Nothing much happens in Kaichou wa Maid-Sama 24. For the most part the show goes into a holding pattern and play with the characters a bit. Which is not to say it doesn’t have some good moments.
We get two little non-stories, the first involving Hinata helping Misa’s mother carry her persimmons home, much like Usui did episodes ago with some other fruit … apples, I think. It differs in that Hinata has known Misa’s family since childhood (which explains the bizarre game Hinata and Suzuna play above) so the conversation goes from “How you’ve grown!” to the more interesting comment that everyone could always read Hinata like a book. Again, nothing more happens except that we learn Hinata is looking for the cherry tree he fell out of long ago. This is the closest thing to a story the episode has. But it’s happy banter with several distinct personalities joining in. It passes the time.
The non-action moves to the cafe and its magical girl cosplay event. Few surprises here, though it does take me aback that Misa actually seems into the fun. She borrowed the anime and liked it. This takes out any possibility of what is a usually dependable source of conflict: her real self working against the maid-type she normally plays. But it doesn’t hurt the scene. Any conflict comes from the arrival first of Usui (pouting more than usual) and later Hinata.
The waitresses have been casting spells from the show as part of their schtick and it begins to bleed into the real situation. One of them tries casting a friend spell to limit the tenseness between the two. Hinata asks for a seeking spell so he can find that cherry tree. And there’s the truth spell, which comes later. Again, well and good, but it’s not really advancing the story. We just kick back and watch the silly situation and enjoy the well-timed banter.
When we do get a couple of pointed questions we don’t get any answers to them. The first, “Does Usui have any friends?” is emphasized as if it’s important but I don’t know why. The second, what does Usui mean to Misa?” is the more important one. It’s one that Misa has obviously been struggling with, but she’s been doing that for ages now. Late in the episode Usui himself asks her the same question. Sadly he has to put on his you’re-powerless-to-resist act when he does it. I find myself more and more disgusted with this act, possibly because there’s some truth to it. Never mind that it once again shows Usui as a spoiled selfish rich kid who always get what he wants, it also undermines the best thing in the show: Misa. Her strength, determination and righteous anger.
Sigh. Well, maybe they’ll find a plot next week.
Too Old for Anime 