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And an absolutely lovely Valentine’s Day.

Impressions:

What a surprisingly good episode. Takeshi was certainly nowhere near strong enough to threaten Kaoru, but I think this is really the first time they’ve actually done a little Uncle Ben story. Great power and great responsibility etc etc. Alright, so… not quite the same thing as "stop scaring the crap out of people, you creep," but Takeshi pretty much immediately went the vigilante route and it entertained me to see Kaoru blast through his attacks like they were nothing. A little overwhelming force is good every now and then. It’s also a somewhat subtle nod to how far the girls have come from behaving pretty much the same way as Takeshi did in the first few episodes.

The little Valentine’s scene at the end was really nicely done too, and I hope is the end of Kaoru moping over Carrie. There wasn’t much of that this episode, but it was there and it really seems a bit out of place since Shiho and Aoi are clearly past it. I’m also wondering if they’re really going to be able to (or even try) to make an ending with any sort of closure here. I certainly wouldn’t mind more episodes, but the original run was definitely slated for 1 year and I haven’t seen any news about an extension as of yet. There are still two months to go, but we’ve got a hell of a lot of plot threads to wrap up here, not to mention that there are recurring characters who haven’t even gotten names yet. Silly nameless PANDRA antagonists.

Oh yeah, and they whipped out some totally new jazzy latinesque horn tune at around 15:00 in that I really dug. The soundtrack for this show has always been excellent, but 10 months in and I’d have thought we’d have heard it all by now. Definitely another pleasant surprise this week.

Brief Summary:

BABEL conducts a relatively routine ESP check on the elementary school and finds one new esper named Takeshi rated somewhere between 4 and 6. Minamoto sends the girls to befriend him (still pretending that they’re level 2s) and figure out what his powers are. While showing them off to him, his father walks in on them and Shiho mind reads that he’s the author of a very anti-esper book. Takeshi’s frustration results in his powers going a little berserk, but he quickly gets them under control and revels in them.

The first thing he does is attack a bully that’s picking on another kid, but he’s so drunk with his power that he terrifies the person he was supposed to be saving as well. The girls arrive to lecture him about it, but he turns on them and attacks. Kaoru easily brushes his attack aside and then reveal themselves to be BABEL’s elite squad. Still arrogant, Takeshi thinks that it’s amusing now and continues the attack, but Kaoru easily flies right through it and gets in his face.

Their conversation is interrupted by a nearby explosion on a bridge. The news reports it as an esper attack, but BABEL quickly deduces that the Normal People are behind it. Kaoru holds up the bridge, but the machinated carnage keeps getting worse. Commenting on it about the dangers of espers is Takeshi’s father. Takeshi’s had enough and uses his power to hold up the bridge so Kaoru can clear up the disaster. The camera shows Takeshi and his father is speechless. Meanwhile, Sakaki and a squadron of BABEL forces attack the Normal People’s base and arrest them.

In the aftermath, Takeshi’s father is forced to confront his son over his powers. The moment’s terse, but he then throws his book aside and stomps on it. He cries out how wrong he was and hugs Takeshi.

Later, his father recants on TV as the girls watch. Minamoto takes Kaoru’s hand and tells her it’s because family is more important, and they’re his precious family now. The girls give him their special home made Valentine Chocolate and group-glomp him. Sakaki, meanwhile, has somehow managed three overlapping dates who are now all pissed.

Preview:

A magical notebook appears.