English Dub Review: Tsugumomo “A Certain Day in the Kagami Household / The Super Popular Fragrance”

We get a twofer!

This week’s Tsugumomo is split up into two. Last week’s episode stretched the definition of the genre and there’s no sign of stopping soon. “A Certain Day in the Kagami Household” shows a normal day in the life with the new Kagami clan. The majority of the story is dialogue-free as Kazuya, Kiriha, and Kukuri goes grocery shopping. Kiriha takes a break in the middle to sing out her ode to pudding.

With about a third of the run-time gone, the main story begins. One of the guys at school has managed to turn his cologne into an amasogi with the power to attract every single girl at once. While Shirou fights off the zombie hoard of boys trying to steal the fragrance, Kazuya and Kiriha fight to gain control over it. Of course, of course, the cologne spills all over Kazuya in the process. He thinks he’s in the clear until every featured female character in the series force their way into his bathtub. He’s very uncomfortable. (He has to be, he’s our sensible main character, after all.) Even though it means Shirou will receive malison atonement, Kazyua’s got to destroy this amasogi himself.

It’s notable that Tsugumomo fits in a complete storyline without feeling rushed when it had 33% less time to use. None of the previous episodes felt stretched, so they’re very effective at using the time they have. In “A Certain Day in the Kagami Household” these all-powerful beings are practically reduced to Kazuya’s children. After spending the first few episodes to prove that this is serious monster-fighting business, the tables turn. And while a love potion cologne isn’t exactly menacing, this split episode format proves again that Tsugumomo can do it all.