I hardly know where to begin with Asobi ni Ikuyo – it’s just gets more bizarre and inexplicable every week? So why should I bother to explain it – it’s not like AIC+ does. They just keep throwing more weirdness out there every episode with virtually no effort to make any sense of it.

This week we were treated to a number of cameos – most of the main cast of “Sacred Blacksmith” among others, and a ton of pop culture references from the assistdriods. I took particular delight in a trip to Nakano Broadway, having just visited in May for the first time. It gave the writers a wonderful chance to riff on otaku culture (very different in Nakano than Akihabara) as well as the sensibilities of the main cast. And a chance to show off the assistdroids in yet more hilarious situations. So far they’ve been responsible for the biggest laughs in the show for me, especially the last two weeks.

There was some plot too, of course – a whacked-out cult of nekomimi worshipers – the riotously named “Underside of the Kitten’s Paw” – giddy with Eris’ presence on Earth as the “real deal”, send out their army of maids to kidnap she and Kio (though I suspect he was incidental). And did I mention that Eris was coming into heat – and planning, apparently, on mating with Kio rather than using a “stimulation machine” as she would back home? Naturally Manami isn’t going to take that without a fight – though she has no romantic interest in Kio, of course.

I couldn’t make this stuff up – but, amazingly, the writers can. It’s becoming clear that there are no boundaries in this story – it’s a kind of free associative plot exercise where any absurdity that you can imagine can be part of the plot. It’s also an excuse for some pretty clever inside humor and genre parody that pretty much works most of the time for me. I don’t quite know what to make of all this, but it’s fun to watch. And I’m officially an assistdroid otaku as of now.

EDIT: I missed it the first time, but among all the other clever references, this stylish Abbey Road shout-out at 0:11 has been pointed out…