Quick recap of ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’ Episode 9: Kihachi crashes the fancy ship party with Kengo’s help and hands over Seiroku’s Electrical Catalog to Yosuke. He does this so that Inako won’t have to marry anybody against her will, although Inako thinks that handing over the book means Kihachi is giving up on his dreams of an electrical age. The episode also features flashbacks showing how Yosuke met Seiroku on his first day as an undergrad and was completely in awe of the dashing young man.
Titled ‘Engagement Trouble’, episode 10 of Sparks of Tomorrow begins with an elated Yosuke analyzing Seiroku’s Electrical Catalog at his mansion. The wacko is determined to uncover a “secret” Seiroku once told him about and gets to work cracking a code he soon discovers.
The animation and background music during Yosuke’s scenes had me laughing throughout. When he retreats to his underground research room, the whole sequence is staged so dramatically that you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s disappeared into his private underground sex dungeon. Even the creepy steampunk-style Seiroku doll he keeps around makes another cameo.
Meanwhile, Inako continues to be upset over Kihachi’s decision to part with the Catalog, although the two friends soon make up. Instead, the youngsters find themselves caught up in a domestic crisis as trouble brews between Kengo and Noriko. Still burdened by guilt over Seiroku’s death, Kengo begins to believe he isn’t worthy of Noriko’s hand in marriage.
It does feel like the storytellers are dragging out Kengo’s guilt over Seiroku’s death at this point, and there’s little clarity about how Noriko actually feels. At least she’s a brave and supportive older sister to Inako, but when it comes to her own fiancé, we barely see the two interact. So you can’t even blame the bulky himbo Kengo for convincing himself that she has zero interest in him.
Episode 10 of Sparks of Tomorrow might not be as exciting as some of the earlier chapters, but Kihachi and Inako playing Cupid for Kengo and Noriko makes for some cute moments. Flashbacks take us back to the engaged pair’s childhood, revealing that poor Kengo has basically been crushing on Noriko forever.
The last few minutes pack in some funny twists before ending on a cliffhanger that makes one thing clear: Yosuke isn’t done meddling with Kihachi just yet!
Watch ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’ on Netflix.
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