みなみけ おかえり Episode 03

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Touma comes home to discover that her brother Natsuki has eaten her pudding, purchased from a certain store known for making quality puddings. She heads to Chiaki’s home, where Kana figures out immediately why Touma left home. Haruka gives Natsuki a call to let him know that Touma is there and getting confirmation that Natsuki did take the pudding, Haruka gets angry with him for not understanding why this would upset Touma. Haruka has three puddings from the same store, but one is missing. After a lengthy pause, Takeru comes by with three more puddings from that store. The three sisters confess to each eating a third of the missing pudding but now there are five puddings, one for everyone.

Uchida comes by with a big bag of apples for the Minami sisters, but is surprised at Haruka’s strange reaction to this. Kana says that Haruka has a gift of knowing what to make from an apple. Chiaki comes in but seeing the bag off apples, Chiaki leaves, saying she’s ill. Uchida finds this odd. Kana says she needs to visit the toilet and tells Uchida not to look in a nearby box. Naturally Uchida does this and discovers a box full of apples that others have brought the Minami sisters. Touma comes by, eager to eat, but gets ill having to eat too many baked apples and goes home with an apple. Her brothers study the apple for quite some time before decided to make baked apples for Touma.

Haruka is on the phone with Natsuki and instructing him on how to make cookies. Touma comes by and since everyone is hungry and Haruka shows no sign of getting off the phone, they decide to make the curry for that night’s dinner. Kana overhears Haruka say to add sugar, so she adds sugar. Chiaki gets irritated and says to add curry powder. Haruka hears that and tells Natsuki over the phone to add curry powder. In the end, the curry the girls make is inedible so when Touma comes home, she’s still hungry. Natsuki brings out some cookies but unfortunately, they smell like curry.

Natsuki eats another of Touma’s puddings despite her having written her name on the cup. So Touma again goes to Chiaki’s house. Kana says that maybe Touma’s name-witting wasn’t good enough, so when Haruka brings out some western-styled omelets, Kana uses ketchup to write out “100.” Kana then explains how “100” can be used for the name “Touma.” Touma is impressed, so she writes +7 in ketchup on Kana’s omelet before explaining how this could be used for the name “Kana.” They then begin to think things are too complicated, so Chiaki tells them to get Haruka to check it out. When looking at their omelets, all Haruka sees is “100+7” for “107.”

Thoughts/Review:

Normally I don’t comment too much on art or animation, but this episode at times seemed to have to different character designs, almost as if two different animation companies worked on it. Wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened (if indeed it happened), but that’s what struck me for the pudding story. The others seemed fine.

Sadly, I didn’t laugh at all this episode. I’m well aware of the elevated status a pudding has in Japanese culture as relayed through anime and manga. I’ve seen them featured often. Don’t get me wrong, I likes me a good pudding at times and shockingly enough, the “mini-cafe” at one of the places I used to work sold a good chocolate and vanilla pudding that they made themselves. However, the story in and of itself did nothing for me except make me think, “puddings are good but not all that.”

The story about the apples went down a step from the pudding one. Again, I know the importance of fruit as gifts in Japan. Fruit is outrageously expensive over there, so a basket of fruit is seen as a very nice gift. A bag of apples would be the same. However, I was just bored with this whole notion of the Minami girls having too many apples, being sick of apples, and trying to make things from the apples.

The food-making story was “meh” to me. Haruka and Kana hearing each other speak and getting that mixed up with what they were making (Kana) or instructing to make (Haruka) wasn’t funny to me, nor could I see that actually happening.

The final food-story about putting one’s name on food products didn’t do anything for me either beyond remind me that the Japanese love ketchup with western-styled omelets.

So a very disappointing episode with some parts looking as if they were done by a B-team. Well, not every episode can be a winner.