This is my favorite episode of the entire anime. I've rewatched it countless times, and it still gives me butterflies. I'm really sorry if anyone was expecting more frequent recaps—I was too—but adult life has completely consumed me. Now, I finally have a few days off and can get back to writing the recaps. My only consolation is knowing I won't catch up with the anime before it ends, hahaha.
A cool detail at the beginning of the episode is that the greetings are Easter eggs referencing Vamola and Kinta.
Okarun is still dealing with the anxiety of making and keeping new friends and his inferiority complex. So, even though he spent all night practicing, when it comes time to approach Momo, he decides to keep going.
Actually, the point is that it's acceptable for him to greet her, but it's too much that she wants to interact with him and have a long conversation. I feel like Okarun managed to put Momo in the "acquaintance" category, but not the "friend" category. That's why he feels so overwhelmed when she waits for him and engages him in conversation.
For her part, Momo understands Okarun quite well and knew that the only way to make this friendship work was for her to push him.
Although things seem to have improved for Okarun, his classmates bring him back to bullying. I love the detail that Okarun is so engrossed and happy about having made a friend that he's looking at his magazine upside down.
Although the scene is essentially the same, the mirror detail isn't in the manga.
Okarun is being excessively hard on himself so he doesn't lose Momo… T^T He needs to be kinder to himself. This whole episode feels so real and natural in terms of school life. It's one of the things I love most about this series: how you can believe they're real people going through real things, at least when magic and guys in underwear aren't attacking them. No cheap plot devices or hollow personalities. People with problems, who mess up, fix it, and then mess up again…
I think we all went through an emotional rollercoaster with this scene. In other stories, we've already suffered through the typical 'misunderstanding' used to lengthen the plot, and Tatsu played incredibly well with the stereotype before breaking it and giving us the most satisfying ending, while also reaffirming the promise that Okarun and Momo are destined to be a couple.
Again, when you listen to their internal monologue, you see the two main characters' defining traits. Momo's intensity and impulsiveness lead her to realize her mistakes too late, while Okarun shrinks at the slightest inconvenience.
Up until this episode, I thought their relationship was platonic or that it was going to happen a very, very distant future. Although I was fascinated by the scenes of accidental physical contact and moments of connection, it's in THIS episode that it becomes clear that they are going to have romantic scenes and develop as a couple.
Not only could they have put the misunderstanding to rest after meeting, but they also talked about it and resolved it.
The CEOs of Momokarun: The Origin. They not only intervene here but then spread the rumor throughout the class. Please, Tatsu, bring them out more; they're the best. No one has pushed this couple together more.
Just like in the Flatwoods Monster episode, one of the things that fascinates me most about their relationship is that Okarun, who has always suffered bullying and silently endured it all, is able to insult, tease, or annoy Momo. It's a very good thing because it means they trusted each other from the beginning.
The conversation is a little painful. Let's not kid ourselves, but I think it's pretty obvious that Momo has been in love with Okarun since the tunnel and is struggling to deal with it, not to mention that her friends are teasing her about it. Okarun being so honest about his feelings makes her feel incredibly embarrassed and attacked, which is why she responds so rudely. For Okarun, it's a different story. He's still processing the fact that he has a friend and losing her so quickly hurts a lot.
Queen Aira enters the scene. I know many consider her a hindrance to Momo and Okarun's relationship, but from the beginning, she's been more of a catalyst for bringing them together than driving them apart. She's always forced Momo to confront the threat of someone else taking him away and to act accordingly. She also helps Okarun reaffirm his feelings by comparing them to those of another girl who, on the surface, seems like a good match.
I know Aira isn't right to speak ill of Okarun behind his back, nor to be false and superficial with him, but I can let it slide. He never meant to hurt him.
Aira needs to mature, to understand many things about the world around her and who she wants to be. Until now, she's only been driven by competitiveness, by excelling in her grades, extracurricular activities, and by being popular. No one has ever been a priority for her other than herself, so please, give her some time…
I think it's the only real example of bullying that Momo sees in the entire story towards Okarun and I wish I had seen more because heads were going to roll…
As the third member of the team, she comes in making a bad impression, getting along badly with the rest of the members and this is a hilarious pattern throughout this whole damn show. I simply love them.
Superficial misunderstandings between these two usually last very little. One of the two always makes the effort to redirect things and say them honestly. Even if like Momo, this is the part that costs him the most. But, when we talk about deeper levels you realize that both always understand the conversations the way they want. Momo almost always thinks and talks to Okarun as a romantic interest while Okarun only speaks in terms of friendship. Things may still be starting now but as things progress and Okarun realizes those feelings, he still thinks that they always talk about their relationship in terms of friendship. And we're not just talking about Momo, he acts exactly the same with Aira. Treating her as delusional, even if she is declaring her feelings to him directly.
5 chapters to make sense of the outro. As an antagonist it was impossible to hate her, but as a turbocat it is even more so. I could spend hours talking about turbo or its dynamics with Seiko, but I think it's better to put a picture of Seiko hitting turbo with a fan.
First time we see Okarun's transformation without a mask and the first time he can control it by himself. One of the most relevant things is that this first time we see how the transformation alters its height very clearly. It is a question that has been on my mind for a long time and I would like to know why it is, given that it is the only one that happens to it.
[All the recaps of season 2]
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
stormborns
amandla
