Kure-nai 04: Eh?!

Episode 04: Clever One
More screencaps from Kure-nai 04

This episode, Shinkurou goes to a yakuza lair to see about the kindergarten scam that Ginko told him about in an earlier episode. Unknown to him, he has been secretly followed by Murasaki, who is likewise being followed by Yayoi. Trouble arises when Murasaki's presence is discovered and Shinkurou rises to her defense.

That's a puny-looking knife

This is a noteworthy episode for several reasons. One, we finally get to see what's the deal with Shinkurou's arm.

It looks like some kind of limbic implant, which is retractable at will, kinda like Wolverine's adamantium claws but different since the jutting bone does not come out as claws at all but as an extension of the elbow.

ZOMGWTFNOODLES!

Frankly, I think its positioning is impractical. If you were going to enhance your body to make it into a living weapon, don't you think you'd want to put the limbic implant someplace where it's easier to use. But it looks mean on Shinkurou though so I don't really mind.

Second, we also get a dose of Shinkurou's back story and how he met Benika. Apparently, both Shinkurou and Ginko were victims of a massive kidnapping incident. The accident that killed Shinkurou's parents were part of the plan. Benika was part of the group that tried to rescue the children. After the dramatic rescue, Shinkurou spent part of childhood with Yuna's family, learning martial arts.

Somebody needs to get a life

Third, we also learn who hired Benika to take Murasaki from the Kuhoin household. This one was not so much as a surprise as a revelation. Murasaki's mother herself hired Benika to get Murasaki out of the clutches of the Kuhoin family.

And finally (and this one was truly touching), the incident with the yakuza seems to have driven Murasaki and Shinkurou closer than before. It's just adorable watching Murasaki trying to make it up to Shinkurou -- little things like fixing him breakfast (is this edible?), cleaning his room (something stinks in this room), placing flowers in the kettle (lol), shampooing her own hair and then staying in the hot water tub with him even as she can barely stand the heat of the water. Ah, the joys of watching a real relationship between a kid and a teenager that is not twisted by some perverted weirdo into something else.

The utter randomness of this scene cracked me up

That said, it's a pity that as early as now, production values have shown some signs of slipping. Close-up, the characters don't look wrong and the colors are still wonderful. However, there were far too many "off-camera" shots where characters look either deformed or drawn by someone spastic.

The music sounds great though. Funny, I hadn't noticed the background music until this episode. They played a major role, establishing the mood and enhancing emotions. All in all, a satisfying episode.

This truly made me go "Awwww!"