Somebody, anybody, kill Mana. It’s just not funny. I’ll even pay to have it done! How Evil is Conception’s third episode?

Conception
Studio: GONZO
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Harem, Magic, Romance

If it isn’t clear, I have no love for this series yet I can’t bring myself to hate it entirely either. The concept, while a little suspect, is kind of cool when you think about it. The execution, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. And then we have Mana, who has never been funny and should just go away. I could actually halfway enjoy this series if not for Mana.

Anyway, the parts without that demented tanuki went pretty well. Starting with a hot spring visit… If you’ve seen enough hot springs episodes you probably got worried with just the mention of them. Well, I actually liked the way this part was handled. At first, I was ready to turn it off and tell my editor I wouldn’t do it (Voyager: Just a not. I would’ve laughed and told you otherwise anyway =P). But it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Mahiru prepared robes for just the occasion.

Of course, that rotten tanuki showed up just in time to make it wrong again. Oh, I almost forgot. After the labyrinth put Itsuki and the star children through hell, they went back and tried again only for it to happen a second time. Itsuki then gets told about a double love ritual. I don’t think I need to explain what that entails.

With the exception of the hot spring part, Itsuki spends most of the time looking for two maidens to perform the ritual with. There’s a problem with performing the ritual though. It’s only a legend. No one’s ever tried it before. So, naturally, Reone – the doctor from before – was curious about it. She even volunteered to be one of the maidens in the ritual. For science… or something.

With all of that coming together, Itsuki only needs to find another maiden to perform the ritual with. So he hits the town in search of one. He eventually stumbles into a local tavern to find one of the maidens – Farun – dancing to entertain the patrons. After talking for a bit, she reluctantly agrees to take part in the ritual and it’s off to the temple to produce some star children.

And they failed on the first attempt. Okay, I’m not sure it’s that hard to figure out. I mean he’s done this before twice so… Nevermind not going to go there. Itsuki got too excited or something during the first one so they tried a less racy version and it worked. This time they got two stronger star children from the ritual. And this time they successfully beat the first floor’s impurities. It does seem like there’s more to it though.

Overall, I’d say this episode is about as Evil as a Career Criminal (3). I think it’s safe to say this series isn’t getting any better. Soon the first culling will be upon us. If you’re looking for a good series check out my recaps for Voyager has a couple in Weekly Anime Redux. Well, that’s all I have for you today. Thanks for letting me waste your time, people.

Conception is on Crunchyroll.

Keep It Classy,
Evil Bob