All in all, a relatively boring episode in which little happens.

Episode summary: Hina’s father will lead an operation to steal the Alliance’s Coupling mechas, but we won’t get to see that till next week. As for the good guys, Dio has a difficult conversation with his father, and we learn how much Aoba’s father meant to our hero. Kinda boring.

Notes:

• When the episode opens, Doctor Fermi’s funeral is still taking place. Hey, I’m not one to bag on a person’s funeral, but… this guy showed up out of nowhere for one episode, contributed little to the story, stupidly put himself in harm’s way, then died. Why are we putting such an inordinate amount of attention on his character again? I guess this guy is so important that even Dio’s dad made the trip all the way out to Hawaii just to pay his respects.

• Lene orders, “Weinberg. Watase. You two ensigns, as well as Petty Officer Nasu, will be granted half-watch shore leave. You three are to remain together as much as possible.” Oh, the two main characters and the girl who will be broken-hearted when Aoba inevitably chooses Hina. How convenient that they’ll have to stick together now that we’ve made it to Hawaii.

• Ah, tch…

So close. You almost got every word spelled right, intern. For your information, “Packages (Milk Chocolate)” is a bit of a weird thing to put on a shopping list. But anyway, it turns out Mayu got an even longer shopping list from her friend Anessa. Oh boy, don’t tell me this episode’s going to be all about sight-seeing in Hawaii.

• Apparently, there’s going to be yet another military exercise that’ll involve the Coupling System. Jesus Christ, this show has been one exhibition of the show’s damn gimmick one after another. You’d think everyone would be an expert in the Coupling System by now.

• Man, I want a driverless car; it’s just one less hassle I’d have to bother with. I know Google’s working on one.

• For some reason, Aoba offers to talk to Dio’s dad. W-why would you think that this is a good idea? Not only do you not know Dio that well, you don’t know his dad at all. Why would someone who is presumably a very important and busy man in the Buddy Complex universe take the time out to hear what some nobody soldier has to say? Plus, isn’t it rude to just butt into other people’s family lives? But of course, how could I lose sight of the most important thing here: “Think of how much [Fiona’s] worrying about you and your old man.” Won’t anybody think of the imouto? Even though Aoba’s met her only once, he’s acting as if he’s her brother or something. That’s just the magical quality of imoutos.

• I guess since this episode is all about dads, we might as well learn about Aoba’s father: “He often told me that it was the man’s job to protect his family.” Why can’t we just say it’s everyone’s job to protect their own families? But in any case, I like how even in an anime that sends the protagonist hurtling seventy years into the future, one — if not both — of his parents still has to be dead. Aoba thinks it’s silly to not be on good terms with one’s parents considering how he’s lost his father, but he’s being hopelessly naive. Not every relationship can be repaired. Not every parent is worth fighting for. Some parents are just hopelessly selfish and narcissistic. But then again, this is anime so I’m sure Dio and his father will reconcile at some point. Let’s just hope the old man won’t have to kick the bucket in order for those two to bury the hatchet. You know how it goes. If an anime character’s relationship with his or her parents are good, they’ll disappear from his or her life somehow. On the flip side, if an anime character has a bad parent, the bad parent becomes a major character (see: Gendo).

• We then take a brief break from the main characters’ melodrama to hear Elvira and Wilhelm Hahn, Zogilia’s top researcher, talk each other up. Oh, he’s so brilliant. Oh, she’s so brilliant… second only to me, of course. Hold onto your butts, however, as it looks like Zogilia’s got a fancy new mecha in the works. They just need Elvira’s special cockpit.

• Oh right, Hina’s father is also in this week’s episode, and this is the first thing he’s got to offer: “[Hina’s] a girl of age that even I found to be a handful and you’ve tamed her quite nicely.” Sounds like a great dad already. Then he proceeds to compliment Alfried’s skin… tone? What?

• In any case, Zogilia’s launching an operation to steal the Coupling mechas, and Hina will take part in it. Ah, but since Aoba pretty much saved her life like a billion times a couple of episodes ago, I imagine Hina will do something to help the good guys gain the upper hand in this upcoming conflict between the two warring sides. This will just further reinforce Bizon’s suspicions that there’s something shady going on with his good friend.

• Uh, thanks dad…

The entire room then breaks out into a raucous laughter, while Hina gives the camera the thousand-yard stare. Hey, that is funny.

• Oh my God, Aoba’s going to butt into Dio’s family affairs after all. Way to go, Fiona. You really had to open your sad, little imouto mouth that no anime lead can resist. Aoba even swears he’ll “give it to him good.” Oh, okay. Frankly, even the imouto’s got more sense than our main character: “I hardly think my father will listen to someone he has only just met…” But you think this’ll deter Aoba? Ironically, he calls both Dio and Dio’s father stubborn.

• Mayu offers Fiona to come along with her and Aoba on their shopping trip. Fiona asks, “But aren’t you [two] in the middle of a date?” Sure, whenever I go out with my girlfriend, I always have her sit in the backseat where she belongs.

• Oooh, not a smooth move, Aoba: “No, no, it’s nothing like [a date] at all. Right, [Mayu]?” Dude, you should’ve played it cool.

• As it turns out, Dio’s going to have a one-on-one talk with his father anyway.

• Ugh, we are treated to a flashback of Hina and Bizon as childhood friends:

It’s kind of weird though, isn’t it? If the anime lead is a guy, and he’s got a female childhood friend, they’re almost inseparable. In Hina’s case, however, we all know her relationship with Bizon is not going to end well. So y’know, grow up to be a female childhood friend. If you value your life, however, never grow up to be some girl’s male childhood friend.

• Hina’s dad looks a little crazy in the eyes though:

I don’t know if I wanna entrust him with any operation, to be honest.

• Apparently, Dio’s father is really worked up about the fact that Dio can no longer Couple with anyone but Aoba. I had no idea it was such a big deal. If he’s gotten such detailed information about the latest developments in his son’s life, surely he should’ve gotten the memo that Dio’s performance with Aoba are off the charts. But of course, for the sake of drama, we’ll just ignore this little fact. So it’s up to Dio to stand up for his best friend-slash-Coupler: “[Aoba] is not a man who will be shot down so easily.”

Dio’s father counters with, “This is a war! You know well how unforgiving it is!” But to be quite honest with you, it has been quite forgiving. The only time anyone ever dies is if they insist upon putting themselves into harm’s way. Y’know, like our late Doctor Fermi. Still, the relationship between Dio and his father thaws a bit after this conversation. So I guess Aoba’s going to be all, “I told you so.” Great, I’m looking forward to that.

• Mayu then gives Aoba the googly-eyes. Oh dear. Her and Bizon should really set up some sort of support group for unrequited love. Out of nowhere, Mayu goes, “Aoba. Do you want to go back? To your own time? Will this time not do?” Will this time not do? Are you serious? What about his family? His friends? The fact that he’s now stuck in a war? What a stupid question.