Himōto! Umaru-chan R

Episode 5

In a slightly less ridiculous universe, Taihei might very well have been Himouto! Umaruchan's protagonist. He bears all the traits of your average anime everyman, from his average genial personality to being oblivious to the affections of multiple beautiful women in his life; he even has a little ahoge on his head to boot. While the first season of Himouto! Umaruchan focused heavily on the brother-sister relationship at the core of the show, Taihei has taken much more of a backseat in Himouto! Umaru-chan R, since this season has spent much of its energy fleshing out Umaru's interpersonal relationships and character growth. This week's episode is Taihei's chance for the limelight, since almost its entire running time concerns itself with his business trip to Hamamatsu with his colleagues: Bomba, Alex, and Kanau. Kanau in particular is a character I had completely forgot about, so I was interested to see what would happen given this setup. Taihei's friends are some of the least developed characters in the story, so a wacky vacation with them all playing off one another could have made for a refreshing change of pace. Sadly, this episode doesn't take advantage of its ingredients in quite the way I'd hoped, resulting in a story that certainly isn't bad but may be the weakest of the season so far.

The problem isn't even Umaru inviting herself along for the first half of the episode, since that's honestly the best part of the whole story. Sure, it's predictable, but it also serves as a good showcase of the siblings' chemistry. There's a gentle cuteness to the way these two hang out, especially since Umaru's neediness is a lot less grating this season than it was in the past. She's definitely taking advantage of her brother's kindness (and income), but it's more apparent than ever that the two genuinely enjoy each other's company. The only issue with this first segment has nothing to do with the show itself, but rather the English-language presentation. There are two separate occasions in this first segment where excessively lengthy translator's notes fill up the entire screen (and that's set to the default size). A few frames of sloppy subtitling is certainly not enough to ruin an episode, but it is distracting, especially since the notes themselves feel so unnecessary; the basics of anime pilgrimages and name-usage could have been understood by most anyone given the context.

The brother-sister walkabout is still fun to watch though, and when Umaru finally heads back home, the episode ends up listing about without much direction or comedic impact. Taihei and his coworkers help out at the restaurant they're working with, but there isn't much by way of character interaction along the way. There are only two real takeaways from this second half, the first being that Taihei's skill in cooking comes from his affection for his sister, and the second being that the head chef at the Hamamtsu restaurant is probably Ebina's estranged older brother. The Taihei/Umaru stuff is a little too familiar at this point, and while the Ebina development fares better, her brother hasn't gotten enough screen time to prove as entertaining an addition to the cast as either Bomba or Alex.

By the time Taihei does get home, it's a relief, since the show is much better when Umaru and all her friends are involved. Umaru's tearful reunion with her brother was sweet, to be sure, but it also didn't feel very earned; not only did Taihei's two-week long trip only last a single episode, but Umaru was there for the first half of the episode already, so her separation from Taihei was barely felt. This episode was charming and humorous enough, especially in its first half, but it's still disappointing just how quickly and simply everything played out. A slice-of-life show doesn't need to take risks to be successful, but I still can't help but feel like this was a missed opportunity.

Rating: B-

Himōto! Umaru-chan R is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.