Otherside Picnic Episode 9 – Toothache

I love it when Otherside Picnic makes things easy for me and just straight up tells me what Urban Legend they are referencing. Man was I excited!and then – nothing. A google search for Sannuki Kano gave me a bunch of reviews about this episode, trying to narrow it down by adding urban legend was a bust. I then tried  “Japanese urban legend about monkey that gives teeth”. Nope! But I found this weird video of a macaque flossing his teeth. Good on him. I should do that more. 

After a few failed attempts I finally stumbled onto Sanukikano and that finally brought me here. You may need to translate the page to be able to read it. And the machine translation is mhuah! Chef’s kiss!

It’s basically exactly what the episode said. So you know, pretty weird and kinda random. 

Whoa, I really jumped right into it this week. I guess I got excited about finally tracking down the creepy pasta. Anyways, welcome all to our little overview of episode 9 of Otherside Picnic. There will be spoilers and I am joined by the fabulous K!

How’s it going K?

Also, I think it’s time you switched up that link on your front page! You could point it to a new coalition member every once in a while. That would be cool!

Well, look at you just diving in! It is certainly going and one hopes it is certainly going well. Also I hope not to offend you but the plan was always to switch up what that button links to. It was supposed to be my version of “feeling lucky” but I guess I’ve been lazy on changing it. Though I would consider myself very lucky to click a link and land on your blog so that was good while it lasted.

Also good on you, seems like you eventually found today’s spooky thing. I guess we finally know who is making those weird dolls with the teeth. 

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Maybe we’ll have a contest so one lucky reader can go home with one of these, what do you think? I mean teeth related horror pops up from time to time, from creepy tooth fairy versions and even the monsters from Guillermo Del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. A toothache sucks so the fact that this spooky monkey can just rip them from across the yard is quite a spooky thing. Then again, didn’t it only want 5 like that’s one each, not exactly ruining anyone’s smile, especially when they got them fixed up no problem.

So last week’s Otherside Picnic episode was my favourite and it still is. But this week wasn’t awful. I mean, it was badly written but it wasn’t a bad watch and I do like what they are setting up.

I feel like the production team has been leaning in a bit more on the potential relationship between Sorawo and Toriko. Maybe because they need to live up to that Yuri tag. To me it seems a bit forced but I’m also a notorious unromantic so I may be way off on it. In any case, episode 8 featured a lot of hair, teeth and girls staring at each other. There are worse ways to spend an evening.

I am surprisingly quite the romantic, and yeah it’s not really living up to the hype. So much show that me and my good friend Jon Spencer Reviews both kind of agree that High-Rise Invasion has the better forced romance. It’s very brash and in your face like everything about that show but at least you get the sense that they genuinely like each other and aren’t awkward about it.

I’m just gonna flat out shout it out, High-Rise Invasion is a badass show. It’s a hard show to recommend because it is gratuitous to the max, the fan service and violence are amped to 11. Yet, it’s kind of everything I wanted this show to be. It’s fully aware that it’s an action/survival show on steroids and it constantly is just pushing new developments on you, they have quick paced battles with the different masks do have plenty of personality, and the overarching character development and plot is engaging and binge-worthy.

At the end of the day I find Otherside to be nice, but High-Rise Invasion was fun and I think that’s the element that this show severely lacks. Outside of first half of the beach episode, ninja cats, and Kazakura this show kind of meanders a bit and doesn’t have energy to it. Which is a shame but what can you do.

Even though she’s not really developed in any way, I do like Akari Seto quite a bit so I was happy to see her again. And of course, Kozakura is always a good time. Extra points for the glorious return of the docile Coonuki. I just want to see the adventures of those two, to be honest!

Can you ever have too much tanuki? (Yes, I’ve seen Nozaki-kun and know the answer to that). I don’t know, is it kind of weird that they set up that they sell artifacts from their adventure to Kazakura and we haven’t really seen them collect anything? When was the last thing they sold to her? I know they got the hat but they had to use it for the ritual to escape the beach, maybe I’m missing something but is the last thing they sold really the wiggle-waggle cube. They’re really bad at there job, Kazakura needs to stop letting them off the hook.

The set up was pretty simple. Natsumi Ichikawa, Akari’s childhood friend, has gotten herself stuck in the Sanuki Kano urban legend and Akari wants Sorawo’s help to figure a way out. Any thoughts on the premise K? Too simple. Too plotholish?

It was cool to introduce a new character and more so another relationship. Not exactly a foil but it was kind of interesting to see a more affectionate group of friends and also a new perspective on Satsuki. I don’t know if the new girl really felt distinguished but she was alright. I did think it was funny she shot shade point blank at Sorawo. “I’m so glad it was you and not Toriko” damn, girl stop you don’t got to do her like that.

For my money, the interesting parts of this episode had nothing to do with the central plot. It was the little implications and reveals that were way more fun.

Agree the last few episodes have felt like it’s building towards something in small reveals and revelations. 

So Akari had some charm that was calling the ninja cats to her but why is Nattsun targeted? Is the Otherside starting to really slip into our world? Or is this something different?

Then in the middle of the episode, Sorawo clearly enchanted Akari or something. It was not subtle. And it wasn’t very pretty. It’s one thing to give your friend a magic feather so that he gets the confidence to fly, it’s another to turn them into a brutal killing machine. Her encouragement clearly made things awful and yet Sorawo didn’t seem that upset by it. She let everything play out and only released her spell once everything was clearly over. What’s more, she didn’t seem too surprised about the turn of events either. 

My notes just say “Sorawo evil”?

 And I gotta say, I find the possibility of that super exciting. That would reframe the season in a very interesting way. At least, in my opinion.

Yeah, I was very confused and bewildered by that. Last episode it was framed as the cat charm was making her go mad, but it appears that it is actually Sorawo doing it. Yeah, I don’t know how Sorawo knew she could do that, or why she didn’t really care with how well… effective it was. It was just weird that she was willing to manipulate and endanger her friend to protect… a couple teeth. Wow, kind of messed up priorities.

Interesting that you are now growing suspicious of Sorawo. My sister is now suspicious of Toriko. I just don’t think they break the ship up like that but it would be an interesting development.

I don’t know I mean the implication that Sorawo and Satsuki look similar is one that doesn’t sound too new of a development. Maybe it’s just my Naruto brain at work but maybe the similarity of appearance is no mere coincidence. We have Sorawo, Satsuki, and even that one guys wife who was spirited away. Could be possible that maybe Sorawo’s eye ability could be hereditary in a way and Satsuki is a distant relative with similar abilities and drawn to the Otherside. Sorawo was able to find the otherside on her own and without really looking for it.

Maybe there is just more to Toriko is kind of indoctrine Sorawo to this lifestyle to be a replacement for her lost friend. Who’s to say. All I know is I am against Sorawo growing out her hair because then we can’t call her Velma anymore and that doesn’t sit right with me.

Even after Sorawo released her, Akari still seemed somewhat off. What with her and Nattsun just saying each other’s names over and over. It was such a weird scene and in another show, I would have suspected that it was maybe not happening. An illusion because the Otherside was taking over. Or a sign that Sorawo really had broken the girls. But in this show, there’s a chance it was just off writing. 

Piling on to the suspicions regarding Sorawo, Akari mentions that she looks like Satsuki Uruma. Weirdly no one else has mentioned this before but Toriko and Kozakura didn’t disagree either and they should know.
I do like how the end of this episode mirrored the opening scene of the series, with Sorawo floating in a shallow creek or something. It was visually a nice touch and it brings the series together. For what it’s worth, I am genuinely curious to know what the link between Sorawo and Satsuki is. Are they the same person, is one a shadow of the other. Is Sorawo an Otherside beastie that forgot she was a ghost? It’s been a while since an Otherside Picnic episode has left me trying to solve the puzzle and I appreciate that. Now let’s see if the show manages to do it!

Previous posts

• Otherside Picnic Episode 1 – Well I’m Piqued
• Otherside Picnic Episode 2 – Close Encounters of the 4th Kind
• Otherside Picnic Episode 3 – Love Shack
• Otherside Picnic Episode 4: This TIME It’s Personal
• Otherside Picnic Episode 5 – The great grey beast February
• Episode 6: A Call From Danger, Before Boarding The Ghost Train
• Otherside Picnic Episode 7 – Holiday!
• Teenage Spooky Ninja Cats! Otherside Picnic Episode 8