English Dub Review: Meiji Tokyo Renka “Electricity of Dreams and Passion”

Mei convinces Japanese business tycoons to fund electricity through song and dance.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Mei is continuing her womanly training with at the geisha school. Her time to be put to the test comes when she’s assigned to help serve at a party of wealthy businessmen from all over Japan. It turns into quite the wild night, full of serving drinks to drunkards, escaping from a rampaging camel, and singing about the miracle of electricity! As the party peters out, Mei and Ougai affirm their relationship and are grateful for each other.

Our Take:

I’ve got to admit, opening up with a lesson on make-up was not a good start for the sixth episode of Meiji Tokyo Renka. Her instructor tells Mei it will make her ‘more alluring’, and then reprimands her for making a noise, saying ‘odd noises’ should ‘never leave a woman’s lips’. I just… ugh. Anyway, for such a poor start, this was actually kind of an entertaining episode!

As the party preparations begin, Kyoka gets roped into dressing as a geisha as well, and serving drinks at the event. Despite his discomfort, Mei assures him everything will be fine. She’s still a wonderfully genki character, full of positivity and good vibes. The entirety of the episode takes place during this party, and honestly, not a whole lot of stuff happens. There’s plenty of drinking, and some of the men get handsy, which sparks a sharp retort and lesson on sexual harassment from Mei, which was nice to see.

One thing that I really liked about the episode came right near the end. Ougai confronts Mei about his feelings for her, and why he wants her to continue living in his home. They have a nice little chat, and I think I actually understand both their feelings a bit more now. Before this, it was never really clear where either one stood. Was Ougai just pretending to be her fiance, or did he actually want it to be true? It turns out, neither one of them are exactly sure yet, although Ougai makes his intentions clear with his offer to stay with him forever, be it days or decades. He also acknowledges he’s made it difficult for her by constantly referring to her as his fiance. I really appreciated that they ended the night with a sweet hug and an agreement that Mei will stay as long as she’d like. As far as the plot of this episode goes, that’s about it.

Luckily, what the episode lacks in actual plot, it makes up for with pure, unadulterated silliness. From a magician’s camel rampaging after rich businessmen to a blue-haired man spouting nonsense about electricity, Electricity of Dreams and Passion has plenty of random gags. One of the best is Mei going to bat for electricity by touting its benefits in a strange pseudo blend of rap and poetry. It also incorporates a long chibi dance sequence, which was unexpected, to say the least.

The dub this week had a bunch of great writing and solid performances. Mei’s comparison of the drunk businessmen is apt: “They’re like bottomless pits!” A doubting man in the crowd calls out: “Electricity is the devil’s light!” Finally, Kyoka’s eventual breakdown was hilarious: “I’m just a pretty man in a kemono!” he yelled as he ran from the room half-clothed. One thing I’m not sold on is the translators choice to have Mei refer to her fellow geisha as ‘big sisters’, but it only comes up once or twice.

Halfway through its run, Meiji Tokyo Renka continues to be a mixed bag. There’s some good stuff, like Mei making friends, struggling to get home, and taking part in tons of silliness. But there’s also lots of awkward, wedged-in romance and old-fashioned romantic stereotypes and ideals. For someone who likes the romance genre, this show is probably still delivering exactly what they need. For someone like me, though, it’s still not quite good enough to recommend.