Inaba, you can be a stone cold fox when you want to be. Why don’t you want to be more often?

——

Inaba’s getting her own story! YUS! I feel like she’s been shoved to the back-burner. Wait. No. She definitely has. Not that it wasn’t unjustified; the last couple episodes were all about Iori, so of course Inaba wouldn’t get the spotlight. But now that we’re here, it’s her time to shine. I’m pretty excited for this, you guys. For the record, I don’t think the acting on impulse thing is as exciting or as interesting as body-switching was. But I guess this fits with Inaba’s distrust of other people and not being able to trust herself with her feelings and emotions. This is at odds with her personality, just like Iori’s existential crisis was at odds with body-switching and the definition of her personality. Inaba’s constant distancing between herself and her friends is the “problem”, so acting on impulse would be the worst thing to happen to her.

This is another introspective story arc, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t excite me like the previous episodes have. There’s something lacking here and I don’t really know what it is. One difference, besides the switch in focus and the paranormal phenomenon, is that there seems to be less comedic potential in this story. Unleashing one’s desire is certainly dangerous, but it’s not as funny. If someone was to actually experience this, comedy wouldn’t be part of the equation, but as we’re the audience and not the subject this has an effect on our interest. There’s also the fact that Inaba’s story is just starting. Besides the beginning exposition and vague references to what each character’s goal is, there’s not a whole lot that’s revealed or told in this episode. It leaves me wanting more, so I guess mission accomplished. We’ll just have to see where the story goes from here. Going by the preview, it should be interesting if not good.

I’m more than a little excited for Inaba’s arc because she’s the one I sympathize with most, so this should prove to be entertaining for me. Not the strongest openings, but solid and I can only assume that the show will build on this premise well.

GO Rating: 3.5/5