Goodness me, but Miira no Kaikata is one sweet, warm-hearted little series.  This show makes Gakuen Babysitters look like Aku no Hana, it’s so earnestly good-natured – but the “earnest” part seems to be saving it from being too cloying, along with an agreeably quirky tone to the humor.  This might have been my favorite episode, as it dug a little bit deeper into the characters (and a couple of holes in the backyard).  And when the characters are this likeable, that’s a good thing.

For the first time this week, we get a long look at Kaede (the almost-unmistakable Kayano Ai), but turns out she wasn’t Sora’s bis sister but seemingly his Aunt (his father’s younger sister).  She’s apparently a writer and a model, and does feel a sense of shame about her child nephew having to take care of her hand and foot.  This manifests itself when Sora comes down with an anime cold (with all the drama that implies) and takes to his bed with a 39.1 degree fever.

It’s perfectly in-character for Sora to worry more about everybody else than himself – in addition to being a mother he’s a martyr, this kid – and he locks himself in his room to suffer alone rather than risk Kaede (and Mii-kun) getting sick.  But Kaede-san sneaks in through the window – wearing a gas mask – and eventually, Sora is made comfortable enough to fall asleep.  But a crisis arises when Mii-kun gets dehydrated again – in the process pretty much proving the theory that it was his incessant crying when Sora went to school that left him a shriveled raisin when Sora returned home.

This is all pretty adorable stuff, but my favorite part is when Mii-kun (sleeping with Sora, as clearly he can’t be separated from him) takes it upon himself to soak up water and act as a cold towel for the boy’s forehead.  Sora wakes up feeling better but Mii-kun gets sick – I guess that’s possible – and naturally, Sora has no clue how to take care of him.  Mii takes matters into his own hands (and Pochi’s paws) and buries himself in the yard, which naturally worries Sora-kun considerably – we see a flashback showing what a soft-hearted little carrot-top he is.  But Mii-kun knows best where Mii-kun is concerned, and he gets better with his dirt nap.

A couple of other interesting developments this week: Kaede-san can cook, apparently, and of more interest she apparently turns into either a nymphomaniac or a shotacon when she puts on glasses.  She also seems to have a coffin fetish (apparently rather than Mii’s sarcophagus that was a gift for her).  And it seems we’re going to meet the creature destined to be “Tazuki-kun’s Mii-kun” – though whether he was sent by Sora’s Dad or just showed up (maybe in search of Mii-kun?) it’s too early to say.  There seems to be a pretty strong connection between Sora and Tazuki (who calls him “family”) so perhaps he’s a part of the Kishiwagi “magic circle” too…