Akane and Riho make their intentions for Hayato clear at the local bathhouse.
Episode 11 — “Fireworks of Love”
The Bathos Melodrama Meter!
The sequence of scenes in Goddess Café Terrace leading to the bathos anticlimax proves how much this story belongs in the seinen genre. The shounen genre would not treat literary references to the works of Natsume Souseki as readily available pop culture references for preteens. But high school graduates and young adults would have a passing knowledge of Souseki’s novels and poetry to recognize the subtext between Akane and Hayato during her late-night panty flash visit.
However, the concluding scene of Akane’s love declaration for Hayato ended with the Japanese doggerel pun for ducking out of a love confession. 月が綺麗ですね (tsuki ga kirei desu ne, the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?) is the cliché way in Japan of starting to say, “I love you (好き, suki)” then chickening out. Natsume Souseki is the apocryphal source of this saying. Akane and Hayato had a substantial buildup of emotion through literary references, then came to the anticlimactic phrase that had nothing to do with Souseki’s writings. That’s bathos in Goddess Café Terrace.
Protecting the Nest Points.
Riho scooped up all the points for protecting the Familia nest again. She asked for a Jacuzzi upgrade for the broken bathtub and better bidet functions on their toilet. Less humorously, she shared Hayato’s reasons for not starting a relationship during the year that he needed to shore up the Familia Café Terrace’s finances. Riho would make a good business partner for Hayato, at the least.
Grandma’s Little Girl Points.
Ouka scored the most points by acting as the annoying older sister to Hayato for the benefit of the other girls. Girls can’t walk home alone in the dark, even if it is a rural seaside village in Japan with zero crime. Kick! Also, she nagged Ami about rubber duckies and horseplay when, only a year prior, Ouka was the noisiest one in the public bathhouse after Broken Boiler ex Machina.
Shiragiku added to her tally here by knowing where to root through Grandma’s belongings for evidence of a past connection to Hayato.
Baka Charm Points.
Ami doesn’t even breathe hard to rack up the points in this category. From tracing naughty shapes with fireworks to polishing mud balls like a preschooler, Ami is the pure baka of Goddess Café Terrace. Even how she lacks knowledge of how a skinny guy like Hayato can be “big” in other ways shows her dominance. Ami is like a golden retriever who loves anyone who gives her food. Obviously, she won’t be a potential love partner to Hayato this season. But I am curious about what would affect her enough to discover a romantic interest in boys.
Hayato scored points here too. How? By assuming he was a ladies’ man!
Drunk Girl Points.
Only one Drunk Girl Point to award in this episode. Shiragiku got that point by bailing out of the hot bath first. Who knows what she might have confessed if she had stayed in there after getting dizzy?
Cool Charm Points.
Akane usually scores points with her calm, knowing demeanor. But she outdid herself by wrapping Hayato and Riho around her little finger. Hayato could have made Akane show her flustered, inexperienced facial expressions again if Hayato had been less of a grass-eater. What would have happened if Hayato had recited a couple lines from Akane’s love ballad? We’ll never know.
Heh.
Backyard fireworks for Goddess Café Terrace. Does that mean there is no summer festival fireworks show? Hayato feels nostalgic because fireworks had always signaled that summer was close to over. Poop! Double poop! Summer can’t be over already! Oho. Akane liked that soft smile on Hayato’s face. Did that spark another set of fireworks for night maneuvers?
Gah! Hayato still talks out loud to himself. Will he never learn that’s the source of all his problems in Goddess Café Terrace? See? Akane overheard him. She brings iced coffee to Hayato on a hot night. Are things about to get hotter? Akane noticed Hayato’s big, uh, collection of books. Hoo! Short skirts and low desks don’t mix well for decency. Akane’s finger rests on Hayato’s volumes of Natsume Souseki’s works, the alleged most invincible character in Bungo Stray Dogs!
Uh oh. Akane flirts heavily with Hayato in a roundabout way. She flashes her cleavage again, but it’s not a joke this time. This is how a Japanese literature nerd flirts. Oh, that Akane. She left things vague enough to tease Hayato into an admission. Like a true wishy-washy harem master, he punted his answer into the future. Ha! She got his goat with a “tsuki mo kirei da yo” love pun. That’s Akane’s official declaration of love. She struck first from the goddesses! Shiragiku should hurry up.
Bathhouse, not Fireworks Festival Episode
Ack. The infamous Broken Bathtub ex Machina device leads straight into the bathhouse episode for Goddess Café Terrace. Riho keeps trying to upgrade her nest. Let’s get a Jacuzzi! Then she negotiates down to a modern bidet. The girls remember the last time they came to the public bathhouse. Broken Boiler ex Machina. Aw. They miss Grandma. No rubber ducky in the bath! Bar soap shuriken revenge! Oh? The last time the girls went to the bathhouse, Ouka engaged in horseplay. She turned into a maternal nag in one year.
Yes. YES! Wagashiya Acchan is back with her razor-sharp abs! How is this lady not married yet? All right, all right! The boys have their share of bathhouse hijinks. Hayato is “big” in the ways that matter. Oh, Ami. Loch Ness Ami. Never change. Light bar censorship on Wagashiya! Boo! Things perk up on the girls’ side too. Wagashiya went straight for the kill shot of girl talk: who likes Hayato? At least three girls in Goddess Café Terrace know their hearts. Ouka has resisted Hayato’s brusque manly charm so far. Cough. That was hard to write. Ami loves anyone who gives her food! She’s a puppy dog! She loves Wagashiya Acchan too!
Look! The order of the girls succumbing to the heat of the bath tracks with how open they are about their feelings for Hayato. Shiragiku gave up first, then Riho. Akane can handle her burning love’s heat for Hayato! Riho is on the same page about postponing love until after the Familia Café Terrace is a healthy business. But the heart isn’t a rational muscle. Oh! Akane openly declared a love battle! Bare skin makes girls bare everything!
Riho and Starry Night
Coffee milk is a tradition! Because it happened that one time! No, Ami, that’s not how that works. Ouch! Ouka treats Hayato like her brother right now. Escort Riho to the grocery store, you heathen. Look at this starry night that Akane missed out on. Half-confessions for both Riho and Akane. She let her feelings out, but Hayato gave the same postponement excuse. Stringing them along like a prototypical harem master. Goddess Café Terrace paints within the lines for its narrative.
The raging fire of jealousy! We got catfights now! Oi, oi. Akane has the details wrong for a hostess bar. The guys can’t touch the girls, but it’s okay the other way around, except the girls aren’t allowed to touch Mr. Big. If you know what I mean. Akane wanted to rile Riho up. The catfight got so loud that the neighbors heard the hissing and yowling. It’s hard to be a ladies’ man, but Hayato doesn’t know anything about that yet. Yet! Ami will stop the fight with… polished mud balls. She’s a child. Good for Akane and Riho. Their intentions are out in the open. But things are clear as mud for “Mr. Ladies’ Man.”
Epilogue time for Goddess Café Terrace. What is Shiragiku looking for in Grandma’s drawers?
That’s the End?
Next time, Shiragiku and Hayato’s pasts are revealed! And she gets drunk again for the season finale.
Goddess Café Terrace (Megami no Café Terrace, The Café Terrace and its Goddesses) streams on Crunchyroll.
Are you still fired up after seeing all that wet, naked goodness in the public bathhouse? J-list and artist Mignon can help you keep the fire with this full-color book of wet tummies. Pick up Nure Onaka Omnibus — Wet Stomachs Collection today!
I feel baited and switched! The preview from last week and the episode title promised us fireworks. But there was less than a minute of actual fireworks! And it promised us details about Shiragiku, but her scene was even after the end credits! Still, I’m grateful Bathtub ex Machina supplied so much fanservice in a bathhouse episode. At this point, I want Hayato to end up with Wagashiya Acchan! Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.
