Episode 11: "Heart's Desire Fulfilled; the Girl from the Beach"
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This is EARTH all of a sudden?! Papa is worried
that Yuushi won't eat the dinner he made; after all it has the finest spices
from _Asia_ and everything... (?! No freaking way does this series take place
on Earth, in _any_ reality...gotta be some other planet.) You're done already? Papa and Cube both
look up, shocked, in unison as a dejected-seeming Yuushi leaves the table
after eating only a couple bites. "Sometimes I'd like to go somewhere with you where
we can just relax." That's it, that's what Yuushi needs...a vacation! Ah,
yes, _another_ staple of the Princess Maker games...well, reality too, for that
matter. :P "I feel like my spirit has been completely reborn!"
Sounds a bit out-of-character for Grenda doesn't it...? "Yeah, RIGHT! Why do we have to go to a place like
this, anyway?!" Ah, now THAT'S the Grenda we all know and...well,
_know_. ;) They don't have oceans in Heaven? A nice shot of
the four (so far) servants, together, along with Mr. Gill, who owns the
resort. Whoah! When Grenda says that she'll pass on the
swimming, since that's something "only kids do", Erumina says she'll pass as
well. OHMYGODDESS! The Princess of Heaven and the Princess of Hell...AGREEING
with each other! What IS the world coming to?! (snicker) Who's that? Meanwhile, for just a second, Yuushi
sees a girl standing on a rock, all alone...but when she turns back, the girl
is gone. Let's go. Erumina and Barizan head back
to...er, I don't know where, actually. The hotel? Anyway... "Go fetch me some fish, knave!" Grenda pretends to
be all "superior" and "mature"...but she really DOES want to go in the water,
especially after hearing how much fun Yuushi and Kokoru are having. So, to get
Gaga out of her hair (so she can go in and still save face), she sends him off
for fish. Which she doesn't even want! Wow, sure glad _I_ don't work for
her... :P "What?! Why me?!" Gaga drags an unwilling Cube into
his fish-catching job. (As a side-note, the only name I could think of for
this file--"dragcube"--makes it sound as if maybe Cube is _in drag_. No,
that's not true, of this episode or any other, as far as I'm aware...that one
picture I drew notwithstanding. ;)) WHEEE! (shocked look) Madam, please, this is a
KIDS' show, have a little modesty! Last one into the water's a rotten egg! Yuushi
leaps into the water... "And Hell wins the silver medal!" Grenda swims
(and thankfully she _did_ actually have something on UNDER her dress, as you
can see.) Hey, this Walkman is busted! And Kokoru
listens to a sea-shell...a beach activity that just..._fits_ her,
somehow... Got yer nose! Yuushi finds out, the _hard_ way,
why it's not a good idea to mess with crabs. Hee hee hee! And her "loyal" friends crack up
laughing at her. :P Dinnertime! Back at the ranch...er, resort,
Yuushi tells about the "mystery girl" she saw. "Long ago, there was a mermaid around here, who
fell in love with a human boy." The innkeeper tells them the legend of "The
Light of the Mermaid". Chomp..snarf...gobble... Grenda just has such a
_delicate_ touch, doesn't she? And THIS is how Erumina eats. Not that I'm
saying there's quite the contrast here or anything, no... :P Ahhh... Relaxin' in the hot bath. "Spill it, girl!" Grenda grabs Yuushi in an
attempt to interrogate her about that infamous kiss they all saw a little while
ago. (This shot also reminds _me_ of the infamous scene from "Oh My Goddess!"
with "Urd's yearly bosom-size check!"--where she just GRABS Skuld while they're
all in the bath together at a resort, and then proceeds to embarrass the hell
out of poor Skuld. Since this is a kid's cartoon I know that for me to think
of that scene is just plain WRONG, but I couldn't help it...Grenda looks (and
acts!) too much like Urd, and the situation is too similar.) "So, who is he? Tell us!" Now in their
jammies, Kokoru and Grenda continue to interrogate Yuushi. Notice the classic
look of this shot...it's a SLUMBER PARTY! Doesn't matter what era it takes
place in. Doesn't matter what weird world it's on. Doesn't matter if the
girls are from as different backgrounds as human, demon, and spirit...you get a
group of young girls together and have them stay up all night, fooling
around...and you are GOING to get a slumber party. EEK! Grenda cuts right to the chase and asks
the MAIN question. "Of course I've been kissed!" says Grenda, but for
just a second there, when she's first asked, she has this (above) totally
hysterical "Eep!" embarrassed look on her face. What do you, the audience, think of this? No,
seriously, the "What about you?" she's pointing at is actually Erumina--but I
swear, the first time I saw this--for a second, I halfway thought that Grenda
was talking to _us_! :P "I don't think she has yet." Kokoru and Yuushi saw
right through Grenda's rather flimsy lie. PILLOW FIGHT!! And _this_ is inevitable once you
have a slumber-party going, too. "Oh, so boring." Meanwhile, Erumina just yawns,
while the other girls have a ton of fun. Angel-chick, we have GOT to get you
a sense-of-humour transplant...(okay, I do know the _reason_ why she's so
deadly serious at all times, but still.) Bad day... Awww...he looks like a sad little
_kitten_, with drooping ears...! (They were sent out to catch fish...it's now
the middle of the night, and they still haven't caught a single one.) "I MUST catch one! For my Princess!" Gaga goes
into another one of his dramatic speeches (almost tipping the tiny row-boat
over as he does so.) "I know, but we haven't caught a single one." Cube
just wants to give up already. "ACK! NOOO!!" Upon finding where the other
servants have gotten to, Barizan decides to join them... Bad idea....with, you might say, the expected
results (break, splash, sink, glub, etc.) "Why are you looking at me like that?" After
hearing the talk that guys usually mean kisses "casually, like a greeting",
Yuushi has a dream in which Arc calls her a "kid" and flicks her forehead
again. Ooh, poor Yuushi... "I was just joking!" Awww... I'll...just be going...now... If THIS is what
Grenda dreams about when she's asleep, I don't think I'd want to get her in a
bad mood when she's awake. :P Awww Yuushi tucks her friend in better under the
covers. Melancholy. Out at the sea-side, alone, Yuushi
thinks about her dream, Arc, and what it all means. I like this shot...she got
the full "elegant sad lady" treatment, what with the wind blowing her hair,
and everything... It's you! Ah, mystery-girl is back! And she's
real, this time... Looking at the waves... A nice artsy shot of
Yuushi and mystery-girl, looking at the ocean together. Meanwhile, over in the B-plot... Cube is
depressed about their chances of finding something...what, we're not told until
later. "I WON'T give up!" Gaga is still determined
to go on. "I think I have something..." Cube tries to think
of what he can do to help, when Yuushi says she and "mystery girl" want to go
into the ocean. (to look for the Light of the Mermaid.) I must say here, that
this bit confuses me somewhat as to how Cube's magic works...I always thought
he was paying to conjure things that he _didn't already own_. Now, Yuushi asks
him _do you have_ anything, not "can you GET" anything, to help, and he answers
in kind. _That_ seems to imply that he already owned all this stuff...which
opens up some new questions. Like, one: WHY the heck would he already own
things as bizzarre, diverse and obscure as a "brownie aspirator", "sweet
Gnomes", or the Triad's Gem of Light...and two: so, is his paying money for
these things...not _buying_, but some kind of a _storage-fee_?
Yes, I know, I think about things too hard. :P "Here. You can wear this." The girls watch as
Cube does his stuff. (I confess, I took this picture just because I thought
it was a nice shot of the three characters.) "You want me to wear THIS?!" Hey, come on, he's on
a low budget! (cracks up) I love that line. "Low-budget", indeed, ah, nothing
beats modern-day pop-culture humour, thrown into a silly fantasy setting... Now THAT was an...interesting thing to say... My,
Cube, are we perhaps getting a little _too_ attached to the young mistress? ;)
(This mermaid costume is, of course, what Yuushi was protesting about.) And
if he _does_ already own all his weird objects and is just getting them "out
of storage", when he does that conjuring bit...I don't even want to KNOW why
he'd have two mermaid costumes... ;) (I think we can safely guess that he
really is _buying_ the objects new and what Yuushi meant was "Can you _think
_of_ anything that would help us?" Because the other way is just too
weird--and doesn't really fit with scenes in earlier episodes, either.) "Is that so?" Evidently Yuushi thought the line
was just as "interesting" as I did. (snicker) Come on in, the water's fine! Mystery-girl is
already in the ocean, without complaining. Mmm mmm mm mmph!! No, nothing's wrong here,
honest, go on, enjoy your swim... WAIT a minute... If she left the costume behind,
then where did that tail come fro...?
AAAAAhhhhh.... UNDER DA SEA! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Yuushi
and Mystery-Girl explore underwater. I guess the outfits aren't _just_
mermaid _costumes_, but actually sort of turn you INTO a mermaid...as in, you
can swim with that amount of speed, grace, and ease, and also (most
importantly) breathe underwater. Not over here... A pretty shot of
mermaid-Yuushi, exploring the ocean. "I have SEEN the LIGHT!" Could this be it...? Get me out of here! No, it's just the eyes of
Barizan...poor Barizan, _buried_ in the ocean floor! I think we can safely say
HIS day has been the worst out of anybody's, here... "Thanks for rescuing me." Barizan thanks the
other servants. "You should have taken responsibility." WHAT?!
Hey, Cube never told Barizan to leap into the tiny little boat... "It was YOUR FAULT, Gaga!" Man, Cube sure is
developing a rebellious, mouthy streak, isn't he...not so quick to bow to
authority any more, no longer quite so servile...(rubs hands gleefully) and I,
for one, LIKE it! (evil grin) The light of the mermaid. The arguing stops abruptly
as everyone turns, awestruck, to watch the sea suddenly turn into glimmering
liquid gold. (Metaphorically speaking. I mean, if it _actually_ turned into
liquid gold, all the poor fish would die, 'n' stuff. You gotta be careful
with your poetic metaphors...especially if you live in Ankh-Morpork. :P) Bon appetit! You wanted fish? Here! HAVE your
fish! Have all the fish you want! "There's plenty more." Nice shot of the servants
carrying tray after tray of different kinds of seafood. "Of course! I caught them, for my Princess." Gaga
beams proudly when Yuushi says that he got all this for them. (It's never
explained exactly _who_ caught the fish, actually...I'm imagining that Barizan
scooped them up in a great big huge net or something.) "Yeah, RIGHT!" Cube is being sarcastic again.
I _love_ it when he does that. :) She's back! Yup, Yuushi is definitely back to
her energetic, klutzy, tomboyish self. And we wouldn't want her any other
way.
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