Can Miki stay away from the boys?
What They Say:
“The Return of the Prodigal Son”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Sekko Boys worked Miki into the story a bit more the last time around again which helped to get things back in a more engaging level. The struggles she faces with the Boys is what drives the show for me as opposed to the Boys themselves. Her desire to do right by them as been a big part of things and they’re definitely not easy to handle when you get down to it. So seeing her basically quitting and heading back home for a while and insisting that they’re not going to change her mind has her being all stubborn. Of course, she runs into them being all pleased that they’ve given up on this. That her father says he didn’t raise her to be a plasterer is just perfection. Parental reverse psychology at its best.
With Miki away, the Boys are finding themselves in a real punch and aren’t sure how to get her back since they can’t actually move without her. Getting to Fukuoka is definitely a problem! What we get for most of this is some good down time for Miki back home with her family as we see how things have changed there and how displaced she feels. That sense of not belonging is a difficult one to overcome at this stage in one’s life no matter how grounded you are, and Miki isn’t grounded at this point. But part of the point is to get her to realize how much the Boys mean to her and that they are the big and important things in her life. So seeing that realization row into her life once again gives her what she needs. It’s not really earned since this is such a short show and they’re not trying to really invest us in it, but it’s done well enough and with enough atmosphere to make it connect in the way that it needs to.
In Summary:
There’s something priceless about a group of passed out busts snoring away from drinking and partying too much. Though the show ends on a cliffhanger with what the finale will bring, the episode mostly works Miki’s story in a good way. It reinforces her as the character that I watch it for since she runs the gamut of emotions and I enjoyed getting back to her hometown and all that comes with it, especially since her parents are a hoot. It’s a fun episode overall that does what it can with what it has to work with and achieves its goals.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.