Recap: Surprise! The Totally Not Shady club turns out to be a religious cult. Banri tries to get his fellow captives out, but Koko sees through this and stays with him, forcing him to think fast for a way to get them both. Afterwards they have a heart to heart about Koko’s determination and Banri’s past.

This is why you never get into vans people. This is like third grade stranger danger stuff, I’m really disappointed in these two. Definitely a grave departure from the more conventional drinking fest that typifies the college experience last week. Still, it was a great way to give our main pair some time to bond. I really love that Koko saw through Banri’s plan and wouldn’t allow him to be a sacrifice as the others get away.

The chemistry between Banri and Koko was great. They were making way too much noise for people being chased, but I suppose we can chalk it up to them simply outrunning them, and it did lend itself to a great scene. Their talk after running away was as cute as it was profound. We really got to see them bear their souls as they talked about their motivations and worries. Far from being overbearing, it seems Koko just relied on Mitsuo so much that she couldn’t do anything without him. I kinda felt she was simply getting sympathy last episode, but after that scene I felt I could understand why she would do that. Banri himself is a whole different can of worms. His kind of identity crisis is one that’s seldom brought up in amnesia stories. Usually the desire for those lost thoughts is tantamount, but to Banri it would be like his current existence wiped away, replaced by the identity formed through his old memories.

I’m still worried where this leaves our story. This is still ostensibly being sold to us as a romance that will form between Banri and Koko, but we still have yet to see Koko waver from her devotion to Mitsuo at all. If I were a betting man, I think Mitsuo finding a new girl would be the best way to develop that story. With Mitsuo now in the Film club, maybe that will reveal Chinami’s importance to the story.

Lifesong’s Thoughts:Okay, so those tea club people, they weren’t so crazy after all. We got to meet the true crazies this week and wow did they lay it on thick. I imagine that piece of paper had some kind of consent on it and and our two main characters just dodged a bullet by finding it oh so conveniently on the way out the, uh… window.

I loved the dialog between Banri and Koko after their getaway. In one sense they come both come from different worlds, but it was neat to see them bonding over their pasts. On the one hand we have Banri who is basically a different person as of one year prior to this story, on the other hand we have Koko who has grown up and spent her entire life expecting to marry someone who wants nothing more than to escape from her presence.

I think it’s an interesting dynamics between Koko, Mitsuo and Banri. I don’t really feel it’s appropriate to feel sorry for any of them, they all need to grow up and move on, but it’s easy to relate despite feeling the way I do. I also appreciate that this anime isn’t pushing the Koko is such a good person and Mitsou should be all over her angle. That might totally ruin this current dynamic if the story does that.

Also, I’m going to call it now, Linda is totally Banri’s girlfriend from before he lost his memory.

Iro’s Thoughts:
I thought this was a romance, not a horror! What’s with the crazy religious cults and the daring escapes into the woods? I suppose an excuse was needed to let Tada and Koko have a heart-to-heart, but did it need to involve crazy religious cults of all things? I had enough of those with Gargantia! That said, it’s a good bit of dialogue and it serves to make both of our leads more sympathetic. I admit hearing Koko talk about her feelings made me somewhat uncomfortable, since it’s a viewpoint similar to many ladies who are trapped in abusive relationships, except presumably Mitsuo never stooped that low. Tada’s viewpoint on how he handles his amnesia is also very relatable, and I think anyone who has ever thought about their “identity” would agree. Here’s hoping Golden Time doesn’t screw up further down the line/