With one more epic clash, the Evil Eye is finally dealt with. Mostly. Now comes the monumental task of getting life back to normal. However, for this eclectic group of weirdos, normal has an entirely different meaning. Let’s see how well they get along when they return to school.
Spoiler Warning for Episode 9
Rated 16+ for Sexual Violence, Smoking, Suggestive Dialogue, Suicide, Violence
First We Mine, Then We Craft
The episode starts with a brilliant fight scene between Okarun and the Evil Eye. The clash of purple and red made the nighttime setting even more vibrant, and Okarun’s swirling silhouette was a real treat to see animated. The conflict ends with Okarun striking a deal with the Evil Eye. For a spirit hell-bent on destroying humanity to be so easily swayed was pretty amusing, punctuated by him pantsing himself.
Afterwards, we get some comedic character interactions followed by a relaxing hot springs montage. Then, from completely left field, an alien named Mr. Ludris appears at the demolished Ayase house. Along with Mr. Mantis and his son, Okarun and Aira help rebuild using block-shaped nanomachines. As if the references couldn’t get any more random, now we have some Minecraft representation. I think it’s safe to say nothing is too far-fetched for this series.
Jiji's Bizarre Adventure
After the house is fixed, it’s back to school. Jiji joins Momo on her commute, teasing her all the while about her obvious crush. When he accidentally drinks something cold, it triggers the Evil Eye to appear. Momo ends up babysitting the spirit, but he acclimates without much incident. Watching the Evil Eye’s child-like demeanor had an oddly humanizing effect. During the exorcism, Jiji insisted that deep down the spirit was just a little kid and that he could become friends with it. From an audience perspective, we now understand why Jiji perceives the Evil Eye in that way. Underneath DanDaDan’s occult action-driven narrative is a heartwarming sense of found family. Like Momo says in the episode, “…a place where all us weirdos can hang out. We gotta protect that.”
Final Thoughts
As the series winds up for the next big arc, it’s nice to see the character writing take the spotlight. The opening fight scene was phenomenal, but the focus quickly re-centers on the character interactions. Jiji’s parents are just as energetic as he is, Momo and Okarun are still adorable together, and even the Evil Eye gets some development. Grandma Seiko is also showing some interesting traits, namely her insistence on not owing anyone anything. It makes her feel like she’s had real history in the world. It’s subtle, but intriguing. This episode could have easily been a do-nothing filler episode, but every action the characters take progresses the story, sometimes in the most minute ways. And the cast is only going to get bigger from here.
Scorecard
Art and Animation: 3/5
- The fight scene was everything it needed to be
- Some great dynamic movement
- Even the mundane still shots are given a lot of love
Story and Characters: 3/5
- Can safely say the Evil Eye arc is complete
- The character writing carried this episode
- Transition to the next arc
Sound and Presentation: 2/5
- Great use of colors, especially with the Evil Eye
- Nothing spectacular about the audio
- Chill vibes with momentary craziness
Occult Corner: Mr. Ludris
There isn’t an apparent one-to-one real-world alien reference for this new character, but that doesn’t stop the author from injecting his own biases into the design. It’s clear from the boxy model and coloration, as well as its affinity for cubes, that the primary inspiration was the character Steve from the open-world exploration game Minecraft. Another possible inspiration could be the Japanese TV series “Return of Ultraman.” A robot enemy called “Builgamo” shares Mr. Ludris’s large bug eyes and square body. “Builgamo” even has connections to the enemy character “Alien Baltan Jr,” who shares design elements with Mr. Shrimp’s powered-up form.
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