How would you rate episode 10 of
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (TV 2) ? Community score: 4.3
I'll admit that I've underestimated Nene. Our protagonist is so good at playing the silly, lovestruck heroine that I forget how strong Nene can be when it counts. In “Make a Wish,” Nene rises to the occasion with skill and subterfuge, taking her fate into her own hands at long last. Narratively, this episode left me with more questions than answers; it's very much part of a larger whole that I won't fully grasp until the “Picture Perfect” arc concludes. But even when it gets into the weeds, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun excels at setting the scene. Nene's escapades go from cheesy to chilling and back again, but the tone always feels just right.
For weeks the rest of the cast has kept Nene in the dark about her impending doom. Hanako and Kou have been the main offenders, seemingly believing that Nene wasn't strong enough to have a part in shouldering that burden, and somewhere along the way, I started buying into that false belief, too. I said in my episode three review that Nene being passed out and unable to process the news put her in a “damsel in distress” situation, at the mercy of her friends' ability (or inability) to save her. But Nene isn't powerless. She may not be a physical fighter, but she has her intelligence. To figure out what's going on, she pretends to still be passed out even upon waking up. Then, when she's caged and tearfully struggling to process her imminent death, she still has the guts to threaten Shijima with a palette knife. Her name may not be in the title, but Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun is nothing without Nene's agency. I still don't know where the story is going, but I feel better about the crew's chances now that Nene is clued in.
If there's one thing this episode made clear, it's that Shijima is not the mastermind. Even though she controls this fictional world, Tsukasa still can jerk her around at his leisure. I jumped when he suddenly appeared in the middle of Nene and Shijima's conversation. If there was anyone I was expecting to jailbreak Nene, it sure wasn't Tsukasa. Tsukasa says he is indebted to Nene for finally teasing out what Shijima's greatest wish is. It's easy to see why Nene could do what Tsukasa couldn't: though Nene said she was faking her tears to get Shijima to let her guard down, the emotions behind them were sincere. The visual of Nene surrounded by her drawings of the real-world individuals who mean so much to her (including her hamsters!) cut a hole in my gut, especially when I connected the dots and realized that these drawings were the same as the ones in the ED each week. All this time, they were Nene's drawings! Nene can fake tears but she isn't faking the real love she feels for her friends and the grief that she will soon have to say goodbye to them, and paradoxically, that vulnerability makes her stronger than Tsukasa. I think Tsukasa realizes that, too. That's why he sends Nene into that world within a world with Shijima, wondering if Nene has what it takes.
Nene and Shijima end up in a dreamlike hospital, where they discover they have two very different objectives when it comes to visiting the strange girl in the hospital bed. It's no surprise the rumor about Shijima's suicide isn't true, and in fact, she had been very sick—Nene has lots of experience with altered rumors and the Wonders they affect. What's interesting is how this plot point about two dying girls turns into a goofy escapade. I've never seen another show pull it off quite the same way, swinging wildly between moods and still coming off as sincere. In a couple of minutes, this new side of Shijima (I'll call her Mei) goes from narrowly escaping a murder attempt to buddying up with Nene over pancakes. (And of course, measuring her ankles. It's a long-running joke but you have to admit that 35cm around is worth making a fuss about! I like to imagine the artist was inspired by the Powerpuff Girls with Nene's design but then thought too deeply about how realistically-ankled peers might react.) Just like Nene can be both silly and serious, it seems that Mei is multifaceted, and perhaps only a portion of her personality got translated to her School Wonder form after death. This is only a suspicion on my part though. The episode concludes with one final look at Shijima, raised dagger in hand.
Luckily for Nene, it looks like she isn't going to have to do this all on her own. As Mitsuba attempts to comfort Kou, what should appear but the paintbrush? Now my theory is that Mei is the one wielding that paintbrush from the shadows of her hospital bed. I'm glad that Nene and Kou are at least on the same page that Hanako's intentions here are deeply misguided. This is Nene's week to shine. But as the “Picture Perfect” arc stretches into its sixth (!) episode, I expect Hanako will have plenty of time to explain his side of the story.
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Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu on Sundays.
Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history
