Episode 9 of URAHARA features a trip down memory lane as Rito, Mari and Kotoko recall their first meeting. Will their reminiscing help them to get out of the predicament they currently find themselves in? Let’s take a look at the episode and find out.
Rito suffers, but continues eating regardless
Previously, Rito reached her breaking point and just decided to become a Scooper by eating the sweets they leave behind when defeated. She is convinced that by eating the sweets, people will look at her drawings.
Rito’s transformation into a Scooper progresses much quicker than either Mari or Kotoko’s.
Seeing Rito like this shocks both Mari and Kotoko back to normal
Mari and Kotoko are far less keen to become Scoopers after seeing what has happened to Rito. In fact, those two completely forget about becoming Scoopers themselves, as they are more focused on Rito.
Rito’s transformation into a Scooper gives her a huge amount of power, and she unleashes it on Harajuku.
Rito effortlessly slices through buildings
Rito starts demolishing Harajuku, all whilst lamenting that nobody wants to look at her drawings. Mari and Kotoko call out to her, but it ultimately proves fruitless.
Misa worries for Rito, whilst Ebifurya just wants to hang back and watch
Mari and Kotoko follow Rito. She heads straight towards her drawings, that I think are located in a place called Cat Street, and it looks like she is about to destroy them. Since Mari and Kotoko can’t reach Rito with their voices, they decided to use force instead.
Mari almost resorts to drastic measures to stop Rito
This scene was the flash-forward featured in the first episode, and it turns out that Mari can’t bring herself to go through with it.
It looks like Rito will destroy her drawings, but she suddenly stops. Mari and Kotoko may not have been able to halt her, but there is a particular part of Rito’s drawing that has her hesitating.
Rito’s cat drawing
With Rito hesitating, both Mari and Kotoko pull out some sweets that she gave them when they first met and try to get her to remember their first encounter.
Mari started working at a shop a mere 30 minutes before Rito did
This was Rito’s first impression of Kotoko
Shortly after meeting Mari and Kotoko, Rito got to show off her drawing skills. She got compliments from both girls for them, and soon enough all three girls are exchanging IDs.
Rito’s pop cats
With all that is happening to these three in the present, this picture warms my heart
They continue to reminisce about the time they decided to open Park together. Rito returns to her senses, and the three girls hug each other and cry a bit.
Ebifurya shows up, and tells the girls that they should continue eating the sweets and transform into Scoopers. Rito and the others effectively tell him to shove it, and they smash the Amatsumara.
The girls go back to normal
Kotoko offers an explanation about the Amatsumara and products of their imagination, but Mari just decides it is best summed up as a miracle. Ebifurya is left confused as to why they would give up the power.
The episode ends there, and I quite enjoyed this one. Seeing how Rito, Mari and Kotoko first met definitely left me feeling good. That flashback was fairly adorable, I’d say.
Now we’ve finally seen the context for the first episode flash forward, and it turns out all that was really needed was a few memories.
No matter what, though, I am glad to see that Rito and the others are back to normal. Now, we just need it to be revealed that Sayumi from the previous episode was a fake, and the real one is still alive and well. If that happens, then I will be totally satisfied.
I’m interested in seeing where URAHARA will go from here on. Rito, Mari and Kotoko no longer have to worry about turning into Scoopers, but the Scoopers still remain a threat. The Harajuku bubble is still present as well, but perhaps that will begin disappearing now the Amatsumara have been destroyed.
What I would like to see happen most, though, is that fried shrimp getting his comeuppance. He made Rito, Mari and Kotoko suffer, and they definitely deserve to get their revenge.
Rory Muses 