We take a trip down memory lane, as we see Yuzu and Mayu visit the man who taught her how to run an antiques shop.
What They Say:
“Recollection of the Antiquity”
It’s Yuzu. Today I’m visiting Grandpa Genzou with the “Fujitsubo bean cakes” from our beach trip. Grandpa Genzou is the one who showed me the ropes of the antique business. But, that’s not all. I consider him my mentor outside the antique business as well.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
So, Yuzu goes on a trip to see Genzou, the man who taught her about the antiques trade, Mayu tagging along with her. This brings back memories of when she first came to Genzou’s place to ask about antiques, which also happens to be the first time Mayu met Genzou. We then get an extended flashback to that time, with Yuzu asking Genzou to teach her about antiques. Yuzu fails the test however, as she is unable to tell which of a series of antique pots Genzou laid out was the most expensive.
At the same time, a professional, but slightly slimy, antiques dealer named Katou is pressuring Yuzu to sell him her father’s collection. He doesn’t think that Yuzu has the knowledge or experience to reopen Yaoyorozudou, and so he thinks he can get his hands on her father’s prized pieces to sell in his shop. Yuzu, of course, is extremely stubborn, so she refuses, just as she refuses to give up entirely on the idea of learning about the antiques trade and reopening her father’s shop.
It appears that Yuzu knows a lot about genuine and fake antiques, but nothing about their values. Katou, thinking that Yuzu has no knowledge of what the differences between real and fake pieces are, tries to sneak into her storehouse in order to switch a genuine rice bowl by an acclaimed master with a fake he had specially made. Mayu, of course, catches him in the act. Katou, however, in order to worm his way out, poses a new test for Yuzu: tell the difference between the fake and the real bowl. If it’s too hard for her, he’ll be happy to buy both for three million yen, which is a fairy large sum (especially at current exchange rates). Yuzu, however, surprises the experienced slimeball by correctly guessing where the real bowl was. Instead of calling the police, however, Yuzu asks Katou to convince Genzou to teach her about the antiques trade.
Refreshingly, this episode did not have Meiko and Sasana idiotically fighting with each other. It did not have underwear gnomes. It did not have Yoshino acting like a ditz, Shamo spreading doom nor Gonta drooling over Yuzu. And we should all be thankful for that, because it made the episode slightly more tolerable.
The problem, however, is that this episode was also very bland. Katou had Mr. Villain written all over him from the moment he was introduced, stepping out of a black car. Beyond the brief flashback, we learned very little about the relationship between Yuzu and Genzou at all. From the very end, we know that he was close to Makitarou, Yuzu’s father, but there was so much that was not explored. Instead, we have a boring little would-be crime caper combined with stubborn Yuzu’s determination to learn the antiques trade so that she can reopen her father’s store. It was not a very inspiring episode on any level.
In Summary:
Yuzu and Mayu pay a visit to Genzou, the closest person she has to family after the death of her parents, and also the man who taught Yuzu about the antiques trade. The visit leads to a flashback that shows us how Yuzu began to learn about running an antique shop. That’s really about all that happens.
Grade: C+
Simulcast by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
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