Gabriel DropOut

Episode 11

The latest Gabriel DropOut begins by throwing the audience a curveball. Even though all signs pointed to the home visit arc being continued this week, episode 11 is comprised of two unrelated stories that imply the girls returned to the human world off-screen. Fortunately, both of this week's featured segments are consistently amusing, but it's unclear why the show elected to abandon the aforementioned storyline, especially when it seemed like at least one more episode's worth of content could be mined from it.

Episode 11's first story finds Satania adopting the melon-bread-stealing dog who's deprived her of many a meal. Fearing that the animal will be euthanized after it's taken to a local pound, the self-important demon decides to take the stray pooch in and make it her familiar. However, Satania's plans hit a snag when she discovers that her apartment building doesn't allow pets. Fortunately, Satania's landlord turns out to be none other than Master, who Gabriel can work her magic on. The latter half of the episode chronicles Tapris's second visit to the human world. Hoping to learn more about human technology, the soft-spoken angel visits a library and attempts to familiarize herself with computers. After reading up on various coding languages, Tapris heads to Gabriel's apartment, where the gang enjoys a takoyaki party. After a good time is had by all, Tapris ends her visit by informing the girls that Gab's older sister will be arriving in the human world the following day.

The first story does a nice job of showcasing the softer sides of two of the show's most abrasive characters. Even though Satania has previously looked upon the dog with scorn, she's clearly bothered by the thought of it being put down. While it's always been clear that Satania isn't as evil as she thinks, this story features her at her most selfless. In the same vein, Gabriel agreeing to sacrifice some (albeit very little) of her precious free time in return for Master's leniency without rubbing it in Satania's face is a truly unselfish act on her part. Perhaps Gab has a bit of angel left in her after all.

Although Tapris's reappearance is a bit random, her segment features enough funny fish-out-of-water moments to make up for it. Her attempts to use a computer at the library and calling a mouse a “hamster” are especially amusing. Her reappearance might have been even better had it been entirely built around her learning about technology. It's noteworthy that if she actually became an expert in coding after a single afternoon of studying, it wouldn't take her long at all to acclimate to life on Earth; she just doesn't have the confidence of her more extroverted senpai.

While this week's outing is entertaining enough, it's difficult to get past the abrupt switch in direction after last week's unresolved cliffhanger. At least the post-credits sequence promises an appearance from Gabriel's upstanding sister Zel, whose presence may provide the necessary conflict for a memorable finale.

Rating: B+

Gabriel DropOut is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is an author who has loved anime for over two decades.