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The latest episode of Outbreak Company brings Shinichi back to Japan for a day.

I don’t believe Matoba for a second when he says anyone from the other realm will die if they try to breathe Earth’s air.  I just can’t believe anything he says at this point.  I’m way too suspicious of him.  And, of course, these suspicions are confirmed when Miusel stows away in Shinichi’s luggage and doesn’t die upon arriving in Japan.  Big surprise there.  But why would Matoba lie?  What exactly is he hiding?

Because Miusel stows away, Shinichi is able to take her around Japan and show her things she’s otherwise only seen in manga, such as busses and street-crossing signs and even running water, many things we take for granted on a daily basis.  This is one of the charms of anime such as this: the ability to show viewers a new side of daily life, to show us how amazing the things we have really are.  We don’t see that usually, because we’re simply so used to having and seeing these things that we don’t think about them as amazing advances.

On top of that, episodes like this are a good way to show non-Japanese viewers what certain parts of Japan are actually like.  Several anime that fall under the theme of otaku-in-other-realm-teaching-otaku-culture do this sort of thing.  Outbreak Company is the first I’ve seen, though, that so thoroughly explores Akihabara.  This is a great way to show non-Japanese viewers (like myself) what this hub of otaku culture is like, with storefronts displaying manga, anime, and video games, and let’s not forget the maid cafes.

Despite the harem-esque feel of Outbreak Company at times, this episode makes it pretty obvious that Miusel is the main love interest for Shinichi.  Whether or not it will ever end in a real relationship is unclear, but it is clear that Shinichi and Miusel have a special bond.  This has and will likely continue to cause friction with Petrarca, who obviously also has a crush on Shinichi.

Outbreak Company Episode 8 Preview

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