Yeah, that’s definitely not how makeup works.

Otome Kaijuu Caraméliser is sort of the ultimate suspension of disbelief series. I mean, the premise is a little girl who turns into a lovestruck Godzilla clone. Yet it’s the way Rairi does her makeup that strikes me as far-fetched. This was true with the manga too but I sometimes find myself confused as to how much I should worry about realism with this series. It goes for very real character stuff amidst utter absurdity, which is its charm. But that can make things a bit muddled at times. I’m not saying “choose a lane” but there are times when it’s hard to justify both extremes existing side-by-side the way they do.

In a sense this was the firs episode in which Kuroe wasn’t the main character. She’s still the main catalyst for events, though. The class is on a camping trip (at the massive Okutama Reservoir), and she’s tried to use Rairi’s makeup but can’t quote get it right and winds up washing it off. “I wanted to look a little cuter for today” is probably a sentiment a lot of adolescent girls could relate to. Arata doesn’t care of course but even so, the heart wants what it wants. Rairi notices that Kuroe has been staring at him all day and puts the pieces together. Her assumption (ironically) is that Kuroe is longing to gush about how hot Arata is but her actual answer is much more interesting.

What does she love about him? “He sees me”. That’s a pretty powerful notion just on the surface level – I mean, what a rock to build a relationship around. But then there’s the ironic side of that – does he? We still don’t know, but so far there’s no incontrovertible evidence that Arata knows Kuroe’s secret. That segues into a relationship – and a guy – that provide quite a contrast. Multiple schools are doing camping trips here it seems, and among them is the one Rairi’s middle school classmate Okada-kun attends. You know – the kid who laughed at Rairi and called her a gorilla behind her back.

Okada could hardly be more different from Arata (pointedly). He’s as shallow as it gets. Of course he doesn’t recognize Rairi – understandably. But she certainly recognizes him. Hilariously, stressing over this causes her to revert to full gorilla mode. Naturally Rairi panics over her secret getting out if Okada does realize who she is, and Kuroe scolds her to avoid him at all costs. But eventually they interact, he turns on the charm, and against her better instincts Rairi finds herself smitten all over again. The two of them find themselves out on a rowboat (with no life jackets – seriously, where are the teachers?), where their conversation eventually leads him to reveal his true colors.

Meanwhile Arata and Kuroe are having a polar opposite sort of conversation, full of honesty (to a point) and vulnerability that very nearly leads to their first kiss. But then the crisis on – and in – the water happens, and Rairi loses her cover. Kuroe makes a truly wack decision to “partially transform” and distract attention so Rairi can redo her makeup (yeah, no potential issues there). She slaps on some lip gloss and moves in for the kill but with an anguished “I missed!” kisses Arata on the cheek. That’s still enough to flip her switch, though, and Harugon – who the JSDF must by now have concluded really loves water – makes its appearance.

Chaos ensues. Okada can’t swim so Rairi – being way too decent – reveals herself in order to save him. Then faces down Harugon as the “King Kong vs. Godzilla” bit finally reaches full flower. More irony here – Rairi has revealed herself and come out the other side intact. The people that matter stick with her, everyone can see what a douche Okada is (he’s not even grateful). But for Kuroe, the double life continues. Obviously her secret is quite a bit more monumental than Rairi’s so you can’t blame her. She does finally get that first kiss, but I don’t know if it counts in kaijuu form. And in doing so, she left the world a honking clue about what’s really going on here.