After the events of the last episode, it turns out that the whole school is abuzz about their production of "Puss in Boots!" Naota and Eri Ninamori have been cast as the leads, much to his chagrin and her delight.
There's also a running subplot in this episode about Ninamori getting special treatment because she's the mayor's daughter; much to her exasperation. Simpler time where that was the biggest political concern of a child in that position. I have no formal opinion on the scenario right now, but I do find some of the memes amusing. All you need is some photos and editing software and the rest does itself.
It also turns out that Naota is wearing a stocking cap and a bucket hat to hide his latest... non-conformity. After some awkward arguments with Haruko and Ninamori; he speaks with his associates Gaku and Masashi. The two are essentially this anime's equivalents to Keisuke and Toji from Neon Genesis Evangelion; and I will bring up more of the connections between the two as I continue this marathon.
As their morning's lecture involves cats (including iconic animated felines such as Doraemon and Tom from Tom and Jerry), Gaku mentions one of the shops still sells Crystal Pepsi, even mentioning the adverts with Van Halen's "Right Now." In addition to translating a similar joke in the Japanese version about the soda pop "Cherio," I find this bit much more amusing in light of the recent relaunch of the beverage (this year marks the 25th anniversary of the drink, making it as old as I am).
Their teacher, who's very high-strung; doesn't think very highly about the EVA conspiracy rag. As she shouts about how the magazine is banned from the school, Naota narrates further about how the scenario isn't as fun as it sounds for anyone there; even adding the simple fact that "kids can't choose their parents." Given my personal experiences, I often identified with the people in this anime more than shows that depicted more idealistic recollections of childhood. Applies in any situation, really: it's the reason why I never was a fan of The Wonder Years, and more into Freaks and Geeks.
Later that day, in the midst of Mamimi snapping pictures, she gets into a scuffle with Naota by the riverbank and reveals he has cat ears when she pulls off his hat!
I also rather like the scene of Kamon (Naota's dad) hawking his fanzine to the shopkeeper in the background, commenting that her Crystal Pepsi backlog will be sold out. I never had the initial wave (it was introduced when I was a baby and taken off the market in 1994), but I can describe the taste of the relaunch as similar to the regular kind, but a bit sweeter.
Back with Naota and Mamimi, the latter tells Naota, and I quote: "I like your head, you never know what's going to come out of there next!" Sometimes, the best jokes are the ones I get right from what I work with.
Later that day, Naota meets with Ninamori in town; and they're greeted by Haruko on her vespa leaving a trail of cars behind her! Looks like she has the same method of dealing with traffic as the Blues Brothers.
Anyway, because Ninamori doesn't want any part of her parents' political theater; she decides to stay the night at Naota's place until after the play is over. Well, at least she's better at expressing this than others in her position.
Also, despite the "Little Prince Curry" being marketed as "mild," the stuff is massively spicy for everyone except Ninamori and Canti. I forgot to mention earlier that Naota doesn't like spicy foods either. Given how Kamon and Naota's grandfather have a similar reaction; maybe that preference is hereditary.
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| How come you're always such a fussy young man? Don't want no Cap'n Crunch, don't want no raisin bran! |
Disregarding how her sweater also has the USSR written on it, I will be omitting the ensuing shower scene in accordance with Google's rules; and putting this image of Doraemon in its place.
Naota is also unhappy at having another houseguest that night, but I rather like how Haruko plays with the cat ears under his hat. Given the style of this episode's hats and the overall atmosphere; I can definitely enjoy not only this anime on its own, but also for being part of that time in the early 2000s when the 1990s were having their last gasp.
The next day, Canti comes to Naota's school with more curry. When Naota tries to object, Haruko just shoves the bento box into his backpack while everyone else is in awe of the 7-foot-tall robot with the TV for a head. In lieu of my usual joke, I will point out that this was the anime that GAINAX made after Evangelion. For many obvious reasons, it was only right they made a more bizarre and upbeat series after a very dark deconstruction of the humongous mecha series and the human condition.
As Naota is dragged into the rehearsal after ducking out of several previous ones, he still dismisses his role and the idea of school plays as stupid. Well, it's no dumber than being a space alien witch! Yeah, Naota is voiced in the dub by Barbara Goodson; as in Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers. In addition to having many anime voice acting roles, she definitely did a good job dubbing over the late, great Machiko Soga as well as Carla Perez when they started filming original footage (the kitschy dubbing is part of the appeal of the show to me, even to this day, it goes well with the bizarre writing, corny acting and dime-store special effects; polarizing reception to the new Saban era be damned).
When Naota's cat ears are revealed to the whole class, Naota retaliates by revealing Ninamori's own secret: she rigged the class election for the play's leads! I guess this explains how a few students somehow voted for Pat Buchanan. The ballot was confusing.
This results in a massive insect sprouting from her head, and a mishap between her, Naota and Canti results in her pants and underpants being pulled off by mistake.
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| Still less creepy than Transformers: Kiss Players. |
After putting Ninamori's drawers back on, Haruko tries to heat the insect with a ukulele, but it breaks; and she dejectedly says "ukulele no good!" Kari Wahlgreen is just such a fun voice actress and an ideal fit for this character that makes me glad that I finally decided to do this marathon.
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| Ukulele go down the hole! |
The fight leads to the roof of the school, and I just love how Haruko's vespa follows her like the Lone Ranger's horse, complete with a little snippet of the William Tell Overture; all while their crazy teacher keeps yelling through the bullhorn on her neck.
Thanks to the nasty curry in Naota's lunchbox, the monster is weakened as Canti wrecks the teacher's car as he leaps off the rooftop! That is going to kill the Blue Book value.
After that, Canti merges with Naota and delivers the finishing blow against the insect as a railgun! The play also goes off without a hitch, as "Little Busters" plays in the background, and Ninamori comes clean that her glasses are fake. Fine by me: that kind of look is in right now. The old lady is out, the sassy young student teacher is in.
The preview for the next episode, "Full Swing," also has a little bit about Wayne Ichiro and his baseball career, becoming a big star in his home land before came to America. The next episode is going to be a lot of fun to talk about.
"Marqui di Carabas" might be one of the most fun takes on the story of Puss in Boots not involving Antonio Banderas I've seen. It's also surprisingly insightful on how it deals with political and educational pressure from the perspective of a child; and the animation is spectacular as always. I definitely want to get this marathon finished soon, so keep an eye out for my look at the next episode, "Full Swing!"
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