Shuffle! 11 - Very strange methods of revenge

What is eternity doing tonight? has become Mega Megane Moé. For the latest posts, please change your links accordingly. With the Sia arc all nice and wrapped up it's time to get into the deeper stuff of Shuffle as we take a turn toward the dark side...

Next episode, anyway. For now, we get the usual lighthearted interim filler-esque episode.

Although, any episode with Mayumi in it deserves to have it's filler status revoked. Go, FCA power!

Anyway, it's summer-time and we skip straight to the end of summer-tutorial hell for Sia and Mayumi, who have managed to survive and flee jubilantly from the classroom.

Mayumi catches up for lost fanservice by giving us about 10 panty shots along the way and subsequently smashing straight into Rin. In true harem style, the two fall on top of each other. Rin gives us a minute-long view of what's up Mayumi's skirt, which rightfully angers her.

She decides to take revenge.

In a oh-so-wrong way. Seriously, Mayumi, whose side are you on?

(I wonder how this scene turned out in the original H-game...)


Right on cue the whole harem shows up and gives Mayumi, who's still sitting on top of Rin with her hand on his crotch, a bunch of weird, perhaps jealous stares. The fact is mentioned that they're headed to the beach again and for a minute I was expected a second swimsuit episode.


Instead we get Nerine vs. Mayumi swimsuit comparisons (hint: there's one large difference), and another cover-up by Mayumi. Market value? Is that what they call it now? Also, note Primula's stare in the background. She knows the value of loli over loli bust size. Not to mention, purple hair.

We shuffle on over to Kareha's cafe, and meet the blue-haired pervert kid along the way. I've noticed this is the same, decidedly less-perverted kid that Rin helped in the park during his date with Sia. Strange, strange, scary kid.

Mayumi and Kareha converse over Rin's harem, which despite Kareha's claims is not a simple love pentagon but something far, far more sinister.

Kareha also asks Mayumi if she plans to turn to the dark side anytime soon. For the love of God Haruhi something, don't do it!! We need at least one character who hates Rin the pimp. -_-

This is also noted to be one of Kareha's longest period of sanity, without going all shiny. Thankfully.


Also, for some reason, Mayumi's two-toned eyes in this scene suddenly reminded me of a certain time traveler. MAYUMI BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMU! (insert photoshopping)

Rin was smart enough to search Mayumi's ass while she was raping him and stole her wallet, forcing her to do some Mario-RPG (old-school-version) style compulsory service. Uh, work. You know what I mean.


In the meantime we get a hilarious riff at the ol' magical girl transformation sequence as Mayumi is a little too exuberant in taking too much off. The sad part is, this actually happens. I'll attest to it.

Meanwhile, God-chan eats food.


Somehow Mayumi forgets the fact that underwear goes on first and walks out into the cafe, as she puts it, 'open' in at least one area. This will be a recurring theme throughout the next few minutes as Mayumi very stiffly tries to cover up.


The fanboys however are very clever and pull the usual trick of knocking things over (this is screaming of that one Megatokyo scene) in order to get some nice panty(-less) shots.


We also wonder how much Kareha knows as she seems all too happy to give Mayumi a ladder-climbing duty.


Not to mention the hilariously brilliant and dramatic face-off between Mayumi and blue-haired-pervert Masato. Surprisingly he is the one that ends up backing off, probably because onee-san's are decidedly not striped now.

Anyway, Mayumi is finally defeated by a gust of wind, friends of dirty otaku everywhere. Rin makes a token appearance at the end of her sidestory to be annoyingly nice and leave, as he always does, to go flirt with Nerine. Or maybe Kaede. Or Asa. Maybe Primula. Or Sia again. Geez.

Eyecatch!

The second half features the only teacher in the Shuffle! school, Nadeshiko. This is an alternate-point-of-view episode, in that we begin with Mayumi and Sia dashing off from summer school again.


This time around we get a bonus super-secret (and unimportant) meganekko, which despite sensei's remarks is sort of cute in the homely, down-to-earth way. There is no shame in blue-haired meganekkos. Waiiiiii~


Nadeshiko contemplates her love life and again the viewers pray to every deity there is that she doesn't end up a part of Rin's harem as well. That'd be five different levels of wrong, right there.

Meanwhile, God-chan eats food. Running gag.

Nadeshiko comes across the aforementioned Mayumi and Rin tangle on the ground, which Rimu deadpans off as 'playing doctor'. XD Nadeshiko ends up finding Mayumi's wallet after she has already dashed off in a panic, and ends up burdening the far-too-helpful Rin with the objective of returning it.

On the way out of the school she ends up being hit on by at least 2 different people.


The first of which is Generic Ugly Loser Guy, who gets 2 points for trying. Pick-up lines do definitely need to be rated more awesome. Approve.


I wonder how she sliced the bottle in half there (in her demonstration of self-defense). That's some raw magic skills.


The second is the typical running gag with Itsuki blindly hitting on people without knowing who the hell they are. We'll file this one under 'oops.'


She ends up in the cafe with Asa, who takes up the position of really nice advice giver again. Innuendo and stuff happens.


Rin shows up again, not being able to find Mayumi on his own. The two go for a bit of a ride in Nadeshiko's strange-looking Volksmagen (sic) car. Do they even sell much VW imports in Japan?

Nadeshiko finally returns to her tiny apartment, where she holds a very amusing imaginary conversation with her mother on her answering machine. And also fanservice. (really now, did you not see that coming?)

Flip forward to the two 'arcs' converging at the public bath, where Mayumi stares at the wangs of little kids all day. Pedo.

The two girls share a bath scene with vaguely less fanservice than the Shuffle! standard for bath scenes (or did they not label it R-15 as of ep. 11?), and mention how much they just might have in common.

Two hard days, two different ways, and, uh, lots of panties. o_O That's this series for you.

Next time: More plot, less panties, more loli, less Mayumi.

-CCY