Zettai Kareshi ep.02

April 23, 2008 | 15 Comments

Everytime I watch this series for some reason I am always reminded of my Macbook Pro. I don't think I have an attachment towards a machine until I bought this particular laptop. Because of this, I wonder what would happen if one day computers do come encased in more interesting 'cases'. While I have no desire to have one that looks like a human (it'd be too hard to carry around overseas), I'd certainly would love to have one that looks like a dog or a hamster (anything small, really). Having said that, I wonder if that'd just complicate things. By giving a computer the appearance of a dog, it means there'd be a part of me that will also become emotionally attached to it. Since I like dogs, a computer that has the appearance of a dog would mean that I'd be worried that it may feel lonely when I'm not home. This is something that I'd not feel towards my Macbook Pro regardless of its sexiness because I see it as nothing more than a machine. So just for fun, here's a mini questionnaire: do you have an attachment towards your electronic equipment? Would you be even more attached if it has the shape of a living being that you like? What is that living being?

Episode 2

Riiko wakes up in the morning only to find Night sitting next to her half-naked, about to give her "Good Morning" kiss. She jumps out of the bed in horror, ordering him to put his clothes on. She, however, is relieved to see the calendar, which indicates that today is the last day she'll have the robot. When she gets out to the living room, she finds out that Night has cooked her super Breakfast. After all, she did ask for a guy who can cook. At first she likes the breakfast until she realizes that night has probably used all of the ingredients in the fridge. True enough, her fridge is empty. But she feels better when she remembers that today is the last day she'll have the robot. At work, Soushi is asked by his father to headline the development of a new product which will be sold to department stores. His jealous brother immediately opines that Soushi is useless, an opinion which Soushi is in agreement. Despite this, his father still wants Soushi to do it so after his brother left, he tells Soushi that he can create something that he likes. When Soushi sees Riiko, he remembers her delicious choux cream pastry so he asks her to make more choux cream.

At home, Night catches the landlord when she's about to fall over after changing a lightbulb. She's clearly smitten with him and it's not until he left the building that she realizes that she doesn't know him. At the office, Riiko is in the middle of talking to her friend when a thief snatches her purse. The thief, however, doesn't go far because Night manages to block his way before breaking his hand and lifting him up. Despite his bravery, Riiko is still embarrassed to be associated with Night even though he's come all the way to deliver her lunch box. Unfortunately before Riiko can run away, Night already blurts out that he's Riiko's ideal boyfriend. Riiko is pissed off about this and calls Night "idiot", causing the robot to be confused. Back at Chronos Heaven, Gaku is having a fight with his boss because the boss wants to take Night back and give it to a new subject but Gaku believes that someone with Riiko's personality is necessary for Night's development. The boss, however, reminds him that they can't possibly lend Night to her forever since the development cost is high. At work Riiko is being asked by her co-worker if such good-looking guy is really her boyfriend. Riiko tries to denies it without much success.

That night when Riiko comes back home, she finds Night busy doing push-up. When she asks him what he's doing, he reminds her that she wants a sexy boyfriend who has the figure of a weight-training guy. Riiko tells him that's what she wants from a human guy but the robot instead flexes his muscles and asks her if he's sexy. LOL. Riiko is relieved when she gets a visit from Gaku and asks him to take Night back. Unfortunately for her, Gaku instead tells her that he's thankful that she bought unit 01 from them and the price is 100,000,000 Yen (around 1 million US dollars). Oh shoot. Later on, Gaku points out that when she carried out a repair during the trial period, she basically purchased the unit. He then points at a *very* fine print on the contract. Riiko can't accept this and tells Gaku that this is fraud. He, however, points out at another point in the contract, where she can returns the robot if she pays the repair cost within 7 days. The repair costs is 1,000,000 Yen (around 10 thousand US Dollars). XD Despite this, Riiko is determined to return the robot back to Kronos Heaven. To set her goal, Riiko marks her calendar to indicate that she has to get 1 million yen by the 4th of May.

When Riiko checks her account balance, she finds out that she only has 600,000 Yen (which I assume, is her life saving too, poor girl). She is then reminded by her senior that there's a meeting about new products. Soushi asks her if she made the choux cream that he asked her the other day but Riiko tells him that she didn't since it's not part of her job. She also tells him to stop harassing her. Anyway, inside the meeting, everyone gets to taste the new cakes. Although they look delicious, it's amusing how one employer keeps kissing his superior's ass by agreeing/disagreeing about which cake is delicious/not delicious. It's even more amusing when Soushi tells them that the cake that they're praising is not even his and they backpedal on their opinion. When Soushi asks Riiko to eat one of the cake, Riiko refuses and runs to the kitchen. She then asks Mika if she knows a part-time job where she can earn 400,000 Yen in one week. Whatever Mika suggested must be pretty bad since Riiko ends up asking Fujiko-san if a woman's most important thing is her chastity. XD.

Riiko then asks if she can borrow money from Fujiko. Eventually, however, she decides to earn the money herself. Back home, the landlady is taking a peek while Night is exercising topless. When Riiko goes home, she has to lie and tells the landlady that Night is just her cousin from village. Because Riiko has to get that money, she goes to that part-time job Mika suggested, which turns out to be a hostess at a host club (where girls accompany male clients and persuades them to drink/eat). Riiko is hesitant to do this but the manager reminds her that she needs the money. At the same time, Night detects someone outside but when he finds out that it's just Mika, he slams the door on her. Back at the host club, Riiko is pushed by the manager to start working on her first client. She introduces herself as "Misao" (LOL - it literally means chastity) to the client, which turns out to be Soushi. Because Riiko panics, she ends up bumping into a waiter carrying a drink. As a result, she's demoted to the kitchen by the manager. Soushi who sneaks to the kitchen to see her is impressed with the fact that Riiko tries to clean a knife so that it doesn't leave dirts when it is used to cut fruits.

Meanwhile, Mika finds out that Night is Riiko's boyfriend so she asks him if he knows where Riiko is at the moment. When Night admits that he doesn't know, Mika insinuates that Riiko is being secretive towards him. Back at the club, Soushi finds out that Riiko has just started working at thet place today since she doesn't have any money. He, however, denies it when a girl asks her if he likes Riiko. At the same time, Night goes to Fujiko's bar to ask her if she knows Riiko's whereabouts. Fujiko tells him that Riiko has money problem and realizes that Night didn't know this. Night tells her that Riiko told him that she's okay. In response, Fujiko tells him that when a woman says she's 'okay', she's actually feeling the reverse and worries about many things. So she orders him to go look for her. At the same time, Soushi is seen carrying Riiko on his back since the later is drunk after drinking too much alcohol. In the process, he overhears her saying 400,000 Yen. Unfortunately for Soushi, he meets Night, who suspects him of doing something to Riiko. Soushi, however, explains that Riiko is just drunk and he's her boss. Night immediately apologizes and tells Soushi that he is Riiko's ideal boyfriend.

Soushi is not amused at the 'ideal' part of Night's answer and tells Night that in that case, he needs to be more boyfriend-like. Night doesn't understand this so Soushi points out that Riiko looks worried. That night after tucking Riiko into bed, Night also overhears her saying 400,000. The next day, Riiko wakes up and finds her breakfast is ready but Night is nowhere to be seen. Later on at work, Mika praises her for being able to get a boyfriend like Night but Riiko denies that night is her boyfriend. She's also bewildered when Soushi tells her that she was "sugoi", which can mean either good or bad and it's hard to guess what he means in this context. Because of this, Riiko asks him what he meant by this but Soushi refuses to explain and instead asks her why she needs 400,000 Yen. In response, Riiko tells the guy that it's none of his business and she's not going to make him that choux cream. When Riiko comes home that night, Night is not home either. As it turns out, he's been working non-stop at a construction area. Riiko, who calls Kronos Heaven, finds out that Night hasn't returned there either. She uses the opportunity to ask Gaku what will happen after Night is returned to the company.

Gaku tells her that they will wipe out all of his data about her. Upon hearing Riiko's seemingly concerned voice, Gaku asks her if she'd like to purchase Night instead but Riiko insists that she'll return him. Because of this, Riiko obtains a job as a dish cleaner at a Chinese restaurant. At the same time, Night's manager praises Night's hardworking attitude so he tells him that it's all for his girlfriend. At night, Night works as a traffic co-ordinator on a busy street. Meanwhile, Riiko is scolded by her boss because she ends up sleeping on the job (because she's tired working endless shifts). In order to solve her problem, Soushi lends her 400,000 Yen. Before she can refuse, Soushi is being asked by his subordinate to choose a store design. When she tries to exit, Riiko overhears her boss saying that Soushi probably won't be successful with his plan (to sell cakes on department stores). Riiko then overhears Soushi telling his father that his plan hasn't been going well. Having said that, he asks the guy if he remembers grandpa's choux cream because lately he ate one. He explains that it was made by one of his subordinates and it tastes so much like the ones that his grandfather used to make.

Later on after Soushi's father has left, Riiko returns his money but tells him that she can make the choux cream tomorrow. That night after part-time work, Riiko realizes that it's impossible for her to get 400,000 in a week. She, however, spots Night working hard at a factory but suddenly stops because he runs out of battery. Because she doesn't want anyone to find out about it, she covers Night with some kind of box. However, she gets spotted by the manager, who realizes that she's the girlfriend that Night is talking about. From the manager, Riiko finds out that Night has been working hard for her. The manager then wonders where Night is so Riiko lies and tells him that he's in the toilet. Because they need to fill the truck quickly, Riiko has no choice but to take over for Night. Thankfully for her, Night manages to recharge his power so he can take over again. Riiko, however, insists on helping so they can finish the job quickly. After the job is done, the manager praises Riiko and Night agrees with him, claiming that she's the best girlfriend. That night, Riiko counts the money that Night obtained, which is a total of 350,000 Yen.

The next morning, Riiko is in contact with Gaku, who tells her that he'll pick up Night that evening. Riiko tells Night to give the money to Gaku and to put her key in the keyhole if he leaves the house later. She then goes to work to teach Soushi how to make the custard for the choux cream. She, however, is not comfortable because Soushi keeps starring at the mixture. He, however, is genuinely interested in the ingredients, especially the orange liquor. While waiting for the cake in the oven, Riiko asks Soushi what drawing she saw in her office. As it turns out, it's Asamoto's first shop, his grandfather's shop. He tells her that her choux cream really does remind him of his grandfather's. This causes him to be nostalgic about it. Damn it, I have to buy a choux cream after this. While checking her bag, Riiko realizes that she forgot to return Night's bracelet. When she gets home, however, Night and Gaku have already left so she chases their car. She eventually manages to catch up with them but when she's about to return the bracelet, she hears Night telling her "Welcome Home". Riiko, who remembers everything that Night has done for her makes a sentimental decision to buy him.

Impression:

I've heard that Japanese people are often become victims of fraud attempts. This episode is a perfect example of this. Basically Riiko met an unknown guy who took her to his company, asked her to fill in questionnaires, then sent her a product that she doesn't want in the first place. Now she finds out that she has to pay ridiculous amount of money to pay for the item or pay the equally ridiculous amount of money for the repair that she didn't ask for in the first place. Yeah, it sounds like a fraud to me even though it's all done to facilitate the romantic comedy part of this series. Anyway, things start to unravel here. First thing first, Soushi turns out to be a more likable guy than he was in the first episode. He seems to appreciate Riiko a lot more now that he knows her better as a person instead of just another conquest. Of course the fact that she can make choux cream like his grandfather helps. In reverse, Mika seems a lot nastier than she was in the first episode. She purposely sent Riiko to a host club while she tries to make a move on Night.

Night is probably the most ambiguous character thus far due to his robotic nature. Although he said that he did it all for Riiko, it's hard to tell whether that's just his programming or if it's a self-aware artificial intelligence. On one side, it can be argued that his programming tells him to be a perfect boyfriend and getting a part-time job to help your financially poor girlfriend is one variation of being a perfect boyfriend. On the other hand, if one believes that artificial intelligence can learn and grow from trial and error, then maybe his action is something beyond programming. The more interesting question here is what Riiko feels for him. I guess at this point what she feels for him is similar to what a person feels for their pet (ie.dog): fondness, gratitude but nothing more. It'd be interesting to see how she ends up falling in love with Night. I also want to know how Riiko can afford to pay him. She already worked herself to exhaustion trying to pay for the repair fee and still can't earn enough money. I don't think she'd be able to pay 100,000,000 Yen to buy Night from Kronos Heaven.

Mini Questionnaire: (in case you didn't see it on the first paragraph) Do you have an attachment towards your electronic equipment? Would you be even more attached if it has the shape of a living being that you like? What is that living being?

© memento 2003