This Ugly and Beautiful World ep.2

April 10, 2004 | 0 Comments

Well, that was disappointing. I was hoping for a heavier storyline in this second episode especially since the first one was quite light in plot but instead I got a situational comedy with some fanservice thrown in for good measure. There are actually some plot hidden in this episode but in comparison to the rest of the elements, they feel like an afterthought that is inserted into the episode after the comedy and the fanservice parts of the story are completed. Oh well, at least the character designs are really nice and that gives me something to look at until the actual plot starts to kick in sometimes in future episodes.

The second episode starts with Takeru being awaken by Mari for sleeping in the hallway of his apartment. Takeru who remembers that he sleeps outside so that Hikari can sleep inside his room then attempts to prevent Mari from finding out about Hikari. But unfortunately for him, Hikari then opens the door of his room and introduces herself to Mari. Meanwhile, a bunch of police and detectives have gathered around the forest area where the monster was killed. Their investigation seem to have attracted the attention of a foreigner investigator called Jennifer Portman.

Back at Takeru's apartment, all of Takeru's classmates/friends immediately come to his place after hearing from Mari about Hikari. Takeru ends up having to tell them how he met Hikari in the first place. Unfortunately for him, neither his friends nor his family believe in his explanation until Ryo comes in and tells them that Takeru isn't lying. Upon hearing this, all of Takeru's friends are in amazement of Hikari because this is the first time they've seen an alien girl. They're even more amazed with the fact that Hikari doesn't look like the stereotypical alien being (green octopus, little grey man, etc). Some of Takeru's friend then starts mentioning some examples of human alien characters that are featured in anime.

Hikari then admits that she herself doesn't remember her origin and the reason that she is here on Earth. She, however, seems to have the ability to know the name of everyone in the room despite the fact that none of them have introduced themselves. Hikari also able to sense other people's feeling. For example, within the room she can sense a loneliness. Ryo asks her if Hikari is actually referring to Takeru's feel of loneliness which Hikari answers in affirmative, much to Takeru's embarassment. Anyway, the rest of the episode unfortunately isn't as informative as this one. It basically then shows Hikari trying to adjust to her new life.

This simply means that she learns how to cook from the other girls. After this, the other girls decide to create a new clothes for her so she doesn't have to wear Takeru's shirt. The girls then decide to measure her body and not surprisingly, Hikari is quite well-endowed (if you're curious, her breast measurement is 86 cm - or 85 cm according to Mari, who clearly can't contain her jealousy). Anyway, Hikari's new getup looks really good and it seems to make Takeru even more enchanted. Jealous of all of the attentions that Hikari gets, Mari then tells everyone that it's about time that they go to school. Everyone then departs to school, leaving Hikari alone in the apartment.

Meanwhile, Hikari who's left all alone in the apartment seems to be a bit lonely but she then is distracted by the arrival of the foreigner investigator, Jennifer Portman. Jennifer then asks Hikari if she wants to take a shower with her. Of course Hikari does and we get a dose of girl on girl action which disguised as Jennifer sympathising to Hikari's feel of loneliness. Anyway, later on in the evening, all of the teens come back to Takeru's apartment only to discover that Jennifer is easily enjoying a can of beer while covered only in towel. I get it now, Jennifer is like a combination of Misato and Ritsuko from Evangelion but with an extremely well-endowed breast and a rather nympho attitude to match that said breast.

Jennifer tells everyone that Hikari has left not too long ago. This news devastates Takeru. We then get a bit flashback into Takeru's past where we see that he was left behind by his parents. At first Mari is happy to see Hikari left but after talking to Jennifer, she realises that it makes Takeru sad. Therefore, she urges Takeru to find her. Takeru decides to do exactly that and thankfully for him, Hikari hasn't gone that far. The two are reunited and Takeru ends up asking permission to his uncle/aunt that Hikari is allowed to stay in their apartment complex next to him. Well, Hikari doesn't exactly end up staying next to Takeru's room but rather two room next to his because Takeru's next door neighbour turns out to be none other than the drunkard Jennifer Portman.

The next day, Hikari cheerily waves as all of the kids go to school. Takeru seems to be happy to see Hikari smiling, making Mari even more jealous than before. The camera then pans over the city and makes its way to the forest and then zooms into one of the trees where another alien girl can be seen sitting in a tree branch, ending the episode. Overall, I think this is a rather dull episode where nothing interesting happens. I suppose if I had watch it with the intention of watching the fanservice, I will have been happier but unfortunately, my mindset was set to expecting a mysterious sci-fi show right from the beginning so all of the excessive fanservice feels jarring to me.

What drives me insane is the fact that I can see so much potential for the story and yet none of it has been realised yet. I've been hoping that the series will hint at the extinction stuff that were mentioned at the prologue of the first episode. I realised that this is only the second episode but I have seen instances where an anime goes on and on with filler episodes only to speed up like a demon halfway through the series so that it can complete a story arc that only starts halfway through the series. Anyway, I hope Gainax will ease up on the silly/fanservice element and start focusing on the plot.

© memento 2003