Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department

Episode 3

Tokusatsu shows are no stranger to getting pre-empted, and a PSA about a potential natural disaster is at least a more noble endeavor than, say, a golf game. So it feels fair enough that Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department got bumped the previous week, and I'm just happy to have her back this Saturday. They even jump straight into the kind of content they hooked us with in the first place, introducing Hydra, an adorable new monster-girl whose extra heads got cut due to budgetary reasons, as we watch her and Kuroitsu face off against Blader repeatedly through more compromising conceptual upgrades. This does mean we've seen the villains get more upgraded forms thus far than the primary Kamen Rider-alike hero here, an odd inversion of the current formula in toku for sure, but all those monsters are the real main characters in this show anyway, so it works out.

However, that repetitious initial joke of Blader and Hydra's face-offs does betray something of a weakness of Miss Kuroitsu as a series already, feeling a little too much like it's relying on doing the same thing over and over again as a bit. Yes, it's funny that Blader exasperatingly notes how these villains always seem to attack on Saturdays, but there's little else to the punchline beyond that, simply escalating the number of heads Kuroitsu manages to budget for Hydra, only for her to get regularly defeated by the hero anyway. Given the show's extreme awareness of toku tropes as one of its main selling points, it seems like it should have been able to come up with some cleverer observations as it goes through these motions. Or perhaps it's just too early for that kind of deeper metatextual dive, but if the show isn't really capable of showing off during these stock confrontations, I'd enjoy seeing them have a little more fun with them overall.

It stands out then that it's all the story content surrounding those regular weekend fights that make for the most engaging part of this segment. Miss Kuroitsu is, at its heart, a workplace comedy with extremely goofy genre set dressing, and the parts here reflect that. The off-day interactions between Blader and Kuroitsu in their civilian guises paint that sympathetic picture of laborers in the economy just trying to get by as best they can, with their unknowing conversations getting them to root for each other the same way we're rooting for them. In Blader's case it's funny to see him regard heroing as a 'hustle' and comparing his meager successes to publicly professional endeavors like the Magical Girl duo introduced this episode. Given Miss Kuroitsu's ties to Local Heroes (the awesome-looking Kant, from Hokkaido, puts in an appearance this episode) it's easy to see a comparison between these hard-working smaller-scale characters and the big names that are broadcasted all over the nation.

Similarly, the workplace banter between Kuroitsu and her multiplying menagerie of monster co-workers generally makes for a more amusing setup than the irreverent battle portions. Hydra's a funny addition as we get to see her multiple heads speak up to contribute to arguments, and there is inherent humor to the idea that Kuroitsu herself is one of those people earnestly committed to her job; said job just happens to be destroying a superhero and taking over the world. Lord knows that's a more relatable presentation of such agendas than the kinds of villains who revel in evil simply by twirling their mustaches and cackling maniacally. They even contrast it with the regular quick appearances of contracted henchwoman Mizuki, who's only in this for a regular paycheck and the promise of a free lunch. More than anything, I find myself wondering about how those plotlines might eventually intersect in this show.

The peek into the 'realities' of these hero-show characters is also on display in the second half of this episode, showing off that aforementioned Magical Girl duo by having them clash with a couple of Kuroitsu's established monsters. Kuroitsu herself doesn't even appear in this segment, though her presence as the primary character of this piece is still felt by virtue of showing off how the flexibility and diversity she includes in their designs let them function surprisingly well against new enemies like these off-brand Precures. They actually score a win against them, something Hydra and Cannon weren't able to pull off against Blader in the back alley like they were designed for! Maybe Kuroitsu is just a big fish in a small pond.

Annoyingly, that odd little observation is probably the most interesting part of this episode. While I like the designs of the Pilia Magica duo, their actual antics are annoyingly low on the kind of aside cleverness I'm expecting from Miss Kuroitsu. Their whole dynamic simply falls back on the 'funny' idea of Magical Girls actually being annoying brats, or making lightly off-color sexual remarks about each other. Given their 'professional' nature that we already know about, it just feels like funnier contrasts could have been made. As-is, there's some interesting setup for how they could develop in the future (since they seem to have been added as long-term cast members and Magiarose's defeat at the end is presented as a major moment for her) but otherwise Miss Kuroitsu's observations of the Magical Girl genre just don't seem as astute as its commitment to tackling tokusatsu tropes. In fact, given Blader's earlier remark about Magical Girls supposedly taking attention away from transforming heroes in this day and age, I'd almost be inclined to read the show's presentation of Pilia Magica as something of a take-down of the genre compared to its preferred medium. But like I said, we'll see where it goes.

Basically, the crossroads I find myself at with Miss Kuroitsu right now is one rooted in that comparative fandom. Me being me, I still find all these askew toku riffs amusing enough, but I recognize it's really only lightly chuckle-worthy. And compared to myself, does a less-entrenched anime enjoyer have enough frame of reference to find even that level of humor? That's hard for me to say. But it definitely feels like Miss Kuroitsu needs to step up in one way or another. Escalating the action with new introductions like in this episode is a good start, but I'd like to see it also embrace how clever its setup could really let it be.

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Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris is a freelance writer who appreciates anime, action figures, and additional ancillary artistry. He can be found staying up way too late posting screencaps on his Twitter.