their dispair and heartache, the characters are ignoring the simple solution: let Rentarou move in and be the Mitsugi family gigolo!
Also, I felt cheated when I went to the URL on the business card and found nothing there. I think Mitsugi Semiconductors and Mitsugi Heavy Industries are just shell companies set up because Kimihiko is trying to scam himself two beautiful wives. Look at the food on Sara/Souju’s plate during their imprisonment; either Kimihiko is cheap as hell, or he’s nowhere near as rich as he says he is. Oh yeah, and how about crayfish-dude trying to put the sweet talk on butcher lady, Michiru Sugisaki!
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This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1940 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
You know, I’m starting to really think that I’m going to have to rewatch this series after it finishes. Knowing the backstory puts a different spin on a lot of things.
Call me dense, but which URL did you enter anyway? The card says “Mitsuki” although the sub reads “Mitsugi”. The card however shows the URL http://www.mitugi.co.jp/ which isn’t even connected. Well maybe he’s really not that rich and created the card himself including a couple of typos.
I did http://www.mitugi.co.jp/ since that’s what the card said. However, even if you type in Mitsuki instead, you go to a site that doesn’t seem to be about semiconductors or heavy industries. I think he is scamming!
Something makes me think, is this honestly acctually a 13 episode series? It seems that it’s really starting to wrap things up, especially with episode 8. I mean, everyone is now like… put in super desperate situations, and they even close off with a different ending sequence. Not to mention it’s sorta like an unspoken rule that you never name any episode after the title unless it’s the last one.
Anyway, I personally think this is one of the best series I’ve seen in a looong time.
Yes, this is a 13 episode series – Ep 8 is the turning point, but it isn’t wrapping things up. Oh no, it sure ain’t. I won’t say anything else.
I’ve made it to this point so I went and checked out your old posts, and I’m with you 100%. The series is awesome, Rentarou is awesome, and it took serious balls and skill to transform the series from what it is in the first episode to what it is by #8.