If you’d told me before the season started that I’d be sticking with Gokokoku no Brynhildr because it makes me laugh harder than any other series, there’s no way I’d have believed it.  But that’s the case, no denying it – this show is absolutely hilarious, and it’s actually on purpose.  It’s a strange combination that it brings to the table – very retro in its way, and much more overtly comical than Elfen Lied (though that series did revel in silly moments, too).

Every episode so far has had at least one uproariously funny line of dialogue, and this one was no exception.  There were several, in fact, though I think my favorite was “My nipples are prettier, no contest!”, with “Damn it, I forgot to put her away” coming in a close second.  The interactions between Ryouta and Kazumi are pretty riotous in general – I love the way she keeps piling on the sexual innuendo and instead of shutting Ryouta down, he comes back with jabs at her cup size and virginal status.

I certainly haven’t figured out Kotori’s role in the plot yet, but she makes an entertaining addition to the madness at the observatory.  Kotori comes off dumb as a box of rocks, but the others do some of the worst acting in history trying to cover up what’s really going on there.  First Kuroha uses her magic (in response to Kazumi licking Ryouta’s face), then blurts out the fact that she did (Ryouta tries to blame it on a Kamaitachi).  Then Kana casually tosses out a “we live here” for good measure.  Not to be trumped, while on a stargazing trip up the mountain Kotori promptly leans over the telescope and reveals the harnest in her neck.  She professes to be surprised that the Astronomy Kurubbu is a den of witches, but Kana has had a forecast of her killing Kuroha (which later changes to Ryouta).  Kotori’s magic seems pretty useless for attacking, too – she can teleport, but hangs up every time she does.  Is she hiding another talent, or is she really as innocuous as she seems?

I suppose all this idiotic character behavior should bother me.  And it would bother me, I think, if I wasn’t convinced that the writer is very much aware of it and making it part of the joke.  All of Okamoto Lynn’s stuff is on the absurdist side of horror – Brynhildr just kicks that up to another level.  I mean, as if Kana’s tsundere speech synthesizer wasn’t absurd enough, how about the fact that she can whisper with it?  There’s no way Okamato is asking us to take any of this seriously, and I’m happy not to.  But the funny thing is as hare-brained as most of the cast is, I still sort of care what happens to them and because of that, when things go “Splat!” it does have a modest horrifying effect.  The characters are likeable in an unpretentiously goofy way, and that’s a big part of the series’ appeal.

Speaking of “splat”, as with classic dialogue we get at least one dose of that every episode too.  Despite the fact that Kana’s deadly forecast takes place at the local lake, Ryouta and Kuroha go there anyway when Kazumi gets a distress call from fellow escapee Shino (Takao Yuki).  With a stray cat in tow (her magic seems to involve talking to animals) Shino is fleeing AA+ plus attack witch Kikako (who really looks the part).  I’d assumed Kotori was the AA+ attack dog but it seems not – which again makes Kotori’s presence a bit of a mystery.  Kikako has only one talent, but it’s a good one – she shoots a superpowered laser cannon from her mouth.  Shino gives herself up to save the cat as Ryouta and Kuroneko look on, helpless to intervene.  Absurdist or not, the body count is really piling up here – though so far, the main cast has dodged the various bullets.  Knowing Okomoto’s track record, it’s only a matter of time before that changes – and unlikely as it sounds, that’s going to have some emotional impact.