Kihachi has been making batteries, but the girls are a little less enthused than they should be. Instead, another contraption catches the girls’ notice. This machine can apparently tell you if your crush likes you back. So it’s hogwash, right? Well, the way it works is that you have to wear these helmets. The contraption then sends an electric current to your head (very dangerous — don’t do this at home, kids). Miniature, mechanical rabbits then start moving towards each other, and this somehow determines a couple’s compatibility…? Maybe it’s like a super crude mood detector, which are also pretty unreliable themselves. Nevertheless, Kihachi’s bodyguards become unwitting guinea pigs, and the results are favorable. But surely, this doesn’t mean anything. These two men fought side-by-side in battle. Maybe they’re lovers, maybe they’re. Either way, they’re certainly bonded for life. But I doubt the machine could determine that; this is just confirmation bias.
In enters a new character, who’s been eavesdropping on the kiddos? In fact, this was the same guy spying on the girls earlier in the episode — spying on Suzu, to be specific. His name is Ainosuke, and the way he keeps going on and on about his passionate “liebe,” I thought he might have had a thing for Kate, the hafu. But no, this university-aged man likes Suzu and he likes her a lot. Hoo boy, another dude who is into little girls. And this twisted love came about simply because she helped him out one time. I bet you she doesn’t even know his name. Lemme guess, she was the first girl or woman to ever be nice to him? Other than his mom, of course. Sadly, Inako is entranced by this meager “love” story.
You can’t trust a machine off of one result, so the gang starts testing it out on Yosuke and his manservant. Again, the machine has a favorable response for these two men, but I truly doubt Yosuke harbors any feeling for Izo. He’s obsessed with Seiroku; he probably has no room in his heart for anyone else. Kihachi isn’t convinced by the results either. Nevertheless, the experiments go on!
The next trial involves Noriko and Kengo, who are already an established couple. In theory, the machine should spit out a favorable response, right? Well, no, not really. Not to be pessimistic, but we don’t actually know if Noriko and Kengo truly love each other. They might have mutual respect between the two of them, but not necessarily romantic affections. This experiment wouldn’t really confirm anything. As luck would have it — or unluck — the love tester starts having a weak response to the couple, much to Inako’s dismay. But when the girl starts yapping about how her sister and Kengo should have mutual feelings — see, you can’t prime the test subjects like that — the rabbits suddenly go wild. Kengo starts gushing about how he’s always been in love with Noriko. She, however, stays completely calm. The machine is only responding to Kengo’s strong feelings. But even then, not knowing how the machine truly works, we can’t draw any reasonable conclusion.
Finally, the gang decides to test the machine out on Suzu and her stalker Ainosuke. All of a sudden, Kate looks worried. Maybe she’s afraid to lose her friend. Maybe, however, it’s even deeper than that. But hey, I’m not gonna play shipper without any hard evidence. Before they can conduct the final trial, however, Kihachi identifies a flaw with the machine. This would certainly mess with the results they’ve been getting. Ainosuke nevertheless insists on continuing with the experiment; he’s delusional, after all. Meanwhile, I’m disappointed that Kihachi hasn’t shut this down. This is reckless. You shouldn’t be using a device with a potentially broken wire. You shouldn’t be sending electric currents to people’s brains in the first place — not without a proper understanding of what you’re doing! Yes, I know we have machines that do similar things nowadays, but those have been properly tested! Sure, it’s not like this show would ever let anyone die like this, but it’s the principle of the matter! Scientists and inventors also need to show proper restraint! Scientists and inventors also need to care about the people they experiment on! At the very least, their subjects should be informed!
As Suzu and Ainosuke begin “measuring” their compatibility, Kihachi spills the beans on how the machine works. It literally electrocutes your brain, sending you into “a state of euphoria;” in other words, it makes you delusional. See, I knew it wasn’t safe. Last week’s episode was immoral enough; they essentially lied to an old woman about her late husband talking to her from beyond the grave. But we’re now doing direct harm to people, and that has to stop. But in the end, Ainosuke seems to have known all along that the compatibility thing was total bunk. He pushed on anyway, because he wanted the electric shock to give him the courage to confess his feelings. He then climbs to the roof of a nearby building and screams out his love for Suzu. Kinda 10 Things I Hate About You-ish. Y’know, humanity has a solution for Ainosuke’s issue — we’ve had a solution ever since we discovered the magical science of fermentation: it’s called alcohol. Bro, just kill your brain cells with mood-altering chemicals like everyone else, not electric currents! And if any shady shopkeeper ever gives you a toy that can grant you any wish, definitely do not wish for your crush to love you more than anyone else! But I digress. Back to the show, Suzu rejects Ainosuke.
In the aftermath, Kihachi reveals why he came up with the idea for the love tester in the first place: he wanted to help his brother find a wife one day. Or husband. We can’t discount that, especially considering Yosuke’s demented obsession with the guy; he definitely would be a Bear. Anyway, even though the experiments today didn’t bear fruit, Inako still praises Kihachi. The machine may not have worked as Kihachi had intended, but she reasons that it still revealed “the shape of different people’s feelings.” Did it, though? ‘Cause in my eyes, it distorted people’s feelings to the point where they were no longer being honest. There’s a grain of truth hidden within each victim’s mania, but I don’t think that’s enough. It’s the authenticity that matters.
Kihachi only responds by turning away and blushing. We never got to see him and Inako use the machine, huh? We already know how it works in its current incarnation: the helmet with the broken wire amplifies one person’s feelings to an absurd amount. So is there even anything between Inako and Kihachi to amplify? The results would probably be tepid. Knowing how cheesy this show is, these two kids are likely destined to fall in love. But for now, they seem like just good friends.
Meanwhile, Kate and Suzu share more anpan beneath a hazy, yellow sky. Nothing has changed for either of them; Kate’s feelings remain murky. Whatever she has or needs to say to Suzu remains unspoken for now, or — considering the time period they’re in — perhaps forever.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— I read somewhere that Inako’s besties are actually anime original characters. So I thus can’t help but wonder what we’d be seeing instead of this scene if the adaptation was uber faithful. By the way, I don’t think an adaptation being more faithful automatically makes it better. Some creative license is fine. You can get away with almost anything if you simply execute. So far, Inako’s besties aren’t exactly well-developed, super dynamic characters, but they’re fine. They’re side characters who (for now) are suitably supporting Inako.
— I usually skip the OP, because it’s pretty much the only thing about the show I dislike — other than, of course, Yosuke’s creepiness towards Inako, but this week’s OP actually shows us how Kate first met the other two. Whoa, wait, has the OP been dropping lore all this time? Do I really gotta go back and check each of them? …fuuuuuuuuuuuuuc–… Anyway, Kate obviously became fast friends with Inako and Suzu. No surprise there. Unfortunately, we also see Yosuke hop on his (steam-powered?) bike. Great, what is he up to now?
— Fine, fine, I’ll go back and watch the OPs. Naturally, last week’s OP was all about Inako and her mother. We even get a glimpse of the family in happier times. Her father almost seems like a decent person back then! In contrast, Inako continues to drift further and further away from her family in the present. It’s a bit on the nose, but the metaphor checks out. It also reminds me a lot of Silent Hill f. They both even feature horrible fathers trying to sell their kids off via an arranged marriage. Granted, the game’s father eventually gets his very tiny bit of redemption, so Inako’s father might share the same fate. Also, Inako at least knows her sister still support her. You gotta go through the game like four damn times before SHf‘s Hinako could accept that her sister supported her as well.
— Did episode three have an OP? Either I’m failing to find it, or it didn’t have one.
— Episode two’s OP has Yosuke finding out from Kengo that Seiroku had died. This is also the first time we get a glimpse of the Seiroku puppet. Man, these are some important scenes! Why would you stick them in the OP where people like myself might be tempted to skip? I’m still curious about Yosuke’s makeover, though. Since when does trauma get us a better haircut?
— I did at least watch the OP back when the first episode aired. I thought every week’s OP would just be the same. Look, it’s a reasonable assumption to make, because this is how every other show operates.
— I have a confession: when I come to like a show, I also come to dread it a little. Just a little. It’s ’cause I tend to go a lil’ overboard when writing them up. So whenever it’s Ghost in the Shell day, for example, I love the show, but at the back of my mind, I also know I’ll be locked in for the next two or three hours writing a post that barely anyone will read. This isn’t an attack on anyone, by the way. I’m just being self-deprecating. Point is, Sparks of Tomorrow is not quite at that level, but I do still put some effort into it. And now I’ve had to go back and watch three of the show’s OPs, so yeah, it’s gonna be a long morning.
— What’s the chillest post for me to write? Honestly, it would have to be the “Isekai Hate Watch.” Trashing that genre is like water off a duck’s back for me.
— How many times do we gotta teach you this lesson, old creepy man?!
— This setup seems a little dangerous. Don’t batteries involve some potentially caustic and flammable chemicals and compounds? Yes, yes they do. Plus, would the layperson even know what he’s talking about when he says the word “batteries”? Does the word or concept mean anything to them? What also makes me a little incredulous is Kihachi’s breadth of knowledge. It’s not impossible for him to know a thing or two about chemistry, but when did he get the chance to learn about this? He’s practically a genius compared to the average individual back in the Meiji era. They certainly don’t teach you how to “generate sulfur trioxide” in school. Obviously, Kihachi doesn’t go to school, but you know what I mean. In fact, does this imply that he understands the concept of molecular bonds?
— I love how Kihachi gets this look whenever he gushes about a topic he truly cares about. Considering how it looks like he and Inako will become a thing, it goes to show that you don’t need someone who shares your exact passion. You just need someone who get excited when you’re excited.
— Kihachi is kinda defenseless right now, isn’t he? Those two bodyguards ran off to… do whatever it is that they do. Feels like this would be a good opportunity for Yosuke to steal the Electrical Catalog back, but Izo somehow convinces his boss to go home this time.
— Izo swings that way, huh?
— I guess Inako is just stuck this way for the rest of the episode.
— We get a flashback showing us when Izo first got this thankless job; he’s been watching over his master since they were kids. Nah, still weird. I’ll never understand blindly following someone regardless of their personal or moral character. Yosuke seems like a straight-up horrible person, but I don’t think this matters to Izo one bit. But this flashback does at least show us how Yosuke and Seiroku probably met (at school).
— Meanwhile, Yosuke finally comes to the realization that Kihachi is much like Seiroku — duh, they’re brothers — so it would be best to let the kid “run wild” for the time being. Hey, the less I see Yosuke, the better.
— Noriko gets mad at Inako, which causes the latter to hide out in a corner and pout. But what is Noriko even mad about? But this gives Inako and Kihachi a small chance to bond. He got to yap her ears off earlier, so it’s only fair that she can share her fixation with him.
— Inako is rooting for the wrong person. If she’s gotta root for anybody, make it Kate. Besides, we barely even know this man. Yajiro vouches for him, but he’s still an adult man trying to get with a girl.
