Kabitzin on January 6, 2010 · in White Album 2

Summary:

Hiiragi-san turns in Makoto Sendou, Menou’s manager, in for putting bleach in Rina’s tea, but I think we all know the real reason why she sustained throat damage.  Strangely, Itsuki’s boy toy Misumi-san turned out to be the culprit behind the art scams, although Eiji is still at the police station.  As for Yuki, she got no love or hate from Touya after his confession, and Yayoi declares her job done since he’s no longer a hindrance to Yuki.  Yayoi also admits she always hated Touya and tried to make him disappear like all the other cads who loved her; unfortunately, he never loved her either, so he’s still around.

After chatting with Sherlock Akira, Touya remembers meeting Menou as a child and having her cheer him up (while a jealous Tamaru looks on).  Menou promised to always be his savior goddess in various forms, but then she got busy with family troubles and forgot all about him.  Before things can get too hot and heavy, however, Itsuki shows up and she’s got that fake painting.  They all have some cheap wine, and chill for a bit, and then Touya goes to accompany Rina while the Venus Festival starts without her.

Reaction:

I didn’t think too highly of this episode, with all the villains being unimportant scumbags in M3.  Touya’s past still doesn’t make much sense, but the montage of his past conquests was absolutely hilarious.  First off, the Itsuki and Menou drinking scene just needs Mana in it to complete Touya’s ownage of that whole family.  Then, I noticed that the handicapped girl got two scenes, putting her on par with Misaki and Haruka!  What was the trick with the softball?!  Also amusing was how Haruka used her racket to hit a sub to Touya.  And what’s Touin doing there?  If the Sakura-dan hadn’t broken up when it did, this montage would have been twice as long, and they’d have to name the company after Touya.  Regardless, Touya has definitively earned the title of THE iDOLM@STER.  Don’t worry homeless Natsuko, you still have one episode to get with Touya!

I feel a bit cheated that I’m not getting my Rina-Yuki showdown, but the writers left themselves a small loophole by making Rina’s throat condition “psychological” rather than physical.  It’s gonna be hard to wrap up all the loose ends with just one episode left, although it sounds like we might eventually find out what the heck Touya’s problem is.  I was a little confused at the end when Menou left Touya’s place and then the cut made it seem like she was showering in the love hotel after a romp with Tamaru.  Is this what really happened?  I have to say, nothing would warm my heart more than finding out that it was actually Misaki in the shower.