Wherein we go on a date as a form of Turing Test.
Slight programming note, lines in this episode made it clearer that Natsuki is 17 now – he was 9 eight years ago, that’s just basic math I kind of failed at in the last writeup. In any case, those years have made him resistant to the idea that the girl from his past was, in fact, Atri. This is probably because he doesn’t really respect her, which is also probably due to the fact that she’s kind of a goober who doesn’t do much to engender respect. But I digress.
The cast pushes Natsuki to accept the fact of his past, and he decides what his next step needs to be: figuring out whether or not Atri has authentic emotions. He tests her a few ways, and the results seem… inconclusive. Sometimes she reacts very much as though she’s operating on irrational and personal whims, while at other times she seems to fall back on what seem like programmed responses and mimicry of actual human behavior.
Cathrine, though, thinks that part of Atri’s problem may be a lack of understanding, rather than a lack of feelings. After what is presumably an emotional birds and bees lecture for the girls of the school (Atri included), Atri decides to respond to Natsuki by asking him out on a date. This takes up the majority of the episode and by the end of it both of their positions seem to be decided, and it looks like we’re moving forward with the boy x robot girl ship.
It may seem like an oxymoron, but this episode comes off as… critically important fluff. That is to say, the exact actions? They’re more fluff. It doesn’t matter what our new kind of couple do on their date: what shoes are bought for Atri and why, how she ruined the hamburg steak sandwiches, and so on. A lot of time is spent on these details, but none of them seem like the kinds of things that you’ll have to remember.
But we needed something here, to take up the right space for pacing, and to convey and sell the idea of Atri and Natsuki having their relationship change to an important degree. While any date would have been as good as any other, it’s not useless to burn an episode on this. Quite the opposite – it’s entirely needed.
We also do get one hint of further plot. In the market area, they check in on Junk Man’s stall to find that he’s skipped town after his attempted stealing or destroying of Atri and subsequent subjection to blackmail. As they do, we cut to the guy with a robot arm we saw a hint of back during the attack and a henchman of his. They seem to have not given up on obtaining and/or destroying Atri, but the ringleader says to not make a fuss and that they have to prove they’re right first. So presumably these fellows are going to say horrible scary things about what Atri is or portends and try to convince Natsuki to give her up for whatever ideological reason they have.
To repeat, I am going into this show blind, so I don’t strictly know what’s going to happen… but I’m fairly confident in this broad-strokes guess of what’s coming. After all, we’re in episode seven and the romance seems to be going all too well: there has to be at least one other arc to give us some time and interest, as well as a climax. Hopefully we’ll get at least some motion in that direction next week, rather than it coming in only right at the end.