Plot progression? In this show? I couldn’t believe my eyes!
(Spoilers in this review)
I was pleasantly surprised with this episode since the girls get something done besides fooling around. But is it enough to make the show relevant after 8 episodes of silly antics?
The episode opens with Chiya being lost and then getting harrassed by a terrible Urara. Thankfuly, a lady comes to her rescue and scare off the shameless punk.
Said lady is named Tokie she decides to accompany Chiya back to Natsume-ya. She seems incredibly knowledgable about the proper conduct for Urara – so it isn’t too big of a surprise to find out that she’s actually a rank 2 Urara. Wow!
Tokie offers to give Chiya a divination using a crystal ball, which Chiya accepts. Tokie reads that her friends really care about her and that Kon is like a fox, Nono is a tanuki, and Koume is a cat. All of them make sense, I suppose, except Nono? Chiya, of course, is a dog. Apparently Nina-sensei is like a sheep and Saku is a deer. That makes even less sense, but sure.
However, Tokie can sense that Chiya is still missing and yearning for something and asks her for details. Chiya admits that she sometimes gets restless and tries to search for her mother, like today. Then Chiya asks Tokie if she is her mother, but Tokie says that it isn’t the case. In order to change the subject, Tokie offers to straighten Chiya’s hair.
While combing through the rowdy girl’s hair, Tokie wonders about the image of the dark creature with glowing eyes that briefly popped up in the crystal ball. Of course, it’s the thing (that’s possibly a god) that Chiya saw back in episode 5.
Upon arriving at Natsume-ya, Chiya, Koume, and Nono find out that Tokie is actually Kon’s mother! Ah, that’s who Tokie reminded me of.
It turns out that Tokie had some business with Natsume-ya. Tokie saw that a calamity would befall Nono at midnight tonight and that the four of them working together is the only way to avoid such a tragic fate. Nina-sensei, of course, panics. Everyone resolves to protect Nono from the upcoming disaster, so the four girls retreat to the bedroom in order to think things through.
Eventually Chiya convinces the girls that using barberries might be able to save Nono, so the girls head to the forest and search well into the night. Seeing that everyone is getting dirty and banged up, Nono, who is tired of always being protected, tries to convince everyone that they should stay away from her so the calamity doesn’t affect them.
As it turns out… the whole calamity thing was a ruse! Tokie was actually the proctor for their rank 9 Urara qualifying exam and the girls all passed! While the girls kind of sucked at divination, Tokie was impressed with their mindsets (Koume’s optimism, Kon’s dedication to knowledge, Nono’s courage to put the others’ safety first, and Chiya’s determination to never give up were what she liked to see).
The girls are thus qualified to take the main exam, which will have the four girls competing against other rank 10 Urara. In other words, PLOT IS HAPPENING.
I’m not entirely convinced the girls deserve to pass the qualifying exam considering how we only get to see a few scenes where they’re actually studying, but sure. Next exam should bring in some new faces, yay! More girls, more rivals, more problems?
The Lily Garden 