However unhinged I thought Migi to Dari was, it wasn’t enough. I’m hard-pressed to remember another series that embraced the bizarre in real-life with such complete abandon. It really is glorious to watch, especially given how miraculously the ship holds together through the crashing waves of insanity. And, it must be said, Paku Romi (really one of anime’s great actors) is delivering a boffo performance here. She’s a big part of why Reiko comes off as simultaneously horrifying and hilarious as she does.
I really should stop trying to categorize a series that defies categorization, but I can’t help myself. There’s surrealism here to be sure, some absurdism, obviously black comedy. Maybe satire as much as anything. Maybe it’s its own genre, though I can’t imagine too many writers trying to follows in its footsteps, and sadly we won’t be seeing any more works from the author. I do know that if Sano Nami didn’t completely buy in to the madness, and director Mankyuu didn’t double down on it, this wouldn’t work. It’s an all or nothing sort of show, and it would never have worked if it had aimed for half-measures.
Take the introduction of Metry, for example. Did that vacuum bit have to be played as grotesquely as it was? Of course not – but it communicated so much, and established so much uneasiness in the mood. However weird (this is a theme) I guessed Metry’s actual story was, the reality topped it. Okay, you figured she was the Ichijou’s maid, and she had the twins with Akira. She even developed a seemingly strong relationship with Reiko. But then – forced surrogacy by “fooling” her husband? Reiko’s phone was clearly off the hook all along, and she was just waiting for the trigger to really go over the edge. And boy, did she ever.
I guess Migi and Dari must have inherited their brains from their father (who don’t me wrong, is utterly clueless), because Metry doesn’t seem to have been the sharpest pin in the cushion. I’ll say this much – it’s totally understandable that they grew up to be as strange as they are, given their circumstances. And just as much that Eiji grew up to be the twisted soul he is, because he – unlike them – had to actually share his life with Reiko every day. As for Karen (who’s faking every symptom in the book to keep Akira occupied) I still don’t quite get who her parents are. Obviously Reiko is no one’s mother, but she implies that Akira isn’t her father either. Did Reiko force another maid to surrogacy, or steal Karen from someone based on the idea that as a baby, she looked like their child?
The three boys being triplets was definitely a twist I didn’t see coming. That casts a spotlight on the already widening chasm between Migi and Dari, who react to this along the lines you’d expect based on their development. Eiji – who might just have been faking his infantilism all along – winds up pushing Reiko just as he did Metry, just not far enough of a drop this time. Eiji in his diaper speechifying as his batshit mother climbs the walls is truly one of the most delightfully bizarre spectacles I’ve seen in anime for a long time. And Maruta’s “official boyfriend” English line delivery absolutely had me on the floor.
Eiji’s descent into darkness (beautifully depicted symbolically) is pretty much complete when Migi and Dari tell him their mother is dead. I think he determined to kill Reiko and then himself right then and there, but the one thing I don’t get is her appearance when the others found her in the “re-education” room. Did she just spread the blood from her head wound around and fake it, or had Eiji already stabbed her? Or did she give herself a gut wound to make it seem more realistic?
Where does this all end? Well, we have two eps left, and by God it’s pretty clear Migi to Dari can fit a tremendous amount of whack into two episodes. The outro of Eiji burning down the house by burning down the house, to the strains of “Clair de Lune”, was a set piece of true genius – the cherry on top of an episode that would have been a delicious sundae of madness even without it. I’ve given up trying to outthink this series at this point, and I’m just going to enjoy the ride.
Rasu
December 13, 2023 at 4:33 amIf I recall well, Karen’s parents were the dolls that appeared outside Origon village, where Eiji found Miytril’s doll. It was the house for those who knew too much. She said Mitchan told her about it, but she already suspected it long ago.
Nicc
December 13, 2023 at 8:34 amYep, just when we thought we couldn’t possibly have any more “WTF!” moments in this series, this episode added at least a half-dozen more. This episode went into psychological thriller territory with the events and reveals.
Okay, so Reiko starts telling her story about Metry. Considering how unpredictable the series has been, I figured there was a 50/50 chance that Metry really was an intentional homewrecker and what Migi and Dali remember of their kind mom was an act she put in front of them. It turns out that she was a klutzy new maid that the Ichijous hired, as shown in the scene when she couldn’t handle a vacuum cleaner. As you said, it did go a bit extra and to help set the mood. The clumsy Metry was a contrast to the perfectionist Reiko, who seemed to have a least few screws fastened at the time. They seemed to have a good relationship going for a while as Reiko teaches Metry how to do her job properly and Metry wants to be more like her. Then, Reiko finds out she’s infertile and the screws come loose.
Well, if she can’t have children, then what about Metry? That’s… quite the idea you have, Reiko. She sets up Metry to pretend to be her at night in bed where her husband, Akira, can’t tell the difference in the darkness. Then, she watches them get it on… night-after-night until Metry gets pregnant. Akira figures out that it’s been Metry in bed all along, which twists the knife further for Reiko.
The high ground wasn’t enough for the boys as Reiko makes her way up to them like Spiderman and then Eiji seems to snap out of it, pushing down Reiko down from the rail in the same manner he pushed down Metry. It turns out that they are triplets (Is it possible for triplets to look like that) and Reiko took the one who looks it could have come from her and Akira. Somwhere along the way, she picked up Karen (It could indeed be surrogacy from another maid. No blondes this time, though. Or, blackmail, or outright kidnapping… She’s crazy enough to be up for anything) and then a family dog, completing her “perfect” family. Migi and Dali grew up in that tiny room together with Metry until all of them were able to escape. Alas, Migi and Dali reject Eiji as a brother and then he goes through is own tailspin. Then, dad comes on out after Karen has probably named off every possible disorder from the Merck Manual to keep dad inside. Oh yeah, and he finds out that Karen has a boyfriend now. Welcome to the madhouse!
Eiji tends to an injured Reiko. This fall did not kill her, but she did suffer a serious head injury. Her head is already messed up enough and so it’s not that surprising that it seems like she didn’t feel anything from it. I too also wonder about what happened in that “baby” room. It makes symbolic sense that Eiji would want to murder her there. I can picture Reiko faking it and then Eiji stabs her later anyways. I think she’s really a goner this time. Then, Eiji decides to burn it all down (The house and the memories that go with it? That’s one way to reset) while Migi, Dali, Maruta, dad and sister are trapped in that “baby” room. They’re going to have to find a way out and the only possible rescue is from birdman Shunpei and that’s only if he managed to get far away enough from the police to circle back without being tailed. There should be enough craziness left for two more episodes.
blargnobia
December 15, 2023 at 5:49 am“Did she just spread the blood from her head wound around and fake it, or had Eiji already stabbed her? Or did she give herself a gut wound to make it seem more realistic?”
She was wearing the same nightgown as earlier in that scene (in the babyfication room) but changed into a different outfit just before Eiji stabbed her, so I think it happened chronologically.
Also, I have to give credit to Karen for knowing her faux mom well enough to know she was faking. She and the beaver kid are starting to seem like the smartest characters in the show, somehow.
Guardian Enzo
December 15, 2023 at 6:37 amWell, he is the official boyfriend.
Simone
December 17, 2023 at 3:59 amThe girl had to live for years under the same roof as this psycho, she’ll know all her trickery inside out. Honestly surprising how well-adjusted she is compared to her brother.
Guardian Enzo
December 17, 2023 at 8:58 amA function of her attracting much less of her mother’s interest, I would surmise.