Migi & Dali

Episode 6

Well, that was wildly uncomfortable! Migi & Dali doubles down on the infantilization routine as our master manipulators hope a convincing performance will win over Reiko Ichijō and get her to reveal the family's secrets. Reiko proves an impossible nut to crack on that front, but she's fully committed to her twisted mothering of Migi.

Migi is completely in control of his faculties throughout, but it's more than implied that Reiko has him wetting himself and dutifully changes him (gag, vomit, recoil), bottle feeds him, and reteaches him how to walk. The mission quickly turns to satisfying the Ichijō family so Migi and Dali can go home. The older twin is becoming more emaciated by the day, surviving off scraps and dog food.

Migi manages to baby-act his way to freedom, but the twins' last night in the home reveals the most about what might have happened to their mother. Putting on their best ghost routine, Migi appears as his mother in front of the Ichijo family members to see their unsuspecting reactions. First is father Akira Ichijō, who never learned that the former housekeeper had died. Judging by his reaction, it doesn't seem unlikely that he carried on a romance with their mother. The twins might even be his sons, an outcome I didn't predict but seems all too obvious now that it's out in the open. The most important clue is her name, Metry.

I'm sure this is a pun I'm not picking up on, similar to Migi & Dali's names. However, until this point, neither boy knew their mother's given name, so this should help with their search for information. While the visage of Metry causes chaos throughout the Ichijō household (and reveals Reiko's murderous impulses), the most suspicious resident is Eiji. Metry was found with his pajama button in her hand, and he's the only family member whose reactions reveal he knew of her death. I doubt that Eiji is directly involved in her death; at the very least, he may have been the witness of an accident.

After the night's excitement, the boys get to return home, and Migi even does Dali a solid by orchestrating a switch so his emaciated brother gets to eat some pie.

Visually, Migi & Dali gets by on timing more than awe-inspiring animation sequences. Its snappy writing and strangeness hold it up. Characters always look sharp, although interior environments sometimes look barren.

I didn't enjoy all of this episode; the baby stuff was a little too weird for me. It also wasn't as clever with its set-ups as we've seen before. The ghost grift required a lot of handwaving (how did they access their mom's wig at this point? Where did the dress come from? Disappearing in plain sight) by the audience. The contrivances also didn't have the humor to coerce the audience into letting it slide. I'm hoping the boys will start working over Eiji next as they get closer to the truth.

Rating:

Migi & Dali is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.