First things first, Amaya tries to distance himself from Sanda, and his reasoning makes perfect sense. Sanda is always hanging out with Amaya and Fuyumura, the two people who have crossed Oshibu. So like I’ve said before, anyone with a brain cell or two would come to suspect Sanda. The fact that Oshibu hasn’t gone after Sanda is a bit strange. Maybe the headmaster is just one of those “hot” guys with no brains. Well, Sanda/Santa isn’t going let Amaya ditch their friendship without a fight. I wouldn’t expect anything else from our anime protagonist. Still, I do have to wonder why he thinks he can’t “do this” without Amaya? What exactly has Amaya brought to the table in recent episodes? To be honest, not much. At least Fuyumura can make bombs. Anyway, this little detour with Amaya feels kinda pointless. Santa quickly convinces Amaya to take back his words, so we end up right back where we started. All we’ve accomplished is wasting a third of this week’s episode. I don’t get it.
Welp, back to the primary conflict. Basically, Oshibu is disappointed in Yagiuda and the rest of the Santa hunters, so he’s going to call in some ringers. Right on cue, Sanda bumps into Namatame, a girl trying to carry a bunch of dying potted plants back to her classroom. Naturally, our hero can’t help himself. He has to lend her a hand. He just has to! Unfortunately, this leads him and Niko straight to Class 10, which is full of adult-killing children. These are the alternatives Oshibu was talking about; a pair of adults can’t catch Santa, so they’re going to sic a bunch of schoolchildren on the man of legend instead. Still, at least we’ve finally confirmed that kids in this alternate universe can kill adults. Weeks ago, I might have said, “Cool, let’s kill Oshibu who doesn’t deserve any mercy!” But as we’ve learned last week, he’s obviously still too strong for Santa. Sadly, it sounds like our jolly St. Nick will have to undergo a training arc.
Initially, Niko talks their way out of the sticky situation. Other than Fuyumura, Amaya, and Yagiuda, no one else knows anything about Sanda’s secret identity. Class 10 has no reason to keep him and Niko imprisoned. Unfortunately, Niko accidentally leaves her cat keychain back in the classroom full of murderers, and Sanda is stupid enough to try and retrieve it. Bro, why? It’s just a keychain. Buy another one. But he thinks that confronting a bunch of killers will impress Director Tetsudome from last week’s episode. Remember how the old woman will only train him if he faces the “underworld” of the school? I mean, maybe Sanda’s right, but shouldn’t you check with her before plunging yourself into a pit of vipers? Something like, “Hey, when you mentioned the ‘underworld,’ did you mean the adult killers?” But nope, it can’t wait. They always do this. Heroes always act first, think later.
I also don’t really understand the logistics behind Class 10. Namatame tells Santa that adults never step foot into this classroom. At the same time, Sanda only bumped into her because they were both outside, trying to clean up the mess that the typhoon had left behind. So… the kids in Class 10 are not exactly forced to be in that classroom all day. They’re free to come and go, right? But they still show up everyday? They attend class even though none of the teachers are brave enough to teach them? What’s the point of all this? Who’s compelling them to come to class and keeping them here? Are these adult killers all scared of Oshibu? Maybe. But at the same time, they’re brave enough to challenge Santa directly? I dunno, I find this all a bit baffling. I mean, yeah, every student is trapped at this school. You don’t need to give me some spiel about tough, leathery boots to convince me of that. But why is a classroom full of murderers so compliant?
Well, Namatame demands Santa’s thumbs as a present. And due to Santa being who he is, he can’t refuse her…? Wait, what? Okay, I know not all of the Santa stereotypes are true in this alternate universe. But c’mon, Santa should be able to say no to naughty children! You can’t take that stereotype away. That’s like one of Santa’s core traits! He rewards good kids and punishes bad kids with coal! This is what makes Santa Santa! Luckily, his friends arrive just in time to prevent St. Nick from chopping his own thumbs off. In fact, Fuyumura literally bombs her way into Class 10. But our trio isn’t free from danger yet, because the show leaves us on this cliffhanger.
Stray thoughts & observations:
- The Amaya now is unrecognizable from the Amaya who tried to blackmail Sanda and Fuyumura into kissing. I still don’t understand what he was thinking back then.
- Damn, what is going on with Ono’s veins? Kinda reminds you of Oshibu when he gets angry, but she’s not that old. She’s still supposed to be a kid. At least, that’s what I think I know about her.
- Yagiuda somehow talks his way out of his predicament by flattering Oshibu, but he, uh, goes a little too far in my opinion. Nevertheless, these gross words have the power to literally heal up Oshibu’s scars. Yeah, I’m speechless.
- What a colorful cast of characters.
- You really shouldn’t judge people by how nice and friendly they seem. Don’t a lot of serial killers get their victims by being charming and sociable? Look, a grumpy person might be unpleasant to deal with, but at least they’re not putting up a facade. Probably.
- Sorta related to what I’m talking about, but also sorta not.
- Technically, he should discriminate here. Naughty children aren’t supposed to get presents from Santa.
- Even when Niko is scared and worried, she still has that silly, cat-like grin on her face. I wonder how long her character will stick around. She’s clearly not one of the main characters, but she also seems to get along with Sanda.
