みなみけ おかえり Episode 07
Minami-ke Okaeri 07

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Makoto and Chiaki are partnered together for the upcoming school festival’s 3-legged race but Chiaki isn’t really interested in practicing. Makoto, as “Mako-chan” goes over to the Minami home to consult with Kana about this. When Chiaki enters and hears them talking about the 3-legged race, she concedes that her own lack of sports abilities is what makes her not want to practice, since she’d be a burden to Makoto. However, Chiaki agrees to practice with Mako-chan (with Kana “coaching”). Mako-chan is afraid to put his arm around Chiaki, so Chiaki puts it there for him. The practice encourages Chiaki. so the next time she’s at school, she decides to practice with the eager Makoto. He puts his arm around Chiaki but gets punished for taking advantage of her.

Kana and Uchida are outside a tacoyaki stand eating tacoyaki. Kana is proud of her part in turning Makoto into “Mako-chan,” especially since neither Chiaki nor Haruka know the truth. Uchida notes how Kana’s efforts have helped keep Makoto’s secret since Makoto would have revealed the truth long ago if left to his own devices. Kana ponders this a moment, then in a single bite, strips of the outer part of Uchida’s piece of tacoyaki, leaving only the octopus bit on the toothpick. At the Minami residence, Makoto, as “Mako-chan,” is drinking some new, bitter tea that Haruka has brewed. Kana decides to observe for a while from the doorway as Makoto drinks too much tea and has to pee. Being a guy, he’s standing up and doesn’t lock the toilet room door. As such, Kana comes in just as Makoto’s is about to pee, bringing toilet paper. Makoto isn’t to happy about being walked in on, but better Kana than Haruka. On cue, Haruka also enters and Kana has to blind Haruka quickly with toilet paper to keep Makoto’s secret safe. Another early evening sees Kana and Uchida again eating tacoyaki with Kana realizing she’s protected Makoto’s secret again. Kana steals one of Uchida’s tacoyaki pieces and vows to never let Makoto’s true side ever come out while she’s around.

Kana is annoyed with Riko for her arrogance regarding her larger breast size and says as much to Makoto (as “Mako-chan”). Makoto doesn’t see the big deal regarding ego and breast size which causes Kana to point out that Makoto won’t be able to continue pretending to be a girl with his flat male chest. She also asks Makoto where he looks when he speaks to Haruka. This troubles Makoto and when Maki and Haruka come in and Maki teases “Mako-chan” for the flat breasts, Makoto panics. Makoto wants breasts without having to get the bra that Kana suggests, which Kana says is what everyone wants. Chiaki comes in on the conversation and gives Mako-chan a dress formerly worn by Haruka to disguise the fact that Mako-chan is flat. Chiaki figures that since Haruka wore the dress and is well-endowed, it will help Mako-chan. Makoto imagines this but then freaks about the idea of him having large breasts and runs away. He runs into Haruka’s room, where Haruka is shirtless and being measured by Maki for a new bra. “Mako-chan” sees this and he’s unable to move while Chiaki realizes that being large-breasted can also cause problems. Makoto makes it back to the table where Kana is. Kana wants to know where he was looking when he saw Haruka.

Its another day and Kana notes the friendship between Chiaki and “Mako-chan” as Makoto has become accustomed to pretending to be a girl. Kana feels that Makoto’s tail will soon be exposed. Sure enough, Chiaki spills her soda onto Mako-chan’s skirt and tries to help clean it while Makoto protests. Chiaki leaves to get towels and Kana grins, knowing that the tanuki (magical raccoon) has finally shown its tail. Chiaki returns with towels to clean up the protesting Mako-chan while Kana decides to tell the story of the tanuki (Makoto) who wanted to be friends with a human (Chiaki). So the tanuki uses magic to become human and befriends the human, but one day its tail showed and the human pulled on it, not knowing what it was. Kana wants to know who’s to blame in that instance. Chiaki counters with her own tanuki story so Kana tells Makoto that its not wise to pretend to be human. Chiaki states that the tanuki could have remained true to himself because they are cute. The next day at school, Makoto is happy because of what Chiaki had said about tanuki.

Chiaki accidentally breaks all three mugs so the sisters have to buy new ones. Kana picks a pink mug while Chiaki and Uchida look at other mugs. Chiaki has her heart set on a teddy bear one, but thinks she’ll be teased so moves on. Haruka sees one with a fish design, but Maki doesn’t think so. As such, when they get home, they see they’ve all bought the same type of pink cup which Chiaki finds not acceptable. The next day, Haruka and Chiaki have the mugs they wanted, meaning they have two extra pink ones. Kana gives one to Touma, who’s excited to have a girlish cup. Fujioka comes by and so Kana gives him the other pink cup. Since it matches Kana’s, he takes it as a sign that he and Kana are an item. However when Touma returns to the room with her pink mug, Fujioka doesn’t know what to think. Kana is happy that the other two mugs have nice owners but is a bit jealous of Chiaki’s and Haruka’s mug.

Thoughts/Review:

This may be the funniest episode of the series to date (with the Curry Fairy stuff in episode 2 being in there). The first story wasn’t so much funny, but it was nice seeing how Chiaki was concerned about burdening Makoto as his partner. However, the second story is where things got really funny to me. The moment “Mako-chan” said he had to pee, I knew someone would walk in on him. Despite knowing this, the moment was still funny to me, mainly because this kind of humor has always cracked me up. The other really funny moment was when Kana stripped the tacoyaki covering from the octopus bit in the center. Uchida’s look said it all.

The third story’s humor came not only from Makoto’s fear of being discovered, but from the breast talk. Makoto imagining himself to have breasts like Haruka made me laugh. Kana’s point about where guys look in regards to why girls place higher importance on chest size was well-taken, in a humorous way. After all, when Makoto walks in on Haruka, it is her chest that stops him dead in his tracks, a point Kana brings home in the end. This is one of those cases where the end-point to the story had a humorous point rather than a head-scratcher.

The forth stories humor came from the not so subtle correlation between the tanuki’s tail and Makoto’s…”tail.” Making Chiaki and Makoto play the characters in Kana’s story made it more funny with the human in the story is surprised by the tanuki’s tail and pulls on it. In reality, Chiaki came very close to personally discovering Makoto’s “tail” by trying to clean up his front. I could imagine Chiaki possibly following the cliched moment of pulling on “it.” ^_^;;;;

The mug story was more nice than funny, but leave it to Kana to be oblivious and cause issues. Haruka and Chiaki expected Kana to pick on them for their mug choices and in the end, she wants to trade. Further, by giving Fujioka and Touma the same type mug as her, I couldn’t help but chuckle both times.