Zyl on September 3, 2010 · in Okamisan and Seven Companions

Summary:

Ryoko and Ryoshi babysit the seven dwarf siblings of Miss Otogi beauty contest winner Himeno Shirayuki (Princess Snow White) while she brings in income from her part-time supermarket job instead of a lucrative secret maid cafe arubaito. The original request was for Ringo but our little red riding hooded heroine is hiding. She later explains to Ryoshi that although she wishes to reconcile with her half-sister Himeno, she has been too mortified by her unknowingly insensitive farewell to Himeno after the latter had to leave the house and live in poverty with the arrival of Ringo and her mother.

The Otogi Bank sponsors a day out at the water amusement park and, after the requisite fan service, Himeno loses consciousness after helping one of her little siblings despite being unable to swim herself. Ringo disengages stalker mode and performs CPR, saving Himeno. They have their talk – Himeno, of course, bears no grudge against Ringo – and introduces her, as her younger sister, to her seven siblings. Later Ringo goes to see Lamp and makes an early withdrawal of an Otogi Bank helper’s wish – Himeno is given a special scholarship so she can continue her studies. Ryoko dreams of herself as a princess being kissed by a princely hair all combed back Ryoshi in a field of flowers. Naturally he gets punched without warning the next morning.

Reaction:

One can definitely see how Ringo gets her evil aura from her mother! I just completely aghast and amused at the same time when Ringo’s mom was teaching how to use her cuteness to get others to do what you want, including the way she should end all her sentences with ‘desu no’  (which doesn’t seem to help spicy Kuroko Shirai get what she wants, what she really really wants). That mix was also present when Ringo’s eyes lit up when Lamp asked her to prove the sincerity of her request; she is indeed the master manipulator now. The most recent uses of the fairy tales were not that interesting but this episode’s subversion of the Snow White tale worked so much better – definitely some wicked stepmother vibes here but with the twist in Ringo seeking and gaining redemption.

Also some interesting developments with respect to the supporting cast. I was really surprised that Alice does indeed love Liszt. Maybe it’s my own Chinese cultural background asserting itself here but marriage between first cousins, especially those with the same surname is a definite big no no. Which in turn makes their (actually quite compatiable) pairing hawter through its wrongness. Regarding how Otohime purifying Tarou, I’ve wondered what the actual process is (and it has been suggested that the final step involves spitting it out) but Narrator’s salacious comment about how the observing children should learn about it only when they are older seems to confirm that the aforementioned speculation was closer to the truth that I had thought! And it was great to see Momo-chan-senpai again, even if just for a little while but I did think she got off lightly by repaying her debt to Otogi Bank by taking over Himeno’s shift for just a day – I thought they charged exorbitant interest? Or perhaps it was just because Momo-chan-senpai’s incursion also fit into Otogi Bank’s ulterior agenda.