Episode 25: The Two Go Out Shopping
Summary:
Nukku and Mokku dream about food and splendor, but are interrupted by Karisa. They rush out of bed, only to discover they leapt out a window. Consequently, the two land onto a haystack. Erin happens to be nearby and asks if they are alright.
Later in the cafeteria, Nukku and Mokku serve the students food, but Mokku ends up snacking on part of the students’ meal. He tries to hide this fact but ends up knocking over the rest of the food. They apologize to Karisa in the back room. She complains how they can’t even do half the amount of work together, but they happily tell her they can eat a lot. She says that at this rate, she’ll have to fire them, but they plead with her. They’re sent shopping with a bag containing five small gold nuggets. Karisa warns them not to lose it, and they reassure her.
As they walk to town, Nukku places the money underneath Mokku’s hat for safekeeping. In town, Nukku vows they’ll succeed at their assigned task. However, Mokku quickly ends up being distracted. As Nukku drags him back, they stumble on a weary old man sprawled on the ground. He apparently has a stomach ache and needs to see a doctor. Nukku decides to carry him to one. As Mokku runs after him, he falls over and ends up dropping the bag of money.
When they leave the doctor’s office, Mokku fans himself with his hat, which reveals that the bag of money is missing. Nukku asks him where it is, and Mokku realizes he’s lost it, prompting a search. Mokku claims he’s found it in a house. They bust in, realizing none of the bags are theirs; they also make a run for it when confronted by its intimidating owners. The two then continue searching. At one point, Nukku throws an eaten watermelon from the trash into a man’s face, whom turns out to be one of the men from earlier. They apologize and run away. Later, the two sit huddled near a building, out of ideas.
Back at Kazalm, Yuuyan wonders where they are and Erin tells her they went shopping. Yuuyan says they should have returned by now. Agreeing, Erin decides to check up on them.
The two are laying near a riverbank as Nukku decides they should earn the money back. Mokku wonders how they will do this and Nukku tells him that’s the main issue. Just then, the two overhear a magic show and watch the performance. Nukku then gets the idea to do their own show and earn money, but things don’t go as smoothly. However, as the two fight over their failure, the crowd returns and applauds their performance. In the evening, they count up their revenue and find it’s not enough. Nukku wishes aloud for other potential jobs, and the man from before walks over and offers them work. He takes them to a field and asks them to pluck all the weeds, promising to pay them with many “shiny golden things.”
With that, the two’s motivation is renewed and they begin plucking. However, they have hardly emptied the field as nightfall hits. They lay down, exhausted. Mokku says they should go home, but Nukku tells him they can’t go back without money. He reminds Mokku that they’ve done nothing but run their entire lives. Mokku tells him they can’t run away now, for they vowed not to after meeting Erin. He also reminds Nukku that they had promised to work hard. Nukku reflects on their past with Erin, and finds the motivation to continue; Mokku follows in suit. With that, the two work at turbo speed and clear out the entire field by morning. The man returns and ends up paying them the nice “shiny golden things”: potatoes.
Afterwards, the two sit near the same riverbank, eating the potatoes and reflecting on their failure. Mokku tells Nukku that there’s no way they can face Erin now. They have a delusion about her telling them she’s always liked the both of them, and flies off with a goodbye. Mokku calls out to her, but Nukku tells him not to cry. However, he also ends up crying, and the two admit they’ve liked her all this time. Mokku suddenly tells Nukku he’s going back and he follows him.
That night, as the two rush tiredly to Kazalm’s gates, Erin greets them. She tells them she’s been worried and is glad they’re safe. As they cry, the old man and Karisa greet them. He apparently taught at Kazalm and had returned to thank them. Karisa also reveals that they took the wrong bag, which had snacks. The two celebrate, realizing that the money is safe and sound.
The following morning, Karisa enters their room to wake them, but finds they’re already doing their chores. They appear from behind and tell her how they’ve decided to change. When Erin calls their names from outside, they move to the window and wave. Through a stroke of bad luck, they end up falling again into the haystack. Erin smiles, realizing some things never change.
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My Thoughts:
Not much happened in this episode. Nukku and Mokku were just being themselves, but they did express how Erin has affected them. I like how Nukku ended up helping the old man, since it confirmed his good-naturedness. One interesting thing is that the two admitted they liked Erin (and have an interesting portrayal of her– didn’t know they had magical girl anime back in those days), though I think that doesn’t really mean they’re attracted to her. It could, and would add two more guys to her harem; however, even if that were the case, I’m skeptical of any additional development (plus the age difference). Other than that, this episode just took up time. Hopefully it won’t factor into a rushed ending.
Next episode, it looks like Erin is buckling up for an important exam. Let’s wish her luck and see how she does in the next episode of Kemono no Souja Erin: “Lilan’s Heart!”
Tags: anime, fantasy, heart-warming, Kemono no Souja Erin
