Mission: Yozakura Family

Episode 10

The best thing about "The Yozakura Family Maid/Affair" is that it doesn't play the titular "Affair" story with the cheap sitcom drama that it easily could have. There's a reason that the obvious pick for this week's screenshot was the adorable smooch that Mutsumi gives Taiyo when he's feeling conflicted about learning more about his parents' deaths! These two aren't just a cute couple; they share a genuine and compelling love for each other that would be cheapened by Mutsumi getting stuck with a tacky "Could Taiyo really be cheating on me????" plot.

Instead, Mission: Yozakura Family does the smart thing by having all of the doubt and overreaction come from two characters who would very obviously be stupid enough to believe such a nonsense premise: Kyoichiro and Ayaka. The former is a sister-crazed lunatic who will indulge in any excuse to ruin Taiyo's life and sabotage his little sister's happiness. The latter has just been reintroduced to the ensemble as the family's equally deranged maid who wants to murder Taiyo for only slightly more kinky reasons.

Really, it's a good thing that the shenanigans of Taiyo's greatest frenemies drive so much of this episode because this is very much a "Gags First, Plot Second" kind of outing for the show. In the first half, Ayaka shows up to inject more of her Loony Tunes energy into Taiyo's life, whether he likes it or not, and in the second half, Taiyo and Mutsumi team up with Goliath to take down a murderous clown assassin, which is treated with exactly as much seriousness as you'd expect (read: Literally none). The jokes are funny, and the tone stays light and breezy, though, which makes for a solid bit of relief for our cast after all of the crap Taiyo had to go through in that Kurogao mission.

The most important takeaways from all of this? The first is that Taiyo and Mutsumi are gosh-darned adorable, and woe betide anyone who dares to come between them (especially Kyoichiro). The second is that Goliath has the power to transform into an even bigger and floofier dog that Mutsumi can ride side-saddle like a demon-dog steed. I don't have anything else to add to that point, either. It's just really freakin' sweet.

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Mission: Yozakura Family is currently streaming on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ in other regions.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.