Okay. Now I think the main action is going to start. So, the good news is Sakura wasn't spirited away by the dragon. The bad news is it looks like things are finally poised to get crazy in the next episode, even more so than when Haru was possessed. There was even a weather report about a storm coming! Given that Tsuritama has been pretty light with foreshadowing techniques so far, I'm taking that as a warning sign. Danger: Rapid Plot Advancement Ahead! But regardless of what may or may not happen next week, we did get a lot of clarification about what's going on straight from Haru and Coco. Surprisingly, my theory was pretty close. They've come to Earth to catch a dragon whose power has gone out of control. They communicate using water, yet it has the side effect of unintentional mind control. The dragon that they're trying to catch is the same kind of being as Haru and Coco, but much more powerful, which was why Haru went crazy. This all makes sense, given what we've seen and inferred about the story so far, but there are still a few holes. Still, I appreciated that Akira did turn out to be the person who would uncover at least part of the truth. Speaking of Akira, he's made quite the change in these last few episodes, much like the other main characters. Inevitably, he's ended up part of the group, despite his insistence to his bosses that it's only for surveillance. I think he's stopped using that excuse on himself though. He took a more active role this time around, starting with giving Natsuki advice that led to Sakura and continuing by admitting to Haru in a non-confrontational (and dorky) way who he was working for and asking Haru to clarify in return. While I understand the reasoning behind his boss's actions at the end of the episode, it was still heartbreaking to watch his defense of his new friend fall on deaf ears. I'm sure that Akira will think of some way to stop them, though. Going back to Haru and Coco's clarification for a minute, the main hole in their story has to do with Yuki. He's specifically mentioned when Haru talks about catching the dragon. Like Coco said early on, wouldn't anyone do in that case? But Haru is insistent. And Yuki is getting better and better at fishing, even surprising Natsuki with the fish he caught this episode. He seems to have a natural talent for it. And despite how far Yuki has come in terms of dealing with people, there are still issues that he has to tackle. Now that Akira has become part of the group, the story seems to have cycled back to Yuki. In light of Natsuki's problems, Yuki is reminded that he doesn't know what it's like to be in a traditional family. I had assumed that his parents had died when he was young, but now we have the even more vague "they're not coming back." There aren't pictures of them anywhere. Kate is the only thing that's been consistent in Yuki's life (as far as we know), and Kate is the kind of person who is perfectly okay with a self-professed alien moving in just because. I'm starting to think that Yuki has a deeper tie to these events than Haru and Coco do. Everything is starting to come together in a great way. I'm interested in seeing if the dragon is really just like how Haru was at the beginning of the series, not understanding the difference between communication and control. There's still a lot of ground for the show to cover, and I'm really excited to see where all of this is going. I'm perfectly okay with a four-episode long finale. Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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