ケロロ軍曹 Episode 43
(Sgt. Frog 43)

SPOILER Summary: Keroro is reading a book of Japanese fairy tales and one tale regarding a red and blue oni touches him and the platoon greatly. This leads to Keroro’s new plan, where he will take the role of the blue oni and have Giroro become the red oni (unbeknownst to him though). As such, they will encourage the relationship between Giroro and Natsumi, only to have Keroro ultimately win. Giroro discovers part of this, but naturally the idea of being with Natsumi sends him into overload. Through Kururu, Keroro makes sure his letters get on Mutsumi’s show, which does lead Natsumi to be suspicious. However, she’s more angry when Keroro interrupts her listening to the show. After Tamama screws up his part of the plan, Natsumi is onto their game and Keroro is thrown out the bedroom window to the yard, where he’s found by Giroro. Because Keroro’s romantic poem is now being read, it leads to a weird moment between Giroro and Keroro, meaning the plan official has failed.

It is now Setsubun in Japan and because Keroro is dressed as the red oni, Natsumi uses this as an excuse to throw soybeans at Keroro, which is the custom during Setsubun to rid places of evil oni. After she’s had her fun, she leaves the roasted soybeans with Keroro, who vows revenge. He has Kururu invent a gun which turns Natsumi into a female oni. Now he & Tamama have fun throwing soybeans at Natsumi, who cannot get out of the oni gear and is unable to elude the duo. She flees to Fuyuki’s room, where he seems to recognize her outfit, complete with mini drums floating behind her. The trio run out of soybeans, but because of Natsumi’s oni horns, they can toss any product with soybeans in it, and they will go to Natsumi. Giroro hears Natsumi’s cry for help and escapes Kururu, who’d used him as a trial subject for the gun. He causes damage, but Keroro sends him packing. Fuyuki discovers that Natsumi is not a true oni, but a thunder deity, thus Natsumi has the power to defeat Keroro, which she does. She then makes a chocolate cake for Giroro for helping her.

Thoughts: Having the first story end with Keroro and Giroro apparently having a “moment” was pretty humorous. Otherwise, the story just felt stretched and not so interesting.

I was disappointed that the second story didn’t have Natsumi as Lum-chan, but rather just a female oni. I’m sure there were legal concerns, but it would have been better if they could have had Natsumi as the ultimate female oni, Lum-chan (from Urusei Yatsura for those who don’t know), especially with her saying “urusai” at the end. Oh well. I can get the Lum-chan parody from the manga version of the story.