Kami-sama no Memo-chou - Episode 6

More info on Minerva can be found here

Episode Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

Quite an interesting episode although it was quite heavy on dialogue. I'm still not sure whether to think of Renji as an antagonist or not. On one hand, he seems to be nice towards Narumi while, on the other hand, The Fourth and Alice describe him as some kind of savage human being. Overall, this episode was a good build-up to what looks to be an exciting episode next time as the two former friends go head to head. Hopefully, this is the start of a new beginning for the show as the past few episodes lead me to believe that this adaption was going to be another J.C. Staff fail.

It's quite the boring start but, picking up from where Narumi had just ran into Renji at the zoo, Renji starts telling Narumi his past. It turns out that his Kansai accent is just forced and that both his parents have passed away already, leaving him to be by himself, a situation similar to Narumi's where his mother is dead while his father rarely comes home. The two then continue to talk, this time about their relationship as friends. When Renji realizes that Narumi is serious about them being friends he decides that the two of them should partake in the sake ritual, using the fountain drinks that he bought earlier instead of sake and having a nearby polar bear as a witness. After successfully going through with the ritual, Renji thinks back to the last time that he was in Tokyo; the time where he made a really good friend with whom he eventually parted with due to some difficulties. Shortly after, Narumi's phone rings, reminding him that he needs to go to a meeting about a concert. As he walks there, he thinks back to how Renji was so desperate to stop him from going. It is not until he reaches the concert venue that he understood Renji's reaction. At the venue, a large fire had been started and the firefighters were just arriving to put it out. While he is still shocked, Alice, who's in the car that Hiro is driving, starts lecturing him about how he didn't pick up the phone when she called and how he didn't move away from the scene of the fire. She then gets all tsundere and informs Narumi that she only cared about his safety because she wanted the capybara plush she requested him to buy, only to end up having to watch in horror as he pulled out a weird-looking one. A phone call from The Fourth refocuses things as he reveals to Narumi that the guy who stole the Hirasaka Group's t-shirts has been apprehended. Despite The Fourth telling Narumi to back off from the business involving the Hirasaka Group, Narumi doesn't listen and ends up getting the chance to see the face of the culprit, who obviously didn't went crazy due to the fear of getting pummeled to death by The Fourth. It is implied that The Fourth severely beat the thief up, maybe even to death, since he approaches Narumi several hours later while wiping some blood off his hands. And then, the leader of the Hirasaka Group sets his sights on the one whom he believes is behind all this: Hirasaka Renji.

It turns out that The Fourth and Renji had created the Hirasaka Group when they were still friends. The group ended up being successful, allowing them to steal the turf of other gangs. But all that is in the past. If these two ruthless fighters were to go head to head, bloodshed is inevitable. And so, Alice convinces Narumi to talk about his meetings with Renji which in turn leads Narumi to tell this information to The Fourth as well. Upon hearing this, he is instantly filled with rage and starts to choke Narumi, demanding answers. Instead of giving one, Narumi inquires about their relationship and finds out that Renji had apparently broken a promise. Showing the t-shirt gave no extra information except the fact that the embroidery was done by a woman named Hison. And before he leaves, Narumi is warned by The Fourth to not go near Renji again. However, I believe that The Fourth didn't think Narumi would listen so he sent two bodyguards to look over Narumi and Ayaka as they continue to do their jobs advertising the band. Unfortunately, the two bodyguards are quite stupid and quickly lose track of the two teens who had just went inside an elevator. The decision to ditch the bodyguards turned out to be a bad idea as Narumi and Ayaka end up being captured in an alley by Hirasaka Group impostors. And just when Narumi was about to get his bones crushed by a deadly-looking metal rod, Tetsu, who was once a boxer, comes to save the day by beating the living daylights out of those thugs.

Back at Hanamaru, Narumi is obviously depressed about the fact that all this happened because he didn't listen to The Fourth's advice. As he wallows in his guilt at home while looking at his call history (which was filled with calls from Alice), he suddenly gets a call from an unknown number. Answering it, Narumi realizes that it's Renji on the other side. At the end of the conversation, the two decide to meet up once more so Narumi can return the t-shirt. After this, Narumi goes to Alice's room where she warns him about how cruel of a person Renji is, something that Narumi didn't seem to take seriously. Instead, he escalates things by informing Alice of his decision to meet up with Renji so he can return the t-shirt. Like always, Alice's fits of anger include throwing objects at a cowering Narumi but, this time, he firmly stops her, showing his determination to go see Renji again. This causes Alice to realize that Narumi will not budge so she decides to support him instead, letting him borrow her stuffed owl that will supposedly "protect him in battle". To top it all off, she even allows him to sleep on the same bed as her since he looked like he needed it. Despite her words, it is obvious that she cares for Narumi. The next day, following a change of plans, Narumi leaves the t-shirt with Alice and decides to go to see Renji so they could talk. When the two finally meet again, the episode ends, leaving viewers to wonder when the real action will begin. J.C. Staff, with the way this is going, I really hope you can pull this adaption off successfully...