What’s the show? Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Episode 5.
Let me guess, another hot springs episode? Funnily enough I don’t think there’s any actual hot springs action this episode, mentions of it obviously but no actual bathing scenes—I guess even an ecchi anime set in a hot springs has to show some restraint!
Well I am surprised! So what happens in this episode? I kind of adored the first half of this episode—it was genuinely touching! Chisaki wants to get to know Yuuna better, I mean she wants to be friends with her, obviously as does Yuuna with Chisaki! But there’s one pretty big obstacle standing in the way of their budding friendship—Chisaki can’t see or hear Yuuna, like at all—she is a ghost after all! And rather than rely on Kogarashi to act as a communicator Yuuna decides it’s better if their communication goes the way of ‘pen pals’, or rather Yuuna writes down her questions and answers and Chisaki talks out-loud as if she was having a normal conversation.
So Yuuna can interact with objects just not people? Well that’s not true either, Yunna can touch people and too she can be touched and does so here allowing Chisaki to touch her face and body so Chisaki can get a better idea of what Yuuna looks like. The scenes between them are so sweet as they get to be better friends despite the immense challenge of one of the people being an invisible ghost. It’s almost like a relationship forming between an able bodied person and a blind and deaf person—or something more relatable, like an Internet relationship.
How is it like an Internet relationship? Well at least from Chisaki’s point of view the correspondence is entirely text-based, no emotion, no tone, no body language and yet they become such good friends in such a short of time. And might I also add that I’m glad they didn’t go with the whole Chisaki being jealous that Yuuna lives in the same room as Kogarashi at the inn and make them rivals. Yuuna needs and deserves more friends her own age and in Chisaki she’s found a real keeper.
Well this sounds very wholesome indeed! Oh and Yuuna strips Chisaki down to her underwear to get a better look at the school uniform so she can replicate it for herself to wear then Chisaki feels up Yuuna and the two end up getting spooked by Kogarashi and end up entangled together on the floor.
Of course they do… *sigh* I don’t know why I thought this show could be wholesome and not perverted. It can and is both simultaneously! Even the irlwaifu was surprised how endearing and sincere it was before switching gears into full-blown ecchi shenanigans.
So what happens in the other half of the episode? It’s Nonko’s time for some character development! We learn that the alcohol loving ogre is actually a mangaka and she’s could a strict deadline for her next volume, so her editor comes by and with the help of Kogarashi the three work hard to complete the manga for the deadline with no fuss and not a single perverted diversion!
Now I know that you’re lying… Okay fine, so in order to “help out” with a panel where the female protagonist of the manga is being ‘assaulted’ by an aggressive male, they dress up and have the editor take reference photos while Kogarashi pretends to ‘assault’ Nonko—which is basically just her excuse for the two of them two engage in some risqué foreplay while documenting it on camera. From a harem perspective she’s strictly having fun with him, especially considering he’s much younger than she is (probably by about 6 years or so).
And is it a good segment? Well it’s nowhere near as good as the first half but it’s still a lot of fun—reminded me fondly of Comic Girls what with all the late-night scrambling to finish a manga before a looming deadline. Though I did appreciate that they gave Nonko a bit of back-story with regard to her pre-mangaka days when she was a yokai hunter for a powerful family but quit after realising she wanted more from life. It was a nice scene that helped ground her as a real person (or ogre) and prevented her from becoming a one-note character. And that’s kinda the best thing about this show, that regardless of how fan service-y it gets it still always gets the characterisation spot-on and makes this more than just ‘harem shenanigans’ for the sake of it.
Previous Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs Reviews:
Putting The Bust In Ghostbusting – Episode 1 Review
Supernatural Ping Pong Girls – Episode 2 Review
Attack of the Perverted Plushies – Episode 3 Review
More Fish For The Cat God – Episode 4 Review
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Anime QandA 
I think it’s kinda funny how they Gary Stu Kogarashi in all of these things by having him be possessed by various ghosts. And I think they should make Nonko be way older than Kogarashi, same as the landlady/owner, because why not? Ogre-Human gap is a way more important thing to cross than age gap. Plus, I kinda get a little annoyed when everyone is under age 25. Get some older characters in shows!
I do like how Chisaki basically doesn’t ever hold what happens against Kogarashi. She’s the one who got in the situation with Yuuna.
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Haha yeah I feel like this show is at least a bit more self-aware (maybe) about what it is. Or at the very least is aware of the genre tropes and doesn’t lean on them too hard. But yeah hard to disagree about needing more older women in these types of shows, but then again I guess that comes with us being older than the target audience…
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