I don’t know if Uchuujin MuuMuu is the weirdest anime going (it’s definitely on the short list) but it’s definitely the most inexplicable. Fortunately I don’t really have to explain it. If you’re looking for a sense of purpose there, something resembling a conventional narrative, you’ll come up empty. There’s plot here, but it’s so random that you wonder how or why the mangaka ever thought of it. The anime has fallen into a pattern of more or less alternating extremely silly eps like this with slightly more serious story-driven ones. My suspicion is that’s an adaptational choice.
Sakurako and Tamotsu got problems. If there’s a theme here, that’s it. Sakurako thinks she’s finally out from under her hill of debt but Anamori-san tells her she’s being cut off from her government subsidy because negotiations with the extremist wing ended rather abysmally. He offers to support her himself – “enjou” – but the connotations there are a little strong for her (especially as MuuMuu has studied Japanese culture enough to know what it implies). And this is a problem, because MuuMuu is really running up the utility bills. He leaves everything on because it’s cheaper to not turn it off and on (almost always a bogus idea). He even leaves the water running because it looks so much more delicious that way.
For the Nth time I’ll repeat – a critical factor in Uchuujin MuuMuu’s success is that these alien cats are still, in the end, cats. Their mannerisms are totally feline. And their humans, whether they know their true nature (Sakurako) or don’t (Akihiro), want to pamper them. They find them adorable. I have to say, I was really impressed with how inventive and handy Sakurako has become. Most of her solutions for dealing with MuuMuu’s excesses are kind of absurd, but her time with the Human Regeneration Study Group has given her a confidence and resourcefulness she lacked before.
Then we have Tamotsu and his ab problem. To wit, he doesn’t have them – just a big roll of belly flab. It doesn’t help that Akihiro casually flashes his six-pack and expresses disbelief that not all guys have them. Tamotsu wants a toned bod, but not to do any actual work for it (so, like about 90% of the under-30 population). The solution? Why, EMS of course. Tenkubashi is rightly skeptical but of course he’s got the equipment and the explanations. EMS is, in fact, based on a valid scientific principle (which Tenkubashi explains eloquently). To be honest I used one myself for a while to see if it would help my back (it didn’t, much). So I can attest that it it does indeed feel weird to have your muscles moving of their own accord.
This whole extended sequence is pretty hilarious but my favorite moment was absolutely when Sakurako took off her socks (to close the circuit) and MuuMuu and Decimaru immediately swooped in to sniff them. If there’s a cat in the world that can resist doing that I’ve not met them – and the Flehmen Response (this show’s derpy face game is off the charts great) is the inevitable result. Sakurako is aghast that Akihiro witnesses this, but he’s just jealous that the cats are so into her scent. She’s mainly in this EMS thing to lose a few pounds. It won’t work for that, but Tamotsu is the one who really goes overboard and his goals are even more unrealistic.
You have to feel for Tamotsu, who seems to have gotten himself mixed up with a chubby chaser. His disastrous results are basically her fault (he wouldn’t have gotten a six-pack but he also wouldn’t have gained an extra Tamotsu’s weight). And while it’s nice to see Rokugou-kun with a love interest you have to look askance at her, given that what she’s put him through is extremely bad for his health. Any ep where you have Tenkubashi as the voice of reason you know things are pretty darn weird.
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