Futakoi Alternative 10

Rentarou has been feeling all angsty ever since one of Kimihiko’s toadies tried to pass him dough for taking care of Souju. Rentarou refuses, and the toadie has some pretty harsh words about Rentarou’s indecision. Eventually, while staring at the wreckage, Rentarou tells Souju that she should go to Kimihiko’s basement again to dress up in gothloli and eat tiny portions of food. Souju is so not doing that, and instead tells Rentarou to go look for her.

Meanwhile, everyone in town is fearful of arson. Business has been bad, and even Zenji cowers in fear before the mysterious Wadatsumi’s plan to redevelop the town for the new Niko x Tama shopping mall. To make matters worse, the Squid from the past shows up again and beats the crap out of Rentarou before Dirty Harry saves him. Rentarou’s now beaten down physically and spiritually, but it’s nothing a little booze can’t fix. With some alcohol in his system, Rentarou goes out and wrecks Gen’s motorcycle, before finding Souju and enveloping her in a gentle, bloody embrace. That night, however, the Squid returns and starts burning down the town!

Although there were some really humorous moments, I didn’t find this episode quite up to par with some of the recent gems. Still, it was by no means a bad episode, and the plot movement was necessary to shake things up a bit. I give a major big thumbs up for the Inokuniya Bookstore, the bear mixed martial arts, and the Squid’s Katon no Jutsu. I also find it interesting that just like in Honey & Clover, beer fixes everything (although Futakoi Alternative cleverly includes an example to discourage drinking and driving).