Saturday 30 July 2011

Kami-sama no Memo-chou - Episode 4

Kami-sama no Memo-chou breaks out of its two-part story arc format for this fourth episode of the series, as it brings our ragtag band of NEET detectives a mystery right on their front doorstep.

More specifically, this episode grants us a couple of mysteries to chew over - the first is with regards to a sunglasses-wearing gentleman who frequently visits Min's ramen shop, only to take a single sip of the soup and then leave without eating another bite.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, Min is none too pleased about this negative reaction to her ramen, and before he knows it Narumi is pulling continuous all-nighters as she tries to win over this most difficult to please of customers.


Such concerns seem to take a back seat however when Narumi finds himself face to face with an intruder during one of these all-night cooking binges - an encounter which is later revealed to have become a regular occurrence for Min, as she seems to have a stalker, and one with more than a passing interest in her sarashi no less.  Of course, this seems like just the kind of case that Alice and company can assist with, and after eventually obtaining permission from Min they set about catching the culprit - or rather, culprits plural, as these two oddities come together in a combination of the bizarre and the utterly personal.

In all honesty, I'm not sure what to make of this episode - part of me quite enjoyed it in a funny sort of way, but at the same time I can't pretend that its overall plot and story progression were laughably stupid and full of holes, whether it's regarding Min's father or the lingerie obsessive that turned out to be the ultimate cause of the instalment's goings-on.  Having mentioned previously that this is a series that might live or die based upon the quality of its stories and the mysteries served up to us, this is a little worrying, although hopefully it's little more than a temporary blip.  Regardless, that compelling double-length opening episode feels like an eternity away right now.

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