This is a Territory for Children, Filled With Hopes and Dreams. For Children. That’s the Important Part!

Today was supposed to be my review of Cop Craft episode 6, but I couldn’t get the episode to load, so here we are. That review will be posted on Wednesday instead. So if you were hoping to find it here today, don’t worry, it’s coming.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the fifth episode of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? Okaa-san Online. Honestly, I don’t think there’s all that much to discuss regarding this episode.

We met some new characters who I’ll discuss, but other than that nothing of importance happened. So I’ll also be examining whether or not this episode counts as filler. And to spoil that, I’m leaning towards yes.

Finally, I’ll find something to go off on a tangent from because there needs to be something to make this review worth writing, and I don’t think the contents of the episode are enough. It’s a shame that this series has such dramatic highs and lows rather than being consistent across the episodes.

In Another [School] With My [Mom]

If there’s one thing In Another World With My Smartphone gave me, it’s an easily recyclable format for section titles. As the title implies, this week’s episode was a school episode, and of course, Mamako was present. And just from that sentence you can probably see why I think of this episode as filler.

I thought this anime was supposed to be about going on adventures with your mom so that the two of you can bond? What does going to school have to do with that? In fact, parents aren’t even supposed to be in the school, so how does this further the bond between mother and child?

However, I will forgive this episode’s random school setting at least partially because it gave Mamako an excuse to wear the school uniform teased in the previous episode. If she bought this outfit, does that mean she also purchased the other outfits we saw her try on? Maybe we’ll see those again in the future.

But let’s be honest, there was absolutely no reason for there to be a random school episode in this series. My guess is that it was supposed to be funny, but I don’t believe any of us in the group I watched with were laughing.

Medhi & Medhimama

The only good things to come out of this episode were Medhi and her mom, Medhimama. And before I actually discuss these two characters themselves, let’s dive into their names, because I refuse to believe that Medhimama is the real name of Medhi’s mom.

Up until this point I assumed that everyone was using their actual names (except Wise apparently). Mamako goes by Mamako and Masato goes by Masato after all. However, I guess Porta actually picked that username to reference the fact that she’s a porter. I thought it was supposed to be a tongue in cheek “coincidence” on the author’s part.

As for Wise, even after it was revealed that her real name is Genya, I didn’t suspect that other characters weren’t using their real names as well. It made sense to me for her to go by another name. First of all the name Genya is gross, and second, calling herself “Wise” is totally a classic Wise move.

So what about Medhi? We can assume Medhimama isn’t her mom’s real name, but is Medhi her real name? If it’s not, I don’t know what it’s supposed to be referencing. Wise’s name references how much of a prodigy she thinks the is, and Porta’s references her class. I have no idea what Medhi means unless it’s supposed to be like the word “medic.”

And that’s a good transition into the character discussion. If Medhi’s name is a reference to the word medic, then it makes sense since she’s a healer. A healer is something Masato’s party desperately needs. So far there are two swordsmen, an offensive mage, and a porter.

Also Medhimama is a support sorceress. While Wise seems to focus more on offensive spells, Medhimama has only been shown to cast debuffs on those around her.

Was that a Filler Episode?

So was this episode a filler? As mentioned back at the start, I would say yes. However, even though the plot wasn’t furthered and nothing of great importance happened, we were introduced to two new characters. And, one of those characters, Medhi, is going to be joining our party at some point.

With that said, I don’t think we needed this entire, mostly pointless episode to introduce Medhi and her mom. Just from our initial interaction with them it was clear what their characters were like. Medhi is a wholesome, beautiful girl, and her mom is completely obsessed with her and thinks her daughter is better than everyone else.

But, I don’t think that’s actually Medhi’s true personality. This wasn’t revealed in the episode, but in the ED we see Medhi acting a bit more mischievous and ganging up on Masato with Wise. So I guess you could say this episode served to set up our expectations of Medhi so they can be crushed when her true nature is eventually revealed.

Conclusion

What did you think of this week’s episode of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? Did you like the more filler-like nature of this episode? Or did you think it was a waste of time? Let me know in the comments as well as where you would rank Medhi compared to Wise and Porta so far.

If you enjoyed this review, or even powered through it, click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any upcoming content (like the Cop Craft episode 6 review which was supposed to be today).

Finally I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog and the benefits you’ll receive for doing so, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

This is my final episodic review for this series, but you can read my review of the series as a whole here.

Kids Are Kids and Parents Are Parents (but Also Human Beings), and It Takes All Kinds, but They Get Through It Together, Right?

Is it just me, or are the episode titles actually getting longer? By the end of this series I think the episode title itself will be the entire review. And I refuse to believe that the author, or whoever else titles the anime episodes, isn’t doing this on purpose to make fun of the fact that light novels are infamous for long titles which serve as summaries.

Oh, by the way, I looked it up and this actually is the longest episode title we’ve had so far.

So in this episode we get the battle between our party of heroes and Wise’s mom, also known as the Empress of Night. However, the fight itself isn’t really anything special. While there are some pretty well-animated effects used later on, it’s still a J.C.Staff anime so don’t expect any crazy movement.

I’m not saying that great animation would necessarily make this series any better, I think I would still have it rated as 6/10 right now, but it wouldn’t hurt. And this brings us to my main takeaway from this series so far which is that the characters are great, but nothing else is.

Just imagine if we had this same cast of characters, but put into situations that actually exemplify their traits. I touched on this last week so I’m not going to go into it again in depth, but I think that point is still as relevant this week as it was last.

Genya and Kazuno

Unfortunately, this week it was revealed that Wise’s name is actually Genya. I say unfortunately because that’s a pretty gross name if I do say so myself. Sure, Wise isn’t exactly a great name either, but at least it’s not Genya. I’m sorry if your name is Genya.

We also find out that her mother’s name is Kazuno, though that’s not as important. What’s important about Kazuno is that she’s apparently a cheater who has been exploiting bugs in the game ever since she first entered it. Is this game live without an anti-cheat system or is this still the beta?

It turns out that, while Wise isn’t exactly the most charming young woman (unless you’re into being stepped on), she’s actually not the problem when it comes to her relationship with her mom. She explained this in the previous episode, but now it’s been confirmed that her mother is actually the one who causes all of their problems.

Kazuno claims not to care about her daughter and even goes so far as to say that she actively gets in the way of her having fun. Needless to say, Mamako doesn’t appreciate this sentiment and takes it upon herself to strike down Kazuno. But this is easier said than done.

Isekai Cheat Okaa-san

Remember how I said that Kazuno was exploiting bugs in the game? Well it turns out that she actually somehow acquired administrator permissions which grant her access to unreleased items, abilities, areas, and the game’s code itself. If there’s something she wants, she can make it happen.

This seems to explain how she has a group of shirtless men carrying her around and physically being her throne. These are NPCs whose coding she has overwritten to do her bidding. Who could have guessed that Wise’s mom was a CS major?

But she doesn’t only user her administrator privileges to force NPCs to be her personal hunks. Like I said, she also has access to special items, abilities, and locations. In particular, we see her create a sort of pocket dimension in which she is the absolute ruler. This was reminiscent of Kaguya using alternate dimensions towards the end of Naruto Shippūden.

However, even this is no match for the power of Mamako. That said, Mamako was outside the pocket dimension and shattered it from that side. Who knows if she would have been able to do the same from within it where Kazuno reigns supreme.

Onward to more Adventures

After the battle against Kazuno concludes, Kazuno and Wise get into a verbal altercation in which they both throw personal insults at each other. It turns out that this is all that’s necessary to “beat” Okaa-san Online.

Although they haven’t exactly made up, I guess by showing that they know each other well enough to know which insults will sting the most counts as some form of bonding. And with that, Kazuno is able to log out of Okaa-san Online, never to be seen again (probably).

Luckily for us, although she has now technically completed the game, Wise chooses to stay within Okaa-san Online as a permanent member of Mamako and Masato’s party. And in classic young, male protagonist fashion, Masato doesn’t seem to realize that she’s doing so because she has a crush on him.

While I’m glad that Wise isn’t going anywhere because she’s my favorite character of the series, this also opens up the question of what happened to Porta’s mom. I assume we’re going to get a Porta arc at some point, but based on how she acts I can’t understand why she would have had a falling out with her mother.

With Wise it was easy to see how she could be a rebellious teenager (though that turned out not to really be the case), but the same isn’t true for Porta. However, I think we’ll have to wait a bit longer to get Porta’s arc.

In the next episode we’ll be introduced to another new party member, the blue-haired girl seen in the OP/ED, and it looks like her mother is introduced as well. Will they be getting an arc before Porta does? If so, there must be some twist involving Porta which is being saved for later.

Conclusion

What did you think about the conclusion to Wise’s arc? Personally, I didn’t find Kazuno to be a very compelling antagonist, and like I’ve said before, I don’t really think this series needs antagonists. Also, what do you think happened between Porta and her mother to cause them to split? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. And follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. I tweet out every time a new post goes live, so it’s the best way to stay up to date.

I also have a Discord server where you can discuss past and present anime with myself and other members of the community. We even have community anime nights during which we watch anime together. This season we’re watching both Okaa-san Online and How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?

Finally I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog and the benefits you’ll receive for doing so, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Underwear is Armor. Make Sure It’s High in Defense. Otherwise, My Son Might Die!

Episode 3 of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? (Okaa-san Online) wasn’t quite as good as the previous episode. After all, there was only one Wise panty-shot compared to eight featured in episode 2. I was really hoping this would be one of her running gags since it was so overplayed early on.

But what really made this episode worse was the lack of any meaningful content other than the setup for the first antagonist of the series. While you might think what I mean by that is simply that the episode was slow, that’s not exactly the case. I’ll explain more about what I mean as we make our way through this review.

The episode starts off with our party of heroes getting fitted with some sweet, new armor. In particular, Mamako tries on a few sets — one of which is pictured below — which Masato doesn’t seem to appreciate as much as the viewers.

In the end, Mamako settles on the less provocative set we see her wearing on the anime cover art and in most promotional material. Basically it’s just elbow pads. I’m sure Porta also got a somewhat different outfit, but I honestly couldn’t tell, so maybe she didn’t.

As for Wise and Masato, they’re now matching (cute), though Wise’s outfit is red while Masato’s is blue. At least, I’m pretty sure they weren’t matching before now. I’d have to go back and check, but I refuse to do that so just take my word that they weren’t matching before.

This is the first piece of “meaningless content” in the episode I was referring to. Did it really add anything?

Hot Springs Adventure!

I’m sure I’ve said this many times before, but a good comedy anime is achieved when characters with good chemistry are thrown into unforeseen, yet “realistic” scenarios. KonoSuba is my go-to pick to illustrate this idea, and since Okaa-san Online is also an isekai, it works even better as a parallel.

Sure, the scenes of Mamako trying on armor may have been a bit funny in the moment, but think of them in the long run. Did that really add anything to the series other than being a one-off gag? The answer is, probably not. But one instance of this happening isn’t enough for me to say an episode wasn’t all that good.

Next our heroes go to a hot spring, because why not? This is where my parallel to KonoSuba comes in. Sure, KonoSuba puts our band of misfits into a wide variety of crazy scenarios, but they all make sense within the world the series sets up from the start.

In KonoSuba they go to a hot springs town, but not “just because hot springs episode.” I mean, I’m sure that was the reason it was put into the series, but Kazuma and his party actually have a reason for going there which is laid out beforehand. They don’t simply find themselves there.

Further, the fact that the characters are at a hot spring isn’t the sole gag of their trip in KonoSuba. Other things happen! The same can’t really be said for Okaa-san Online. In this series, nearly everything that happens at the hot spring is directly related to the fact that our characters are at a hot spring together.

It even included mixed bathing, though there wasn’t nearly enough good content of Wise in the hot spring.

Empress of Night

So after all the hot springs shenanigans go down, we learn a bit more about a shadowy enemy who was previously mentioned by the mayor of the town, the Empress of Night. From her very first response to hearing this name, it was obvious that Wise was somehow connected — and by somehow, I mean it’s her mother.

From Wise we learn that her parents got a divorce when she was younger, and only recently did her mother come back and try to make amends with Wise. The pair then opted into the MMMMMORPG in which our heroes are stuck. And that’s when the problems started again.

Once Wise’s mother realized that she was powerful and could make men bend to her will, she tossed aside any thought of making up with Wise. After all, why should she make up with her daughter and be sent back out of the game when this world is perfect for her?

And this is the final thing I’ll complain about in this episode. I get that antagonists are going to exist, and I’m not saying that antagonists in general are bad. However, I don’t think serious antagonists are something that comedy series like this one really need.

The draw of a series like this is, in fact, the comedy, not the overall story. So by adding in more serious antagonists, you’re just taking away from the highlight of the series. But, perhaps the Empress of Night won’t actually be a serious antagonist. Perhaps all my worrying is for naught.

After all, I did think pretty poorly of this series after the first episode, but quickly turned around my opinion of it after episode 2.

Conclusion

What did you think of episode 3 of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? Did you think this episode was better than the previous one? Was it worse? Was Porta sitting on Wise’s lap the highlight of the episode? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any upcoming content. And, there’s a Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with myself and other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month, as well as Rob Wright and Keyboard Kadabra for supporting at the Kouhai tier. To learn more about how you too can support this blog and the benefits you’ll receive for doing so, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

It’s Just a Coincidence They’re All Girls. Got That? Wipe That Smirk Off Your Face.

In my review of the first episode of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? I made the bold claim that this series didn’t have anything that truly set it apart from other isekai series. I’ll be the first to admit that I may have jumped the gun with that assumption.

While I stand by my criticisms of the first episode, the second episode opened my eyes to the possibilities that lie ahead for this series. And to explain what I mean, I’ll be using One Punch Man as a parallel. If you’re concerned about general OPM season 2 spoilers, just skip down to the final paragraph of this section.

OPM season 1 was all about Saitama and the comedy surrounding his immense power. That’s almost how I assumed Okaa-san Online was going to be. And because I assumed that, I was severely disappointed when it turned out that Mamako doesn’t really play that same role.

Instead, Okaa-san Online seems to be much more like OPM season 2, in which Saitama is still around and overpowered, but is no longer the focus. Instead of the series following Saitama or Mamako, they’re all-powerful beings who exist off to the side which we can compare all the other characters to.

And this is why episode 1 of Okaa-san Online didn’t have much of an impact; the other characters who are to be compared against Mamako didn’t yet exist. Episode 2 solves this problem with the introduction of two, dare I say great, characters: Porta and Wise.

Porta the Porter

I wasn’t sure how to feel about Porta when she was first introduced, but I warmed up to her over the course of the episode. She’s the cute, wholesome girl who’s likely to be the fan favorite despite not actually being the best girl. You know, like how everyone loved Rem even though Betty exists and is clearly better.

But just because I don’t think Porta is going to be the best girl doesn’t mean she’s not a good character so far. She’s definitely cute, and that seems to be her whole purpose. She’s the cute girl who the other party members view as a daughter, little sister, or pet.

Porta was the first adventurer who applied to join Masato and Mamako’s party and was accepted. Mamako rejected all of the previous applicants for various reasons, mainly because she viewed their classes or unique skills to be too violent or criminal.

However, Porta doesn’t have that problem. Her class is that of a merchant, a respectable job, and she’s registered as a non-combatant. While this means Porta is unable to help during fights, it also means that she gets the Mamako seal of approval.

And it’s not like Porta is entirely useless either; she’s a support character. Her bag can carry 300 items of any size and weight, she can appraise and create items, and she can get discounts at various inns and shops. As Mamako says, she’s a walking discount coupon.

Wise the Face-Stepper

Now we get to the true best girl, Wise. Wise is a mage who seems to be fairly competent when her magic isn’t being sealed by slime monsters. We see her use a variety of spells such as attacks, teleportation, and transformation, so it’s clear that she’ll be useful to the party.

But what makes her the best girl is that she’s a sadistic tsundere who’s both aggressive and cute at the same time. Honestly, if you don’t want Wise to look down on you with a smug expression while also stepping on you, I don’t think you and I can be friends.

She’s smart, funny, cute, dominating, and arrogant. What more could you want from a best girl? It’s possible that the third and final(?) girl to be joining the party could be better than Wise, but I think that’s extremely unlikely. She’s kind of like if you were to mix Rin and Luvia from Fate.

Also I kept a counter of how many times we got Wise panty shots and by the end of episode 2 there were eight of them (not counting every time we saw them while she was flipping when falling from the sky). I think I’ve seen enough ecchi trash anime to know that’s also a sign of best girl.

Mom’s Massively Maternal Multiplayer Making-Up-With-Offspring Role-Playing Game

Wise is also the one to inform us, and Masato, that the game they’re in isn’t just any MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game). It’s actually an MMMMMRPG (Mom’s Massively Maternal Multiplayer Making-Up-With-Offspring Role-Playing Game).

But what does that mean for our heroes? For starters, it explains why Mamako was sent into the game world along with Masato. The purpose of this game is to create an environment where mothers and their children can learn to work together and get along. And, our main duo weren’t the only pair sent here.

Both Wise and Porta were also sent into this game world with their mothers. I don’t believe we know how Porta came to be separated from her mom just yet, but Wise apparently ditched her mom because she got on her nerves. Classic Wise move.

As for why the genre of game matters, there’s a win condition which needs to be achieved in order to escape from the game world. The mother and child must make up and learn to get along with each other. While this is currently achievable for Masato and Mamako, Porta and Wise are currently separated from their own mothers.

And since we don’t yet know why or how Porta was separated from her mom, there isn’t much to say about why she joined up with Masato and Mamako. Perhaps she didn’t mean to get separated and hopes that by joining them she’ll be reunited with her mom.

As for Wise, we know exactly why she joined their party. Wise hoped that Mamako would adopt her so that she could fulfill the completion requirement without needing to make up with her own mom. Again, classic Wise move.

Conclusion

Have you watched the second episode of Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? If so, what did you think of it compared to the first episode? Did you like it more as I did? Or are you one of those people who thinks Wise’s panty shots ruined the integrity of the series? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content or schedule changes. My review of the next episode should be back on Tuesday rather than Wednesday.

Finally I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.