Witch Watch

Episode 16

As has become tradition with this show, with a new pretty boy added to the main ensemble, we must get an episode to see just how well they'll blend into its humor. This time it's Miharu's turn, and while the sassy energy he displayed in his introduction provided plenty of reasons to think he'd do well bouncing off the rest of our band of goofballs, this episode goes all out in having fun at his expense. Yet, while it certainly succeeds at making Miharu as hilarious as the rest of the cast, the most exciting development in this episode somehow has nothing to do with our new vampire boy at all.

Before we get to the main event, the first two shorts are all about Miharu adjusting to life in the Otogi household, and they're equally as cute as it is funny. In the first one, we see how Miharu wants to get along with the others, but just can't help but be blunt, even when it nearly leads to him blurting out Nico's crush on Morihito right in front of him. None of this is done on purpose, but he certainly isn't above playing the cute little brother card if it'll keep the others from scolding him, and it's fun to see how quickly they cave into his behavior when he goes on about just wanting to spend time with his newfound siblings. As childish as Miharu might seem, he does at least have enough maturity to point out how unhealthy the current household dynamic is. He sees how everyone has been content to let Morihito do the bulk of the housework while the rest all do the bare minimum. Miharu takes it upon himself to have them do something nice for Morihito and cook dinner for him, but since good deeds rarely go unpunished in this show, all this leads to is Morihito coming home to them having nearly burned the house down. It's hilarious, and the only thing that spares Miharu from Morihito's wrath is that this is just a typical day for him, and he takes it as a sign that Miharu will fit in with the others just fine.

The second short focuses a bit more on Miharu himself, as he tries to get a new parasol to block the sunlight after Kanshi claims his old one was stolen by a guy with a mustache and a burlap sack. Simply lending him a different umbrella would be too mundane a solution to this dilemma, so Nico makes him a magic cloud that can hover over him while he walks around outside. The only catch is that this cloud is directly tied to Miharu's mood, so he has no choice but to keep himself depressed by doing things like reading A Dog of Flanders, and it's pretty hysterical. It's also just as funny to see his efforts to stay miserable being thwarted by such random events as passing by a group of smiling children or random marriage proposals. While these moments make him happy, they also nearly cause him to get hit by the sun. The only thing that manages to keep him sad is running into a depressingly bad comedy duo, but seeing their struggles reminds him of his own, and all it accomplishes is him advising on how to make traits others see as negative into a personal strength. It's a sweet scene, and it gives us an idea of how Miharu has come to embrace his vampire heritage. Eventually, Miharu does happen to stumble upon the thief who stole his parasol, and after seeing that he matched Kanshi's ridiculous description, the boys bury the hatchet. While neither this nor the previous short packs a particularly memorable final punchline, they still provide enough laughs that I'd otherwise consider them winners, and I'm glad to see that Miharu meshes pretty well into his new household of weirdos.

Nice as all the Miharu focus is, the real highlight of this episode ends up being the strange but compelling pairing of Nemu and Keigo. When Nemu shows up looking to fulfill her promise of letting Wolf run loose every once in a while, she finds herself alone with Keigo, who is clueless as to why a cute girl wants to spend time with him. Thus, he does what any teenage boy would do in this situation: default to acting like a poser and failing to look cool in front of her. Even Nemu can see through his act, and as funny as that is, it's even funnier when we're reminded that she's not exactly a social butterfly herself and can barely talk to him. As you might expect, putting these two socially-awkward dorks together is comedy gold. Between Keigo trying desperately to make small talk and Nemu trying to show Keigo a crescent moon without tipping him off, even the act of watching a movie is filled with awkward tension, and there's so much of it with these two that it's nearly impossible not to laugh at it. It's also somehow just as cute as it is funny, and the two start to realize they have quite a bit in common when it comes to how they feel like they don't live up to other people's expectations of them. While I don't think anyone would have thought to pair these two before this segment, they're so delightfully lame together that it's hard not to want to see them hook up by the time it's all said and done. Of course, that might take a while since Nemu is still pretty intimidated/attracted by Wolf's bad boy routine, and turns into a mess the moment she successfully transforms Keigo into him, but all that makes it more exciting to see how this new relationship will develop. It's nice to see how well the show can keep establishing new character dynamics, and so long as they're as entertaining as what we got in this week's episode, I'm sure it'll keep finding plenty of ways to take advantage of them.

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Witch Watch is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Sundays.