The Eccentric Family - Episode 5

After that series of calamitous incidents at the end of last week's episode, nobody can really blame Yasaburou for going on the run from Benten, as he becomes certain that his actions will have lead to him becoming the main ingredient for the next traditional Friday Fellows hot pot.

As a result, hiding out in Osaka seems like a smart move as Yasaburou spends his days on the run working in a second-hand camera shop - however, such is Benten's sphere of influence that nowhere is truly safe from her, and lo and behold before he knows it Yasaburou's location has been shopped to Benten by those pesky Ebisugawa brothers.

Once cornered, Yasaburou has no choice but to turn up at Benten's invitation as the after-dinner invitation for a Friday Fellows meeting - an encounter which goes down surprisingly well, as not only are the group impressed by Yasaburou's shape-shifting abilities, but it also turns out that they really aren't all that keen on tanuki hot-pot and only persevere with it in the name of tradition anyhow.  Indeed, one of their number outright loves tanuki, having saved an injured little critter in the past.  Compared to this meek bunch, it seems as if Benten is the only real threat to Yasaburou and his kin, as her love for the shape-shifting one seems to have morphed into the decidedly odd desire to gobble him up.

Even with its setting taken (at least partly) outside of Kyoto, The Eccentric Family continues to shine - the show manages to be fun even as it remains broadly quite enigmatic (as per Tenten's character) in a fascinating way that is keeping me hooked in a way that I can't get a tangible grasp of.  It's rare to have a show that sometimes feels so directionless, yet remains so engaging as in spite of that lack of direction, but The Eccentric Family has certainly pulled it off so far.