03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof' episode 4
The new episode of
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof
is out, and it's turning expectations on their head again this time with a snarky and sarcastic deconstruction of yuri (girls' love) anime tropes.
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Far from letting up, the fourth episode of this dark comedy series continues to mix action, satire, and cringeworthy romance in a way that's uniquely its own to the spring 2024 anime season.
From deadly missions to domestic chaos
For new readers to the series, A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof is two females Konoha, a cold-blooded assassin, and Satoko, a ninja who has just escaped and is socially awkward under the same roof in modern-day Japan. What begins as a struggle to survive quickly becomes a strange comedy of daily life with ridiculous situations, suspenseful action, and powerful emotions no one saw coming.
Episode 4: Redefining the Yuri narrative
Episode 4 is all about a single theme: the blurring of work friendships and romantic feelings. The series has had constant nods to girls' love (naming them specifically like "Yuri") throughout, but this episode flat out displays those concepts and then deconstructs them for comedic effect.
Konoha and Satoko are partners because it is convenient for them. Satoko does the housework and helps clean up after surgeries, and Konoha guards her.
But Satoko feels that their relationship is deeper. She is beginning to feel that they might be more than partners, a budding friendship, or even love. And this is where the comedy gets intense.
Romance? Satoko just doesn't get it.
A lot of the comedy in the episode stems from Satoko being totally perplexed by love and relationships. Having just seen the loving couple Kuro and Yuri (yes, her actual name is "Yuri"), Satoko wants the same thing with Konoha. The catch? She doesn't understand the difference between being friends and being in love and neither does Konoha, as he considers her just a coworker and someone who lives with him.
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Elicit a series of
cringe-comedy moments
where Satoko tries to seduce Konoha by mimicking what she's seen, including the classic "cooking in an apron alone" cliché which, of course, goes horribly wrong.
Kuro and Yuri: Not exactly relationship goals
The latter part of the episode reveals to us the reality behind Kuro and Yuri, the yuri ideal couple. Reality is, however, they're a disaster. Kuro is not working, relies on Yuri financially, and gambles all day under the pretext that she is "job hunting."
Yuri, on the other hand, has had past relationships which were so unmemorable that even their names do not come to mind to her.
The series is a comedic and imperfect depiction of a yuri couple. It satirizes the overly ideal anime romance stories typically presented, introducing a dash of reality and a lot of humor to the equation.
