Two SSC thoughts

Over here, my recent viewing included two Strawberry Shortcake DVDs, Big Country Fun and Berry Fairy Tales. Neither was all that great, but I do have a few things I want to say about them.

Big Country Fun:

• I'm super-annoyed that there was a distinct lack of Raspberry Torte. Mostly because the summaries online promised she'd be the second main character, but it was Angel Cake instead. And Angel Cake is like the exact opposite of Raspberry Torte and my least favorite of the core five.

• The new style actually looks better in animation than in the other art. Not quite sure why, though.
  

• It's nice to see a bit of continuity crop up here and there, such as Angel Cake's competitive streak, as seen in Play Day Surprise.

• Okay, so if the writers can add in not one but two never-gonna-be-dolls characters here (Annie Oatmeal and Candy Corn), why can't they add some boys? Furthermore, why couldn't Plum Puddin' be a boy again, huh?

• Speaking of Plum Puddin', why didn't she use her intellect to save the day, huh? I mean, she could have mastered her pony and used her brains, too.

• I was all set to hate Annie Oakley because of her terrible accent, but then she sang that song in such a weird country-opera mix that I had to give her props.

• Banana Candy, what happened to your hair! It looks like a terrible streak job ;_;

• Question: Why did the Pieman want Candy Corn's farm, really? I mean, he'd already built the park (which looked fun, btw). Did he really need a parking lot that bad?

• Also, Candy Corn was kind of asking for it by not locking anything.

• And the county fair song was dumb, but at least it had some Raspberry Torte in it.
  

Berry Fairy Tales:

• Sheesh, the way those fairies act, no wonder Margalo didn't want to go back.

• Like Annie, I didn't think too much of Margalo until she sang that crazy song while attempting to channel Tina Turner.

• The last thing Strawberry Shortcake needs is a higher pitched voice. Just saying.

• It's kind of disconcerting when bad animation makes a character smile while foretelling the doom of fairyland. Unless it's a subtle jab at how nasty all the fairies are and thus why should Sherri care if they're saved. But I doubt that's what's going on.
  

• And I'm simply appalled that in these PC times, the animators got away with making the meanest fairy a chunkpot when all the other fairies are total willows.

• Also, that's a fairly good idea, having different classes of princesses, for a world where everyone is a princess.
  

It's funny every time

Remember back in November, when TLC was showing Enchanted commercials left and right? No? Well, if you had a "What Not to Wear" obsessed sister and mother, you would. Anyway, every time that the commercial came on and showed Edward (James Marsden) getting run over by the cyclists, my sister would say "That's funny every time!" Every time, seriously. And today Enchanted came out, and since there's a special Redbox promo going on (shop at a Stop and Shop or Giant Foods? Contact me for the codes!), I rented it, and we watched it after dinner. And of course, during that scene, it was even funnier in context. But later, I was reading an article about Enchanted that included the picture above, and my sister saw it over my shoulder. "And it's still funny," she commented.
"Even funnier than the real thing?" I said.
"Yes," she replied, "because it has a latent energy in it." And then we both laughed.

Just sayin'

Tequila rose is awesome. I know it's not media related, but I just felt like saying that.

Sushi Pack - Shocking discovery!

Okay, I've been googling all evening, trying to figure out who is what on Sushi Pack (aside from the few credits listed on the IMDB), and it's suddenly come clear that Chiara Zanni is Kani. The reason this is so shocking (to me, anyway) is that Chiara's biggest role (probably) to date is the titular character on Hamtaro. That's even weirder than finding out Scott McNeil (Funshine Grumpy on AiCaL, among many others) is both Wasabi and Fugu.
Edit: Funshine is actually played by Ian James Corlett.

Sushi Pack - Give Peas a Chance and Chemicals Made From Dirt

I've wanted to do these eps since I saw them, since they both have the common theme of Ben not being the perpetually laid back Aesop-giver. The first story is kind of weak, but the second story has lots of Kani cuteness. You know, it's odd that Kani started as my second least favorite Pack member, but has become my second favorite (my favorite and least favorite, Tako and Wasabi, respectively, have not changed).

Give Peas a Chance - "He was wrong; feelings of others are more important than donuts."
Starting with a montage of peas being harvested and processed for sale in a supermarket, there's a throwaway line about how the crops were planted on a toxic waste dump. Skip ahead to The Green Donut ("What's good for the one is good for the hole"), where Ben gets a call from Officer Flume (ah, her name does get used again), updating her donut order. Meanwhile, Kani and Maguro are playing chess, only Wasabi tries to emulate that scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and rides the knight. Maguro sends him on his way, and he interrupts Tako working on a canvas, complete with smock and beret. Tied in knots, Tako also sends him away, and Ikura doesn't even look up from his squirrel fighting game while brushing off Wasabi.
Back in the kitchen, Ben finishes taking down Officer Flume's apparently very long order just in time for Wasabi to show up. Ben warns the mustard glob that he's busy, but Wasabi pays him no mind (probably because he knows Ben can't understand him) and creates a kitchen drumkit cacaphony with pots and pans. The vibrations threaten a large bowl of flour, and Ben's attempt to save it only send it flying, covering him with flour. In a rare moment indeed, Ben loses his cool and yells at Wasabi to get out of the kitchen and never come back, a shout that resounds around the world, or at least the Sushi Pack headquarters. Wasabi does leave, dejected, but not in tears, as I thought he would.
Later, the Pack is watching TV when they see a report about frozen veggies holding customers hostage at the local supermarket. At said market, the veggie leader, a pea, hence the title, leads the other veggies in some chanting while the hostages shiver in the chill. The Pack shows up and starts a run of catchphrases, but Wasabi is still bummed out about Ben yelling at him. Nevertheless, they head in. Tako tries ordering the veggies to let the hostages go, but they just throw cookies at him. Maguro has two plans: A, they try to talk them down, and B, they attack in detailed order (although giving these details all but guarantees their failure). Wasabi is still all bummed out, and Tako is not sympathetic. The Lead Pea starts talking about his demands, which include freezing Wharf City solid.
Hearing this, Maguro starts to come around to the Peas' way of thinking, after all, being sushi, they like it cool, too. She even goes so far as to tell the others to "give peas a chance." A viewer from Chicago, already tired of the cold puns the Lead Pea has been throwing around, chucks his ice cream cone at Maguro's head, bringing her back to her senses. So it's time for Plan B. The Pack leaps into action, but the veggies have the advantage. Wasabi, the key component in the plan, just can't cut the mustard, so to speak. Tako and Maguro comment on this, blaming Ben completely for Wasabi's lack of luster. Ikura and Kani point out that Plan B isn't working, so Tako calls for Plan C. Unfortunately, there isn't one. So there's no choice but to retreat. Truly a sad day for the Pack. The Frozen Veggies boast of their frozen superiority.
Back at the Green Donut, apparently the rift between Ben and Wasabi has ruined Ben's latest batch of donuts, so he goes to apologize, unaware that the Pack is off on a mission. Seems the Pack left in such a hurry that no only did they not tell Ben, but they left the TV on, too. Sophia Tucker is still reporting on the case, and, being a self-proclaimed Wasabi fangirl, mentions that Wasabi's "fabulous flame" has faltered, meaning all hope is lost for the Pack. Ben, putting two and two together pretty quickly, reacts like this.
Back at the store, the Pack once again inform us of the fact that Wasabi is bummed out because Ben yelled at him and thus isn't up to fighting, and once again all the blame goes on Ben. I'm guessing this is because Ben actually doing something other than being laid back and giving them advice that they don't follow until it's too late is simply unheard of. Although, if they don't follow his advice most of the time, why should they expect him to follow it, either? Anyway, that's why they keep harping on it. Maguro, hoping for a quick fix, tells Wasabi to express his feelings, but we do not get the bawlfest that such a request would usually elicit from Wasabi, because Ben steps in, wearing a non-matching mustache, but otherwise just the same stuff he always wears. This is his way of keeping his connection with the Pack a secret, he says. I wasn't under the impression that their connection was secret, but okay. He admits to being a jerk earlier, and the Pack (minus Wasabi) agree just a little too quickly. Way to be gracious, guys. Ben goes with the full apology, and even starts to tear up by the end of it. He and Wasabi tearfully make up, and even the rest of the Pack has to pull out hankies. Ben gives up the lesson of the day: "Grown ups make mistakes, but no mistakes should hurt anyone's feelings." Um, wait. Ben, are you somehow under the impression that you're an adult? 'Cause seriously, you're barely out of adolescence. But no, this scene was too cute, but at the same time unintentionally hilarious.
With the apologies taken care of and Wasabi's flame reingnited, the Pack is back in action! They launch a full out attack on the veggies, save the hostages, and day as Wasabi literally runs rings around the veggies. With everything wrapped up, the Pack asks Chief Flume what to do with the veggies, and she, wanting to get to the annual Police Picnic on time, tells them to do whatever they want with them. So they bring them back to The Green Donut to clean up the kitchen (no, really!), and even make them do the episode end pose.

I'm slightly annoyed by how much the Pack rags on Ben for blowing up at Wasabi. Sure, it was unexpected, but what about Wasabi's part in it? Ben didn't yell for no reason, after all. But the Pack just kept on and on about it. "He should have known better." "But he didn't." And even Ben himself keeps bringing up how he was a jerk for yelling at Wasabi.


Chemicals Made From Dirt - "Pins and needles, needles and pins, it's the mellow crab who grins."
This episode opens at the Legion of Low Tide's headquarters, which is also a Sushi Restaurant that I've just noticed is across the street from The Green Donut! Does that mean that the sushi that became the Sushi Pack was made by Titanium Chef?! I really wish we'd get the origin episode already. The animation in this ep is bad, bad, bad, which is annoying because Titanium Chef has a big part, and having him badly animated is just wrong! Anyway, Titanium Chef is cooking, but not more sushi as you might expect. In fact, not even the Legion knows what he's making, just that all the pots on the oven are heating up the whole place, which is no good for perishable sushi such as themselves. Titanium Chef pulls out the book of Chum Chop: Ancient Recipes for Mayhem and Chaos, last seen in Wassup Wasabi, and reads the recipe for Inki-Dori, the mystery of burning ice. The ingredients sound questionable, so Fugu wonders if he's making a poison douchebag potion. However, Inki-dori is actually a shoeshine. The Legion questions this, since a. the Sushi Pack don't wear shoes and b. nobody shines their shoes in this day and age, anyway. But Titanium Chef counters that this is no ordinary shoeshine. It makes people cool, literally! He pulls the lid off his concoction and a wave of cold air washes over the Legion. But, as he explains, the cold is just an illusion. Toro suggests selling the stuff for a ton of money, but Titanium Chef maintains that they can only use the recipes in the book for power, not money. He outlines his plan: the Legion members will shine people's shoes, who will get cold and turn up the heat, bringing down the Sushi Pack once and for all!
That night, while the rest of the pack snoozes, Kani reads from a self-help book, chanting a mantra from the book. Maguro hears this and goes to see what's going on. Kani explains that she's trying to stop being crabby and start being mellow. Maguro doesn't really see why, but Kani says that "people" don't like crabs. Maguro can't think of anyone who doesn't like Kani, but Kani says that everyone will like her more if she's mellow, and then she summarizes the book's plan:
1. Smile.
2. Dress mellow (Maguro starts getting intrigued here.)
3. Live mellow (Maguro mentions meditating.)
4. Speak mellow (the hardest step for Kani.)
5. If all else fails, repeat the mantra.
Kani also mentions that being a crab isn't cool, but Maguro insists that Kani is cool just the way she is. But Kani still wants to be mellow, although she expresses this in a most unmellow way (as she said, step four is the hardest). Now, I wonder what this ep's lesson could possibly be?
The next day, the Legion is hard at work advertising "cool" shoeshines, and finally a construction worker, wanting to be cool, gets a shine, setting off a chain reaction of people lining up to get their shoes shined and leaving all cold, but with sparkly shoes. One kid, after getting his shoes shined, decides he wants to shine shoes, too, so Mochi Mochiato arranges their first franchise. Which couldn't make Titanium Chef, watching from a nearby rooftop through high-tech binoculars, happier.
At The Green Donut, Maguro takes a moment to talk with Ben about Kani's identity crisis. She worries about Kani trying to change, but before Ben can break out the advice, Kani herself shows up, dressed in powder blue and saying stuff like "Lovely day, isn't it?" Tako and the others also show up to discuss Kani with Ben, unaware that she's shown up. Although nobody asked, she points out that she's wearing a beret, although it looks more like an elf hat to me. Her mellow facade is cracked as the others ask if she's okay and express their worries, and she snaps at them, before storming out while chanting her mantra.
Finally able to get a word in, Ben advises the others to let Kani "find herself" and that new clothes are a-okay. (Especially a cute outfit like that ^_~). Then he gets set to make some deliveries and leaves them with the cryptic line: "Sometimes it takes a change to discover how to be happy with who we are."
Riding his bike down the street, Ben is nearly blinded by everyone's shiny shoes before being accosted by the Franchise Kid to shine his shoes and be cool like everyone else. Ben, surprisingly, succumbs and gets his shoes shined. Now, when I was watching this ep for the first time, at first I thought that Ben would be immune to shoeshine because he never leaves the shop. And then I thought he'd be immune because he, being the advice-giver, would obviously not fall for the line of "everybody's doing it." And then I thought he'd be immune because he wears sneakers. But no, he succumbs and somehow the kid shines his sneakers, even though this shouldn't work at all. However, if it had been a Legionnaire and not Franchise Kid, Ben probably wouldn't have fallen for it.
Meanwhile, Kani isn't convinced by her powder blue duds, and decides to switch to yellow. Also meanwhile, Titanium Chef revels in the shiny city, proof that his plan is working. "Soon the world will see I'm not a so-so sushi chef," he crows, "I'm a so-so evil genius!" Meanwhile again, Ben returns to the Green Donut, freezing cold, and turns up the heat. The Pack is confused this, since a. it's hot out, and b. Ben knows they're perishable. Tako is blinded by Ben's shoes and Kani (now in a yellow dress, so cute) runs from the shiny shoes, proclaiming they're "not mellow at all!" Wasabi points out everyone outside dressed for winter, but why? To find out, the Pack turns to TV, which just happens to turn onto a news report about the sudden cold spell. The cameraman helpfully pans down to show Sophia and the mayor's shoes, leading the Pack to figure everything out. Realizing what this means for Ben, they rush to his aid. Maguro uses her telekinesis to remove Ben's shoes, and Wasabi burns them to ashes. With the shoes destroyed, Ben comes to his senses and turns down the heat. Unfortunately the A/C dies, and Ikura freaks out. Tako wonders why, but not for long. It's obviously the work of the Legion of Low Tide! (and not any of the other recurring villians :p)
Tako orders Kani to get the Sushi Craft ready, but Kani demurs; fighting isn't mellow! (Don't give me that look, you all knew this was coming.) Tako points out that if they don't do something, they'll perish, and Maguro adds that everyone in the city will die of heatstroke, since they think they're cold. Faced with these facts, not even the mantra can save Kani's outfit, which she rips off in a crabby rage. With that, the Pack is off! First, they go to beat up the Legion of Low Tide. The Legion tries to run, but is cut off at every turn by a Pack member, ending with Kani. While she takes care of the Legion, Tako and Maguro gloat that Kani is back to normal, "just the way we like her." Coupled with the looks they gave each other in the previous scene after Kani ripped up her clothes, these two seem to be more manipulative than previously thought. Hm...
Seeing his minions defeated, Titanium Chef wonders if he shouldn't try another career. The city makes public announcements for everyone to remove their shoes, which are then hauled to the city dump. Back at the Green Donut, everyone tries to figure out just what the heck lesson this episode had. Ben thinks it's about peer pressure (and rightly admits that he should have known better), Kani thinks it's the warped aesop of Don't try to change yourself, although she bases this on the fact that nothing blue is cool. Tako, of course, takes offense at this, but instead of confronting Kani, he teases her instead. Ben tries again with "It's better to be cool than to feel cool," (um, what?), and Kani adds that it's better to be happy with yourself. Maguro, however, has the real lesson, "Everyone makes mistakes." Tako, needing the last word (or perhaps building rapport with Maguro) adds "And learning from our mistakes is cool." And that's that.

I've been wondering this all day: where did Titanium Chef get the book of Chum Chop, anyway? That seems to be what fuels his designs at being a villain, but how did he get a hold of it and not somebody else?

Strawberry Shortcake - Berry Blossom Festival, or Why I Love Raspberry Torte

What is this? Am I actually posting a summary of a Strawberry Shortcake DVD? Well, let me tell you, I blame this all on Raspberry Torte. Somehow, she won me over, and now I have to post about it. This is her 2D debut, and I have to say, she is one of the few characters that looks better animated. Of course, the animation has gotten a lot better since the first few DVDs, but still.

I'm really only doing the first half, since that's the part with Raspberry Torte. As is, it starts on a random spring day, with Strawberry admiring all the blossoms on her myriad of strawberry plants, which reminds her of the Berry Blossom Festival. She remembers it fondly, but Custard can only recall the near-disaster that occurred (which actually happens in the second part, so I won't get into here).
About a year ago, maybe two (who can tell?), the buds were huge. Stuff is happening, but because there's no Raspberry Torte, it's very boring. Finally Strawberry comes up with the idea of having a Berry Blossom Festival, and Custard predicts the usual mishaps. Strawberry disregards Custard's warnings and calls together the usual gang. Huck was busy, so Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Meringue, and Raspberry Torte take his place. Strawberry outlines her plan, and everyone has ideas of what to do. Blueberry suggests having a Queen of the Festival, which inspires Angel Cake to throw a super-fancy tea party. She and Blueberry leave together to plan it, and everyone else goes off to get to work, too.
We see Ginger Snap and Orange Blossom working, and then everyone gathers to watch Strawberry hang up the first poster for the festival. Since everyone is all together, Angel Cake hand-delivers invitations, advising them all to wear something fancy. But no one except Blueberry actually owns anything fancy, so they all go to her place to borrow clothes. The next scene opens with Raspberry Torte, late as usual, jogging up to Blueberry's place, and thus begins a mini-fashion show. I note that we don't see Raspberry try anything on. Hm...
Angel Cake notes the time and starts freaking out about the party, and Ginger Snap hems and haws as only she can before admitting that she doesn't know any really fancy manners. Neither does anyone else, though, so Angel Cake offers to teach them all at a pretend party. They all relocate to Angel Cake's, and she starts instructing them in the ways of good manners. But since it's pretend, they have to imagine everything, including napkins and forks. Everyone jibes with this, except Raspberry Torte. Especially when Angel Cake starts going after her for talking with her mouth full, even though the sandwiches are imaginary. Angel Cake also makes the mistake of making a claim she can't back up, that Manners Matter. Raspberry dares them all to prove it, and nobody can think of anything, so she starts to storm out. Strawberry stops her, and tells her that they'll have two parties and she can go to both. Raspberry doesn't see the point, but Strawberry just cryptically tells her that she can pick which one was better. Raspberry still doesn't get it, but agrees, and finishes storming out.
Once Raspberry is gone, Strawberry lets the others in on her plan: two parties, one with manners and one without, are sure to prove to Raspberry that manners make everything better. The girls aren't completely sold, but since Strawberry is the main character, they go along. And now comes the part that made me fall in love with Raspberry Torte. On her way home, she sings a song that basically outlines her worldview and is horribly catchy to boot. The main points being that manners don't feel real to her, and she mostly just cares about herself. And she just has so much fun doing it, too. After her song, she heads to Strawberry's house for the (unbeknownst to her) no-manners party.
Custard has been let in on the plan, and she relishes her part, being rude and unhelpful as Raspberry tries to get some info on the party out of her. Eventually Raspberry just knocks on the door, and gets no response, of course, until she bangs on the door. When Raspberry gripes at Strawberry for not telling her when the party was, Strawberry not-so-subtly tells her that it's because they're not using manners. Raspberry doesn't get it, though. And she still doesn't get it, even when she finds out that everyone was supposed to wear pink, and no one saved her a seat. So Strawberry just spells it out, and Raspberry's thrilled! Until everyone grabs all the food just as she reaches for it. And everyone makes these faces that are supposed to be sneaky, but just make them look stoned (no wonder they're eating all the pastries). And then they hit her squick points: spreading jam with their fingers, drinking juice off of saucers and straight out the pitcher. Once the party is over, Strawberry just slams the door in Raspberry's face, and even she has to admit, it wasn't a good party.
Raspberry dejectedly makes her way back home, and finds an invitation to the second party in her mailbox. At the second party, everyone except Raspberry is good mannered to a fault. When questioned, Raspberry tells them all that she prefers this party to the previous one, but only because she got more food. In fact, she does a spit take when she learns that everyone was using super-good manners, and reacts hostilely when Angel Cake brings up Manners Matter again. She walks out of the party in a rage, leaving the others dumbfounded. On her way home again, Raspberry fumes about the others and all their manners talk. She stops to talk to a bird, telling it how she had a fine time at the first party, even though she didn't get that much to eat. But then she remembers the other party, and she starts to realize that maybe, just maybe, manners really do matter after all.
So she goes to Strawberry's and apologizes, even busting out the waterworks to ensure Strawberry's forgiveness. And of course Strawberry forgives her, even going so far as to offer to teach her, and the kids at home, all about manners. This is boring, and annoying, so I'm skipping it. Except to note that Raspberry acting like she has manners is both totally cute and kinda creepy.
The next day (I think), in a tent in a field, Angel Cake finishes setting up for the tea party just as the guests arrive. Now, I want to know, who thought it was a good idea for Blueberry to say "absolu-oot-ly" to stuff? Thankfully she only says it once here, but it was that horrible catchphrase that nearly made me swear off this series entirely, since the first DVD I checked out was her debut, and she said it almost every sentence. Anyway, everyone is at the party except for Strawberry Shortcake and Raspberry Torte, making for a total Pygmallion moment when they show up, with Raspberry actually in a dress and her hair all bedecked with little flowers. Raspberry shows off her newly-learned manners, and then it's time for a song! The best part of which is that Raspberry gets a verse all to herself, and sings just off-pitch enough to be both awesome and strangely in-character. Seriously, I *love* the way she sings "Thanks, be mine, too," in the second chorus. After the song, Raspberry makes a speech about how she's learned her lesson and will be good-mannered from now on. And Strawberry and the others thank her for making the effort. Strawberry also reminds the kids at home to be good-mannered from now on, too, and the story ends with everyone saying completely random generic good manners phrases.
Now, how hilarious would it have been if at the end, Raspberry had been so completely good-mannered that it creeped everyone out and they demanded the old, unmannered Raspberry back? I guess that's what I really love about Raspberry Torte. She has such a definite personality, especially for someone outside of the core five. And I just love her voice. Most of the voice acting in the series is absolutely horrible (although, like the animation, it has gotten slightly better), and while Raspberry isn't spectacular, her voice actress somehow makes that work to her advantage. It's hard to describe, really.

By the way, does anyone know what the middle line in the first chorus of Man Oh, Manners is? I turned on the subtitles, but for the song, they just said "Singing," "Girls Singing" and "End." From what I can tell, the line goes something like "I tell ya, manners don't matter/It's much too much to deal." But I can't quite tell.

Not very fancy
Ginger Snap is nervous
What are you looking at, Raspberry?
Strawberry being sneaky
Her friends are Hoity Toity
If she feels like slurping, who's it gonna hurt?
She'll eat with just her fingers
No cookies for Raspberry
No fun at a no-manners party
Raspberry is squicked
Raspberry's house
Is it just me, or did Raspberry look jealous in this scene?
Confiding in a bird
So cute for the party!
Strawberry has a pie
Raspberry gets a solo
At the party

Sushi Pack - Poached Salmon

To celebrate the fact that I finally got a few eps of Sushi Pack up on youtube, here's a new post.

Poached Salmon
This ep opens with Ikura practicing his fighting techniques, in particular a new move he calls The Super Salmon Slip. Unfortunately, the execution of said technique leaves the area he's practicing in (and Tako and Maguro) covered in orange balls (Tako's wording, not mine). Tako and Maguro yell at him for this, and Ikura accuses them of not being alert enough to avoid his attacks. Maguro tells Ikura to think before he acts, but will he listen? I think not. Will this be important later? As in, before the commercial break? Oh yeah.
Kani demands they all see what's on TV, and Ikura leaps into action, accidently landing on the remote, changing the channel to the Bear Channel (all bears, all the time), which freaks him out. Kani chastises him for not looking before he leaped, and starts to explain about the special she was really watching (and Ikura freaks out again, thinking she meant the Bear Channel, and Kani facepalms): apparently White Oleander, who is a returning villain, even though this is her first appearance, is busy throwing dinner parties. On TV, Oleander delays her Lard Trough How-To in order to give some exposition on her plan plug her latest shindig. She also gives us the names of her guests: the mayor, police chief, and Wharf City Courier editor (Hack Martin, Jenny Flume, and Dale Wheat-Skibbing, respectively), which is odd, since they usually aren't addressed by name. Heck, I don't think the editor has shown up since. At her latest soiree, she plans to serve nothing but turkey, giving Tako the chance to inform us all about tryptophan. I've heard that it's just a myth, though. For some reason he uses a juggling clown to illustrate his lecture.
Before the end of her show, Oleander not-so-subtly tells the Sushi Pack to stay away from her shindig. Ikura takes offense at this and is all fired up to go take her on, but Tako tells him to chill. Maguro theorizes that Oleander plans to use the turkey dinner to capture the mayor, police chief, and editor, once they fall asleep after their meal. But Kani points out that Oleander's "all about eating and eating us," so what's her real plan? Whether she has a plan or not, they should go check out her studio, says Tako, although he only seems to be concerned about the mayor. So it's off to the studio!
At the studio (where the parties are not only held, but televised), there is no audience, just the three main guests snoozing away, tied to their chairs. Tako wants to play it safe and starts devising a plan, but Ikura takes off on his own to rescue the mayor. And falls right into Oleander's trap: sticky honey all over the floor! Oleander shows herself, and I never noticed until I started this snark, but when she's on TV, she has a completely different voice, all sweet and homey, unlike her regular voice, which is gravelly. It makes sense that she'd do that, but I just never noticed before. Probably because this is the only episode where we've seen her on her show. Anyway, she addresses the now-hiding members of the pack: Give themselves up and nothing will happen to the mayor and the others, but if not, she'll deep fry Ikura! She even ties him up and sets him on an eggbeater that slowly cranks him ever closer to the hot sesame oil, complete with an hourglass to show how long both Ikura and the mayor and the others have left.
While Ikura's in a bind, the others gripe about how he brought this on himself by being so headstrong. Kani even comments, "I could just pinch him! ...very gently." XD! But they still think up a plan to save him, while Mission Impossible-type music plays and there's a kinda cool semi-circular camera pan around them. Also, Tako uses, "Wasabi and I," to end a sentence. Is this the writers' fault, or is it just showing that Tako's pretty pretentious? Which he is, no doubt about it, but is it intentional? We may never know, as the scene shifts back to Ikura, who laments the fact that he's about to become just another saturated fat-filled treat. And he has his epiphany moment where he realizes that plans are a good thing and he was really, really stupid for not realizing that sooner. And I apologize, Ikura, but I found this scene terribly amusing.
His almost-emo soliloquy is interrupted by Kani, who tells him she's about to cut the string. Ikura is not very enthusiastic about this plan. But it's okay, because Maguro uses mind over matter to move the fryer lid into place before Ikura hits the oil. However, Oleander was merely waiting for such a rescue attempt, and she's ready to strike. Until she's distracted by Tako and Wasabi, that is. She wards off their attacks with oven mitts and a pan lid, causing Wasabi to flare up in anger, and despite Tako's efforts to cool him down, he has a meltdown, literally! Maguro does not relish the thought of cleaning Wasabi up.
Oleander advances, and the rest of the pack attacks, but she reveals her secret weapon: a switch that will open a trapdoor under the mayor and the rest, dropping them into a vat of chocolate mousse! For some reason, Wasabi brings up macrame, and Ikura suggests they come up with a plan, much to the others' amusement. Ikura summarizes the lesson he learned: "It's dumb to do anything without thinking about it first." Wasabi pulls himself back together, and Ikura comes up with a plan...
While Oleander stands poised at the switch (sweating for some reason. Is she nervous or just hot?), Maguro uses her telepathy to lift a pitcher of water and spill a stream so Ikura can use his new technique from the beginning of the episode. He ends up shooting a stream of roe at the ceiling fan, sending a never-ending barrage right at Oleander. Wasabi heats up the switch to the trapdoor, so much so that when Oleander tries to throw it, it burns her oven mitt right through. While Oleander's distracted, Kani and Tako get the mayor and the rest out of the studio. There's more fighting and Oleander accidentally hits the switch and nearly falls into her own vat. It looks like she's safe, but Kani sneaks in and pinches her foot, causing her to fall into the mousse. Not such a bad thing, since it's made with Belgian chocolate.
Later, the mayor thanks the Sushi Pack for saving him and the others, and comments on how they probably should have thought twice before accepting Oleander's invitation. Which just begs the question, what did she do in her debut? I thought she just went up against the Sushi Pack, but if it was something that the mayor knows about, but obviously didn't take seriously (and neither did the network, since she still had a show...), then who knows? Ikura pronounces that he's learned his lesson again, and the mayor gives them all a medal. A big heavy medal. A medal so heavy, in fact, that the Pack has to give themselves a pep talk in order to pose with it. Which they do.


I don't know what it is, but something about Oleander rubs me the wrong way, which is weird, because the idea of a foodee villain really intrigues me.