Recap: The Ebisugawas continue to enact their plan as Yasaburo tries to track down the Friday Fellows and save Yaichiro.

I still don’t get what Benten’s angle is. She seems to care for Yasaburo but feels she need to put on a facade of callousness at all times. She saves him from the Ebisugawas and yet refuses to help him interfere with the Friday Fellows. I suppose part of it could just be a defense mechanism. She really did seem hurt that Yasaburo didn’t want to get her anything for Christmas, but because she is in a position of authority she can’t express that normally. The whole Yasaburo-Benten dynamic was always the most interesting part of this show, so I hope it does get resolved before the show is through.

This show has always been very artsy, and that’s why I’m really disappointed with the cheap CG effect used for Ginkaku’s transformation as they were gloating to Yasaburo. It just looked incredibly off compared to the beautifully detailed background with its rich pastels. The character animation also took a real hit. Whenever someone was more than 10 feet off of the camera they started to look incredibly deformed. I can forgive this for the army of nobodies Soun hires, as it fits with their theme, but when Benten and Yasaburo were talking, they were the focal points of the scene, you can’t have their art getting lazy right in the middle of it.

I doubt the brothers will keep Yasaburo out for the count completely. While he’s definitely in trouble, the two Ebisugawa brothers are definitely no geniuses. With his skills at trickery I’m looking forward to how he’s going to play the two and get his freedom. I can see some planning by Mom too. She knows how much Soun cares for her, and it seems she’s making herself look weak in the cage. I may be overthinking this, but it might be an attempt to gain some sympathy and exploit it to escape. I’m also hoping Yashiro goes to Yajiro, as that would definitely give the proper motivation to finally have him come out of his depression and help the family. With only two episodes left, we’re really getting into the final stretch. So many questions remain unanswered, but as long as The Eccentric Family can keep this finale interesting, I can live with it.