Itoshiki boldly proclaims that he will go missing during the summer break. As he marches out, it seems that Kafuka has a slight cold. She visits the local clinic for a check-up and discovers that the doctor there is in fact Mikoto Itoshiki, Nozomu’s older brother. She puts the characters in his name together to find out that his name means Dr. Death (Zetsumei-sensei), sending him into a fit. After calming down, Mikoto asks why Kafuka has come to the clinic, and it seems that the cold has passed. She happily skips away, further aggravating him.

She runs into Chiri-chan on the street who reveals a note from Itoshiki-sensei that he has seriously gone missing. Kafuka decides that no one she knows could ever go missing and that he has simply returned to his hometown. The two go back to the clinic to ask about their teacher’s whereabouts. Mikoto tells them that his younger brother has returned home to deal with his arranged marriage interviews.

Fate gathers all of the girls together at the train station as they begin their quest to find Spock Itoshiki-sensei. As soon as the girls disembark at Itoshiki’s hometown they are quickly greeted by the Itoshiki family’s butler, Tokita, who is there at the request of Dr. Death. To their surprise, they see their teacher walking by the side of the road in very casual summer attire.

Back at the Itoshiki mansion the girls learn about the Itoshiki family tree. They meet his younger sister Rin, who as per the quota goes ballistic once the girls analyze the meaning of her name. Chiri inquires about the arranged marriage, and Tokita obliges by revealing the true nature of the matter. From midnight to noon, he will be forced to marry anyone who he makes eye contact with. The girls also find out that they will also be participating in the marriage ritual.

As the ritual begins, Itoshiki masterfully avoids making eye contact with everyone that gets in his way. His luck runs out when he runs into a multi-eyed monster but it is voided because it’s a monster after all. The marriage ritual ends with Itoshiki coming out unscathed and everyone takes the train back to the city together.

All of those movie reference cuts really eluded me. While this wasn’t Sayonara’s funniest episode it was still good. Itoshiki seems to take great pride in his repertoire of useless skills like avoiding eye contact with people. Coming soon to a blog near you, the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei episode 7 write-up.

The episode begins with a flashback to 20 years ago with a group of military officials looking at what appears to be Pluto’s destruction by the asteroid-like Thanatos. Back in the present, Jin wakes up in a strange bed in an unfamiliar place. He recalls parting with Toa who tells him to meet her at the lighthouse before disappearing on him. Shortly afterwards a short, blond girl steps out of a car and asks Jin to come with her. An old man appears behind Jin and renders him unconscious with a strange power.
Jin gets out of the bed and attempts to open the door but it is locked. He then approaches a security camera and demands some answers from his captors. A girl’s voice tells him that he has been brought to the ISDA for questioning about the shuttle accident two years ago.

Meanwhile, Kazuki is seen talking to a comatose man in a giant tank that is presumed to be a dragon at this point. The man’s serial code is G-10, but Kazuki has mistaken the name and instead calls him Gio. Jin has been brought before the higher ups in the ISDA who tell him that the shuttle accident was not due to an error on the part of Jin’s father. The real explanation is that an extraterrestrial, a dragon, fell from Thanatos and destroyed the shuttle. Jin asks that the ISDA release this real information when a man introducing himself as Liner Cromwell retorts about the implications that would arise from the revelation of alien life forms. The commander offers Kazuki a position in the ISDA. Just as Jin begins to barge out, Kazuki comes in and they meet again.

Jin is told that he will be staying with the ISDA for a while as he and Kazuki are being driven away in a car. Kazuki reminds Jin of the promise they made to go into space together as kids. We cut away again to see the ISDA officers talking in private, revealing that they only want Jin to become a Dragonaut so they can monitor when he comes into contact with the Alwurm and the mysterious Toa, as they intend to capture her.

Jin now in his provided room is still thinking about the truth of the accident and becomes flustered at the ISDA’s selfishness. He suddenly remembers Toa and the commitment to meet at the lighthouse, which is coincidentally right outside his window. As Jin leaves the building, he is being monitored very closely. Toa soon shows up at the lighthouse and they share various things and become closer. All the while the ISDA continues to monitor the two of them. Toa destroys the security camera in the lighthouse with a telekinetic power; The ISDA quickly moves to close in on them. The Lindwurm unit and its communicators are sent in to capture the pair as they flee.

Jin is totally unaware of the situation as he and Toa are surrounded by armed guards. Toa picks Jin up and runs away, but she is attacked by the communicators who demonstrate powers very similar to her own. She is forced to hide him while she acts as a diversion to draw the enemy away, but she is quickly overwhelmed by the four communicators. Jin is confronted by Kazuki as he follows the battle. Kazuki again insists Jin to join the ISDA and points a gun at his friend. Another ISDA member fires a round at Jin, but Toa takes the hit as she leaps away carrying him. The berserk communicator from episode 1, now revealed as Spirytus loses control and transforms into his dragon form. Spirytus’ unstable master is eaten by the dragon and it goes fully berserk. Spirytus chases Toa and Jin into the city. Toa, realizing the predicament they are in, vows to protect Jin and transforms into a dragon to go into battle.

Thoughts: I really like the direction the show is going. The characters are interesting so far, and I like the Mai Hime premise that it has with the dragons. The CG integrates itself pretty well into the animation. Just what are the ISDA and the Alwurm? Why is Jin so important? I’m eagerly looking forward to the next episode.