Masamune-kun's Revenge

Episode 8

As a comedy series, Masamune-kun's Revenge has always paled compared to other entries this season. This is partly an unfortunate consequence of this being a strong season for comedies and partly because the series seemed reluctant to go the extra mile for jokes. If this is because Masamune-kun's Revenge wanted to retain the option to get serious, then this episode may have been what everything was building toward. Certainly the middle scenes of the episode, where Makabe goes to Neko's apartment to see about getting the missing picture back, are both the heaviest and best content that the series has yet seen.

Most of what transpires spins off from Makabe discovering that his picture of him and Aki as children is missing, quickly surmising that Neko had to be the perpetrator. His contemplation of what that means distracts him during a meeting with Aki to get a bag that he left at the island retreat. Aki doesn't fail to notice this distraction and leaves the restaurant in a huff over it. This drives Masamune to go to Neko's place to get his picture back, only to find himself being outright seduced by her. This was entirely expected, as Neko has been angling for this ever since she first appeared, but more unexpected is seeing this scene played straight. There's no comic examples of Makabe getting flustered or anything like that, as if someone forgot for a moment that this isn't Scum's Wish. Like the characters in that series, he even picks up on the fact that there's a disconnect between what Neko says she wants and how she's pursuing it; he can sense (or at least thinks he does?) that her heart isn't fully into what she's doing. Just as interesting, he says as he leaves that he's picking Aki over her, but his claim that she's “my revenge” is starting to ring hollow. Neko's reaction is also interesting, since it's not what one would expect from a manipulator whose plans have just been disrupted. Are her comments wondering about whether she's experiencing heartbreak indicative of her being surprised that she was so affected by the rejection or was she actually serious about him all along? I'm inclined to believe the former, but we'll see how the plot twist at the end plays out.

Following that, a water park trip for the whole gang (conspicuously minus Neko) gives the audience a further chance to see the girls in swimsuits, but that seems minimized by the cleavage Neko was flashing during her attempted seduction, as if the bikinis are child's play by comparison. (I'm betting that effect was intentional.) Makabe's still distracted over what happened the previous day with Neko, which Aki also notices. The closing revelation that Neko has disappeared – without her necessary anti-seizure medication – convinces Makabe to confess what has just happened: he has chosen Aki over Neko.

So this totally confirms that the series is playing the “sick girl” angle after all, but how far will it take this? Aki's reaction should also be interesting, since she has to realize that dwelling on this dynamic is the cause for Makabe's distraction. The reasons behind Neko's now-defunct goal also remain unclear, so there's plenty of fodder here for further developments. For now though, I'll take my satisfaction in the series taking the road less traveled for anime romances and pulling this commitment off better than I would have expected.

Rating: B+

Masamune-kun's Revenge is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.