English Dub Review: Masamune-kun’s Revenge “Snow White of the Yasaka Festival”

Mirror, Mirror, will you say? Is turnabout fair play?

Spoilers Below

Tension is high for Class 2b. It’s the day before the Yasaka Festival and the performance of the Dueling Snow Whites. Futaba has taken directing as an outlet for her tensions, becoming little more than a pastiche of “artiste” directors of the past. Since she can’t smoke, she has a sucker in her mouth eternally, and she’s taken to throwing empty ashtrays at poor Kojiro, who just can’t get into HIS role as the leading LADY. He runs from the scene, upset at how girls have been so mean and pushy around him. All except for Neko. Now, that Neko doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and actually, treats him like a boy. It’s just too bad she’s still pining for Masamune.

While searching for Kojiro, Masamune runs into Gasou, who comments on Masa’s technique of using sweets to draw the boy out. Gasou himself slips Aki small chocolates during practice, and she loves them. I mean she has to, with that metabolism. He says that showing someone you love them is about the little things. Slipping someone chocolates is much more effective than a wall slam… So this Gasou knows everything Masamune has done to try and win Aki’s heart, does he? Masamune’s internal monologue can’t help but hurl insults at Gasou, especially in the weight department. The rival is so feminine, Masamune isn’t even sure Gasou’s a guy!

Later, Gasou is walking Aki home. They stop for a treat at some food trucks, but Gasou can’t help but be a bit pensive. He’s actually a bit sorry for Aki. Sorry for lying. He isn’t the Masamune of her past. Kanetsugu Gasou comes from a family who fell on hard times. His family demanded that he marry upwardly to improve their family fortunes. At a party once, Gasou met with the Adagaki family secretary, who mistook him for the younger Masamune. That gave him all the ammunition he needed to change things for his family. Aki would just be collateral damage.

That night, Masamune is doing his daily workout. He sneezes, as one does, but his family goes berserk! Ohh. Berserk… Good stuff… Sorry, sidetracked. His tiny waif of a mother wraps him in a futon to try to kill the disease. He protests, profusely, but his pleas go unheard. Instead, we see him trying to prove he’s healthy by standing on his roof. In the fall. In Japan. In his underwear. The next day, he has a cold he didn’t have before, and it’s draining him. Everyone notices his sneezing, but he tries to keep his sickness to himself. He says he’s going to rest a bit before they go on but runs into Neko. She escorts him straight to the nurse’s office. Just having touched his hand, she could feel his fever and knew he had to sleep. She wants him at his best so they can beat class 2a. Of course, if he were to fail, and not be able to dance with Aki, Neko would gladly take her place at his hip. As she leaves to get him something hot to drink, a figure hides in the shadows…

Kojiro heads about the festival, trying desperately to figure out a way to get Neko’s affections. Maybe if he changed the way he talked to be more manly, like Masamune? Luckily, he gets his chance to try it out, offering to carry those heavy drinks for her with his manly muscles… Yeah, that’s a flop. He carries the drinks all the same, and they head to the nurse’s office to retrieve their prince charming. The bed is empty. Masamune is nowhere to be found! Futaba joins them in the search, but something is off. Everywhere they look, someone from class 2a is waiting for them. Has Masamune been kidnapped?

Yes. Yes, he has. Wrapped in a tied up futon, and guarded by the vice-captain of the kendo club, he isn’t going anywhere. She proudly proclaims that it is her duty to keep him there until Gasou dances with Aki at the end of the festival. She then launches into a flashback of her backstory. Because that’s what wannabe-samurai do when they are doing something dramatic, don’t cha know? Thing is, she is part of Aki’s Personal Guard (admittedly, a much better name than the Lesbian Trio, so let’s run with that) primarily because Aki had totally destroyed a guy’s, heart. That guy had been a kendoka who could only beat this samurai girl by cheating. The justice that Aki meted out that day was enough to win samurai girl’s heart. Buuuuut, that brings in a bit of a flaw in her reasoning. If she loved Aki for destroying a cheater, how could she defend Aki by cheating? Wait a minute, she’s got to use a lifeline and phone a friend for this one.

Well, it doesn’t seem like it matters anyways. Team 2a’s leading man is missing as well! It seems someone dressed as the Wicked Queen’s apple peddler guise led him off to a secret place to change… then locked him in! But who could have done something like that? Why our own Cinderella, Koiwai. With Gasou missing, team 2a calls a truce. They’ll call off the bet and release Masamune if he’ll release Gasou. But he has no idea about Koiwai’s plan, and can’t give Aki’s Guard any answers. His jailer is called away to join the search, so he leaves to rejoin his team.

Victory is assured! Team 2a can’t go on without Gasou, so 2b is sure to win! That night, in front of the bonfire, he’ll dance with Aki, win her heart, and take his revenge! Only one problem: Team 2a is currently on stage! Aki is tired of waiting for her prince to return for her, and decides she’s going on without him! But if she does that, she’ll utterly embarrass herself! Masamune charges in to her rescue.

I can really feel the story building up to its climax in this episode, and we are ready for the season clincher next week! We finally have the backstory of the FakeMasa and can wish for him to be defeated. All his kindness and understanding is a lie, designed to take Aki’s money from her. Of course, can we really hope that Masamune wins? He wants to win her heart just to get his revenge on her, and that is far from noble itself. We can, however, hope for Neko/Kojiro (NeKojiro?) to get together, because sweet people deserve each other. I was actually a bit shocked when the episode ended because it went so fast. This series has always done a great job with is voice acting and syncing, and this episode was no exception. We can tell that time has softened Aki to FakeMasa by the way she talks to him, which makes things worse for our kinda-hero. It does, however, continue to highlight the subtle nuances Morgan Garrett has put into her work. I give this episode eight kidnapping plots out of ten.