And the absolute, most badass anime character award of the season goes to Akira; taking down waterproof, bunny-suited men like no one’s business.

——

Man, this week’s episode went straight for the jugular right off the bat. Not only was I about in tears at the knowledge that Ayumi survived, but Haru’s increasing guilt was like a punch to the gut. He really cares about these people, and we can see just how broken down he’s becoming as more and more things continue to go wrong.  I’m of the persuasion that Haru doesn’t have to leave Earth after fishing up JFX (the sea monster), but in light of all the harm that’s come from his kind being on Earth, he wants to put as much distance between himself and the people he cares about.

Akira really steals the show again, both with his amazing karate moves and his unwavering faith in Haru, despite the fact that he’s been taught to never trust an alien. I get so many friendship feelings watching this show, it’s ridiculous. Seeing him continuously stick it to his bosses, never once wavering in his conviction that Haru is telling the truth and will help them catch JFX, is really touching.

We don’t see a whole lot of focus on Natsuki in this episode, but that’s okay. He’s the teacher, and his job is to support Yuki, encourage him and affirm his decisions. I’m glad that he’s taking a more supportive role, because this is really something that Yuki has to do on his own; Natsuki can’t bail him out, and he has to trust Yuki and Haru to do it on their own.

At this point, I can’t even speculate what’s going to happen in the finale. I didn’t think this anime would be able to throw me for a loop, but it has, multiple times. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen to Ayumi, and then I wasn’t expecting Ayumi to live. I was expecting the ancient lure to work, and with the support of his friends, Yuki would be able to pull JFX from the sea. I was not expecting the lure to break.  I could literally feel my heart drop to my toes when I saw the pieces of the lure flying in the ocean.

The best thing the show has done so far is make the connection and feelings the boys have for each other so strong, that in the face of this set-back and Haru’s potential sacrifice, not only are you scared of what’s going to happen to Haru, you’re scared of what’s going to happen to Yuki, Natsuki, and Akira as an extension. It’s a perfect cohesion where you can’t care about just one of the characters; you care about what happens to all of them, and how what happens to one, affects the whole. I have no idea how I’m going to last till next week’s finale, because this was an absolutely amazing lead up to what I’m sure will be an amazing end.

GO Rating: 5/5