Damn – there’s a lot going on here.  I normally write these posts out more or less essay style, but it’s hard to remember a series with so much plot crammed into one episode.  That makes me feel like if I don’t bullet it my mind can’t wrap around it all.

• First, we have Dobu instructing Odokawa to demand 1 billion Yen from Yamamoto for his dashcam data (this after Odokawa refused to let him ride in the trunk and eavesdrop).  That figure is not a coincidence.
• It’s hard to feel sorry for someone as legitimately stupid as Kakihara-san.  But hey, he really is a nice guy – just a total loser.  And having Shiho tell him it was “painful” to have to be with him was almost as brutal as the beating Yano’s henchman gave him.
• The newest wrinkle in the Odokawa saga is Synesthesia, which is Goriki’s current theory as to why Odokawa is so good at remembering faces.  The flashback to their first meeting (or was it?) in the cab was fascinating and quite hilarious.  However, I’m still not quite sure how Synesthesia would make Odokawa see humans as animals (which at this point is pretty clearly the truth of things).
• Odokawa’s own description fluctuates depending on the context – “I’m psychic”, “I have a good memory”, and most fascinatingly “I can see souls”.  It’s that ability that allows him to remember Shiho, and get about rescuing Kakihara.
• My favorite moment of the episode was when Shirakawa-san’s ear flopped when Goriki suggested she join him for a drink with Odokawa (the proprietress’ reaction to his photo of her a close second).
• Much hinges on Imai-san – and his billion Yen – now.  Indeed Imai has gotten himself into deep shit with his staggeringly dumb post-lottery actions online.  As if spending his money on 300,000 CDs isn’t dumb enough.
• Odokawa has no particular vested interest in helping Imai, I don’t think – he’s doing it because he’s genuinely a decent person.  And because he sees that Imai is far too naive and delusional to help himself.
• Yano represents Odd Taxi’s brilliant take on casting.  If you have manzai comics in the cast, hire manzai comics to play them.  And if you have a crime boss who freestyle raps, hire a rapper to voice him.
• Dobu is absolutely a scumbag.  But it’s clear Yano is a sociopath on an entirely different level.
• Maybe my actual favorite moment of the episode was when Odokawa switched on after Imai’s “spring is finally on the horizon” comment and asked him to repeat it.  That whole conversation was comedy gold.

My sense right now is that Odokawa is seriously playing with fire here.  He’s messing with extremely dangerous people, trying to juggle about 5 different stings at once, and still has an angry game designer apparently out to kill him.  He has balls of steel, I won’t deny that, but they won’t save him if all this starts to go really bad.