Iiboshi's secret plans involve breaking the girls' hearts, and though Ririko helps him out, Haruto finds himself struggling to complete his mission.
In a shady business meeting, Iiboshi proposes a multi-billion yen budget for their "project," calming the businessmen's complaints by saying the nation is at stake.
One man says the "Imperial Household Agency" will have to help, and another tells Iiboshi failure can't be an option; Iiboshi replies that love always wins in the end. At the base, Maezawa is annoyed a flight program has been postponed, blaming the D-pilots despite the real reason being from their location. He and another pilot are surprised when Remi says she isn't happy with the situation, either. She apologizes for her odd behavior and says their orders are just awful, confusing the two by saying the orders are "love." Meanwhile, Haruto is cleaning and chatting with Masotan when two pilots poke fun at him about obviously missing Hisone, telling him to try other women. Hisone arrives as he gets flustered, jokingly asking if he was waiting for her; his strong denial bothers her, and she surprises him with the news Remi is looking for him. Remi takes him to Sosoda, who explains Iiboshi's difficult task for them: a flashback shows him explain the "white lovers" learn who they are by bonding with their OTFs, becoming dependent on them in the process. Remi chimes in that this has failed in the past due to issues of love, and Iiboshi confirms this, saying they have to cut out romance to prevent the girls from drifting away from their dragons, turning the "white lovers" black. Haruto is shocked to learn they have to get the girls to fall in love, then crush their hopes, as a traumatic enough experience should ruin their ideas of romance. He is then introduced to Sergeant Akishima (Olivia Hack), and he is confused when they say she's to investigate romance on the base in a way suggesting it's positive. She commences "Operation Sotoori," showing a chart of possible romances for the D-pilots; Zaito is the top contender for Elle and Haruto is the only one for Hisone. He blurts out that he doesn't have feelings for her, and Sosoda simply tells Akishima they're counting on her to succeed. Outside, Remi says Haruto's resistance is understandable, but Sosoda admits to seeing cause for Iiboshi's fears as well, bringing up "Forest." Remi agrees, saying Moriyama and Masotan fell out of sync after she fell in love, and gives an angered look when he brings up how she lost Tamaru to Moriyama. He quickly changes topics, saying Ririko at least has no romantic prospects.
The aforementioned Ririko is actually at the store, upset they have no Young Jump where she could read something called Kingdom.
To her surprise, a page with some Kingdom panels is outside, and her confusion gives way to glee as she sees another page down the road. As she stops to read, she notices a trail of pages, and while noting how suspicious it is, she can't help herself and continues, eventually finding Iiboshi. He leads her to a shop and explains love is always brought up when two girls talk, tasking her with relaying any conversations like this among the D-pilots to him. She asks why, but his creepiness prompts her to retract the question, and she grows confused when he says she surely won't find love, caring only about Kingdom. Iiboshi gives a list of questions for the girls to answer, offering a page for each, and she again decides not to ask why, instead pointing out she already read the majority of this week's. To her surprise, he reveals more pages that have yet to be published. She invites the girls to a night of fun later, to Hisone's enjoyment as she irritates Nao by using nicknames for everyone, including her. Ririko bluntly asks what kind of man everyone likes, and after initially thinking she's talking about their food, Mayumi says she'd like a man who cherished Futomomo. Nao starts to gush about Ikushima, but Ririko blows her off, moving on to Hisone, who realizes she's never thought about it and asks Elle. The latter firmly states she hates haughty men who flirt constantly, and while Ririko says that's not what she asked about, Hisone feels the rant is about someone specific. Zaito appears just then, and Hisone determines it's him; his immediate flirting results in Elle storming off, so Ririko marks him off as a possible love interest.
Elsewhere, Haruto thinks over his mission, flashing back to when he told Sosoda he didn't think he could get someone to fall in love just to break their heart.
Sosoda simply states it's his mission, and brings up how he's in the Okonogi family as Remi gives him permission to leave the base for his task. In the present, he looks at tickets to see a movie, clearly bothered this is what he was born for, as Hisone spots him and sparks a conversation. He realizes she's drunk, and she says while she isn't a fan of alcohol, she's had more chances since the other D-pilots showed up. Cutting herself off, she berates him for being mean to her earlier, demanding an apology, so he offers her the tickets, pointing out they're both off the next day. Hisone points out they need special permission to leave, and he claims the tickets are special VIP access, which she immediately believes. Taking his hands, she apologizes for calling him a jerk and says how sweet a gesture it is; he simply bows with a "thank you" as he blushes. The next morning, Nao sees Hisone leaving and follows her, shocked when the latter walks off base with Haruto. Later, Ririko laments her overall failure getting the questions answered, and starts to wonder how Iiboshi has the Kingdom chapters and who he is. Mayumi arrives, giving her a chance to ask questions, and the former invites Onaga to sit with them since he's alone, which he sheepishly does. He explains Zaito is hungover, and stuffs his face while saying his friend isn't a bad guy, he just gets overzealous; Mayumi grows chipper as she sees how much he eats. She offers him her own food, comparing his appetite to Futomomo, and decides to rub his thigh like she does to her OTF, causing him to freak out and run. As she wonders at how hard his leg was, Ririko says she acted like a hostess, and Mayumi, realizing her actions, decides to reflect and repent. As Haruto struggles with his mission while on his date with Hisone, Ririko misses some signs that Iiboshi's goals might have some obstacles.
The series is starting to develop a sinister undertone to it that I've found simultaneously surprising and intriguing.
I've said multiple times how I like the simple, cute charm this show has, so it's a bit odd to find out Iiboshi has some kind of secret plan the girls are unaware of. At the same time, it makes the situation mysterious, as what could Iiboshi be preparing the "White Lovers" for that has these strange requirements? I like that as this story is unfolding, previous components to the show are returning as being a lot more important than they originally seemed. One obvious aspect, of course, is how they directly mention "Forest" as a part of their operation having trouble in the past, solely because she fell in love. In her episode, Forest mentioned Masotan rejecting her, and now Remi has said it's because of her relationship, after Iiboshi talks about the lack of love being essential. In such a cute show where a loving relationship between pilot and OTF was being created, and friendships have been formed, I can't imagine why the girls would need to shun love in order to proceed. The other obvious component that has been used before is the old yogurt lady, whom Iiboshi has had two reactions to. Before, after the seemingly harmless desire to buy what the woman gave Nao, he mentioned how he wished they'd told him the woman was still around. In this episode, he mentions how love always finds people, even when they think it won't, and there is a cut to the woman that suggests a history between them. The old woman is a character I enjoy seeing in shows like this; she's been around the entire time, and you don't really think much of her at first, but now it's becoming clear she is more important than she seems. The developing romances in the show actually feel natural, and the characters aren't just immediately in love; they're learning about one another and showing us who they are, allowing chemistry to shine through. An aspect I like about Hisone and Haruto's feelings is that while Haruto knows how he feels but refuses to admit it, Hisone doesn't seem to understand herself. She says she never really thought about the kind of guy she likes, and Haruto's flustered reaction to her asking if he was waiting for her clearly bothered her. With the added mission of Haruto needing to break her heart, this is more than just one character liking another, and the other suddenly responding out of nowhere. Haruto has internal conflict as he has to decide whether he wants to obey orders or admit his true feelings, and Hisone, as she learns who she is, is probably realizing she has feelings for him as well. The Mayumi and Onaga romance started a bit abruptly, but this episode quickly gives us the base for one, as Mayumi is attracted to Onagi's appetite and he seems to like her but is flustered by her innocently ignorant actions. Despite their rough start, there's also something there for Elle and Zaito, and Onaga talking about his friend's personality fleshes him out a lot more. Up to this point, he has seemed like an obnoxious egotist, but in constantly chasing Elle and facing rejection, there is a hint that he isn't just after any girl; her tough personality is what he's attracted to. This obviously doesn't excuse how he won't leave Elle alone, but it's becoming clear even to her that there is more to him that you'd initially think. ​While Ririko doesn't have any prospects at the moment, we get to learn about her this episode, with how she enjoys weekly manga. This would have to be tied to her shy personality, in part because she seems obsessed with Kingdom, to the point in Japan people would like call her an otaku. This term has become somewhat endearing among fans in the U.S., but in Japan it's more an insult. If Ririko were already shy and retreated into her manga, this would have then caused further isolation that causes the self-doubt she has. Whatever the case, her manga love was manipulated in this episode, causing her to unwittingly help Iiboshi with his secret plans. Despite this, there's some wrenches getting tossed into his machinations, and the attempt to distance the girls from relationships seems to be failing.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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