Chio-chan… well… doesn’t go well this week. Not necessary because of the reappearance of crash fanservice gags – which for now I pretty much roll with, but because it’s a replication of Chio-chan’s previous (and better) segments. It adds up with the fact that both segments this week feel longer than they needed be. Take the first half, the Kabaddi captain reappears, training herself in a nearby park to “revenge”. There are some amusing bits here and there: Madoka realizes her ultimate technique is just basically embrace her own desire to the next level, the story of her homeless sensei is so off-putting and dark it’s actually clever the way Chio-chan sold this, the constant betrayals of both Chio and Manana are certainly a joy to watch. But then again this part A is pretty much about the joy of grabbing butts, so yeah it’s pretty much for an “acquired” taste.
Although I said that I’m okay to put the issues aside, I still don’t like Madoka much as a character. Unlike Andou who we see him in various out-there situations, with Madoka we pretty much associate her with kabaddi and her yuri urge. The way Chio-chan portrays the latter, however, leaves much to be desired. Drooling; the long, intimating tongue, the white eyes with no iris – this “oni” approach threatens to overwhelm her as a character. As for the story, it drags out for way too long. We don’t need all the flashbacks because we don’t need a reminder of a character who just appeared once before. Condensing the exchanges between Madoka, Manana and her sensei, for example, would benefit this segment better. Finally, I love to see Hosokawa back in action but her scene is just so minimal and she’s vastly underused by now.
The latter half plays like a variation of the premiere episode, where our Chio stuck in game-mode, thus bring all the troubles upon herself. The bit where we get into the first person shoot-them-up POV is particularly well-done. I find that scene most amusing where she’d scan the “hallway”, but completely misses the Mother and Son right behind her (they boy seems to be impressed). As for the latter part, again it drags out a bit too long. Chio and Manana come to the point where their chemistry become too solid that they can carry the segment themselves, but the show has been relied too much on these two. Their meanie to each other hints for the fact that they understand one another all too well, and the way the ended up working together (together with Mananacchio dance) means that they can really watch other’s back when the situation calls for it. This is not a bad Chio-chan episode, it just feels all familiar, and for a comedy show, “familiar” ain’t good enough. Shake things up a bit by adding new characters would benefit Chio-chan much, much better.
