The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife

Episode 4

The message of this episode is a double entendre. I was actually very surprised that the title was referring to a specific verbal interaction that takes place towards the end of the episode, considering the idea of seeing through somebody has been one of the overarching themes of the entire show so far. It is a very funny joke about how Tounome is embarrassed to walk around without a shirt because it would mean that people could see the inside of his trunks from above. That's something that I never really thought about, but I guess it makes sense. Even if people can't technically see anything, it is arguably a very vulnerable position that they would only want certain people to see. In fact, there are a lot of scenes in this episode that showcase couples getting closer over moments of vulnerability.

When Yakou tells Tounome that she wants to be the only person who sees through him, I'm pretty sure she is mostly talking about being one of the few people who can pick up on the subtle idiosyncrasies of his character. While everybody else is so focused on what they can't see, she focuses on the things that she can pay attention to. It was echoed at the beginning of this episode when she noted the little differences in Tounome's speech. However, it could also be a subtle way of Yakou expressing a desire to be more intimate with Tounome in the future. I know that they are going to get married, and this episode showcases their first step towards physical intimacy with their first kiss, so maybe this is a promise to expose more to each other physically in the future.

The first third of this episode was arguably the weakest as it dealt with an invisible woman being accused of theft. It was a cute setup, but the only reason it didn't engage me as much is that it had a lot of interesting ideas that didn't have the time to settle. I feel like that skit could've been the entire episode, considering how much it plays with the idea of how invisible people are seen in society, how Tounome acts around other people of his kind, and maybe explores a little bit of Yakou's jealousy. Ultimately, the skit felt like it was just there to further establish that Yakou can pick up on the little emotions in Tounome's voice, which led to her being proactive in taking care of things at the office while he dealt with that case. Not a bad conclusion, but I did find the setup a little bit wasted, especially when the case itself was pretty straightforward.

I'm a little surprised by how much attention the series has given to Kikira and Madaraito's relationship. They pretty much got a whole segment of the episode dedicated to their backstory. I like how there are subtle mirrors between their relationship and the relationship between our main couple. Kikira and Madaraito's relationship is also a case where they can see through each other in a way that nobody else can. While a lot of people see Kikira as a gruff, no-nonsense guy, Madaraito knows that he actually does care deep down and is a lot softer than he appears. It's interesting to see how Madaraito has changed so much from when they first met, going from a chubby coward to someone who presents themselves with a lot more confidence, but Kikira has barely changed at all from the past. It shows that when it comes to finding your special someone, it's better to find somebody who is able to see the real you, regardless of what you end up showing to other people.

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The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.