[DreamSword]

Episode 37: Yellow Ring of Happiness

Ritsuko is on vacation, meaning Ichiko gets her very first solo episode!

And on paper especially, it's a rather bizarre one. The premise being that Ichiko and a fragment of Rock Crimson fall in love.

It for sure sounds like a total shitpost, but yet, I overall felt it was pulled off surprisingly decently? For a one off episode, I feel like they did all they could with the general idea.

Ichiko getting a spotlight of her own was already a nice surprise, as it allowed us to get some insight as to what she's like when her and Ritsuko aren't hovering around one another. Turns out she has the very human aspect of muttering threats under her breath whenever she's annoyed.

Combine that with Rock Crimson's' love of crushing things and his hatred of being called an idiot and you have a surprisingly complimentary pairing. And the fact that he's nothing more than a giant rock with angry eyebrows throughout most of the episode is equal parts hilarious and adorable. It made me like Rock Crimson's' character all the more.

With all that said, it really did make the ending of this one come across as a bit contrived and forced. Rock Crimson regaining his memory and becoming a villain again isn't the worst idea, but the way it came about I wasn't a fan of. It could lead to some interesting stuff down the line, sure, but I dunno. The timing is also a bit odd/interesting since we're also still in the middle of looking at the Mechani-Moon stuff.

So, yeah, the ending is a bit weak, but this episode overall made for a fun and interesting ride.