English Dub Review: Estab Life: Great Escape “You Can’t Run from the Goddess”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The extractors’ latest client hails from Odaiba Cluster, a luxurious town of hot springs resorts dedicated to worshiping its Goddess. When Feles breaks a startling religious prohibition, a mob of incensed fanatics turns what should be a simple job into a desperate chase.

Our Take:
If the aquarium isn’t relaxing enough for us, then the better choice to unwind ourselves after a day’s work is a hot springs resort. Unfortunately, the extractors’ latest assignment shows that there’s no time for relaxation. In fact, they might not get any peace at all when all is said and done, and neither am I. Following a tale of two Marteses, “You Can’t Run from the Goddess” reverts to the show’s usual formula with the extractors attempting to extract another client from a Cluster.
Their assignment leads them to a hot springs resort where the people wear nothing but underwear to worship their Goddess, which resembles the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, it’s far from an easy task due to the Cluster’s ban on underpants and Feles’s refusal to comply with the prohibition. Their client is a priestess, who longs to try a pair of panties, but can’t because of the Cluster’s rule. Their attempted escape resulted in the statue’s destruction, which revealed that it was wearing underpants the whole time. The worshippers and the priestess then decide to change their law by wearing undies for an hour a day.
Despite its religious commentary, the episode added nothing too exciting to a formula that’s been tired out since its third episode. However, it does have one difference that makes it stand out from the others, which comes from the story’s conclusion. Following a surprising revelation, the priestess decided to stay at her Cluster to watch over her worshippers and their new law, which surprises Equa. The previous episodes have seen the characters succeeding in extracting their clients, so seeing this one end with the priestess staying was a surprising change of pace for me.
How it would affect Equa’s motivation in the future is still a mystery since the show rarely takes advantage of fully developing its characters and themes. Luckily, there are a couple of moments that came close to being hilarious, mainly Feles’s constant fear of walking around without her underpants. The sequence involving Ulula falling overboard after taking out the rockets was also quite humorous. Other than that, the episode is not worth losing your panties over.