One of the best episodes yet! In a shocking bit of continuity, we find the Neres crew using the vacation tickets to Siberia City that Gloria won last time. Siberia City isn’t the freezing desolate Siberia of old; in fact, it’s now a tropical paradise, attracting millions of tourists. Each member goes off on their own way during the vacation; Gloria gets thrown in jail for concealing weapons, Yuu zips off to take pictures of famous locales, Rena goes off to seduce rich men, and Maia unfortunately get stuck with Shizuka on her “food tour”!
While eating at an ice-age themed Mammoth-steak restaurant (where everyone has to draw straws for which costume they have to wear), a couple of local thugs slip something into Shizuka’s drink to knock her out, and kidnap her while Maia is in the bathroom. Yuu spots the unconscious Shizuka in the thugs’ car, and gives chase on a “borrowed” hoverbike, while Maia gives chase on foot. She notices an uncannily familiar alleyway though, and strange memories start to resurface about the backroads and shortcuts in the city, which she ostensibly has never visited before. Using this knowledge she’s able to cut off the thugs and retrieve Shizuka safe and sound (and still dreaming about food).
At the end of the night, Maia finds herself drawn to a daphne laurel tree for some reason, as it triggers some kind of unconscious response from her. The next day, when the crew is about to leave, they find Maia standing beneath the tree, and she’s prepared to spill the beans concerning her unknown past. Next ep: backstory time!
A fun episode for sure, with lots of great quirks like the weird-ass Mammo mascot, the clunky translation devices, Gloria’s jailhouse vacation, and Yuu’s odd picture fetish. And we’re finally getting our first peek into the serious aspect of the series (although the real meat isn’t to come till much later). Honestly though, the fillers are pretty entertaining, so I really don’t mind the wait. Now, if only Naruto could follow this example…
