The previous episode of Kaiju Girl Caramelise ended with a bang, which gave me high hopes for a kaiju-centric follow-up. Sadly, this doesn’t feature a ton of kaiju action, but it is the most emotional and character-driven episode yet! Episode three primarily focuses on a single date between Akaishi and Minami, meaning the supporting cast is mostly left out this time, but they aren’t forgotten. While they don’t have a lot of screen time, they’re still important in moving the story.
The story begins with a brief Harugon attack, featuring the destruction of Akaishi’s high school and mass hysteria. Manatsu, our Kaiju fanatic and my favorite character, gets very little screen time, but the quality is top notch. She obsessively follows Harugon during the attack and when she’s dressing up Akaishi for her date, we see her room filled with Ultra kaiju plushies, such as a homage to Twintail, and random Kaiju DVDs. Additionally, for extra fanservice, Rodan and Gamera get a shout-out here! Manatsu even does Akaishi’s hair to give her pigtails like the aforementioned Twin Tails! When she helps Akaishi dress up for her date, she even puts the titular Kaiju girl in a Ghidorah style dragon costume. Seeing a room full of Kaiju goodness is such a fun nod for Kaiju fans watching the show. This is clearly a labor of love for Kaiju media and I can’t get enough of it. Manatsu helping Akaishi prepare for her date by giving her a pretty dress (and the earlier Ghidorah costume) while also doing her makeup emphasizes that you don’t have to be inherently masculine to like kaiju. It’s such a breath of fresh air to see a Kaiju fanatic be a girl that is very much so like the other girls. The focus here, however, is the date between Akaishi and Minami, but even with little screentime Manatsu got some quality content.
Minami invites Akaishi to a knock-off Disneyland called “Destinyland” to make their dreams come true. From here we get many wholesome moments between our protagonists as Akaishi’s guardian, Rinko, tries to intervene, with a slight tease that Akaishi doesn’t just “have an illness” as the show keeps insisting. Rinko establishes, in some exposition, that if this date goes wrong, it will be the most dangerous thing in the world. This is also featured in my favorite moment when Akaishi visualizes what happens if it all goes wrong and we get a brief but incredible moment of a Kaiju trashing Destinyland! The castle goes down, the military is in full force, and the most destruction the series has had to date is featured in this sequence.. Unfortunately, it’s just a “what if” scenario, but it’s fully animated and wonderful! Harugon moves like a rubber suited beast, and we see a military view point. We get to see a lot of the helicopters from the inside as they shoot and fail to take down the massive beast. The colors are toned down here allowing a darker and more intense sequence. Akaishi screaming replaces the kaiju’s roars, showing that she is in heightened emotions, and actually enjoying herself as she destroys the happiest place on earth. Finally Akaishi has a reality check and the rest of this date features her pushing Minami away. This sequence shows off the stakes of Akaishi’s emotions, if she lets her guard down people will die.
This episode’s climax is absolutely beautiful and genuinely gave me a couple tears. Akaishi is pushed to her limits and Minami is emotionally vulnerable to Akaishi, the music and colors emphasize emotion here, effectively. The music swells and while the animation stops moving to really let the audience sit with these emotions, the colors start to slowly get more vibrant. This sequence starts with despair and the realization that maybe Akaishi will reject her humanity. It is a heartbreaking sequence, and then something happens, maybe Destinyland is “where dreams come true” like the slogan says. Letting the audience sit and absorb these feelings works so well. I don’t want to spoil it, but the conclusion here is fantastic, though definitely not for the reasons a kaiju fan would want. It’s an emotional roller coaster for the final few minutes, but the Kaiju action takes a backseat. Episode three keeps the show at a consistent 8 out of 10, and with some subtle teases to lore, I can’t wait for the next chapter!
