Otaku and Occult (episode)

Otaku and Occult (オタクトオカルト, Otaku to okaruto) is the 21st episode of the Sket Dance anime.

Summary
Himeko and Bossun run into each other over the weekend, and notice Switch meeting up with the occult-obsessed Reiko... Thinking the two might be secretly dating, they follow them, but Switch is actually just helping Reiko to buy a computer so she can set up her own webpage. But when Reiko runs into an old crush from middle school, will her true colors finally show?

Plot
Switch tells Reiko that she will need a good computer with a 500 GB hard drive. Bossun appears, and when he asks Switch who was here, Switch replies that he is helping Reiko. Outside of the mall, Bossun bumps into Hime, and the two get into an argument over who should go home. Suddenly, Bossun points to Reiko who is walking to Switch. Bossun and Hime follow Switch when they get suspicious if the two are dating. Bossun gets a wild imagination about them investigating a well. (reference to the ring). In front of the elevator Reiko argues about the lack of dreams that Switch has which the two get into an argument over their beliefs.

When the crowd starts to laugh, Switch and Reiko take the escalator. Over at the computers, Switch tells her that they should check the prices to shop around for the best deal. He asks her why she wants to build a website. She replies that she wants to upload occult videos and to showcase occult things. Switch says that she will need a notebook. As Reiko thanks Switch, Switch says that he is helping to complete her request because he is a Sket Dan member.

Bossun and Hime realize that Switch is helping her, but Bossun wonders if Switch is teasing her or helping her. A make up lady asks Reiko if she wants to try make up, and Reiko scares her away. Switch tells Reiko that she should use make up since at her age, she should interested in boys much to Bossun and Hime's annoyance.

Yet, when Reiko disapproves because it is not fate, Switch responds that Reiko is telling herself that she cannot get love. Reiko gets gloomy and tells him that it is not his business. Switch explains how make up can make the bags under eye disappear which disgusts Hime. Reiko thinks Switch is in love with her, but Switch denies it. Switch reveals that his friends are following him to Reiko, and he urges Reiko to run. They successively ditch Bossun and Hime. Shinzo finds Bossun and Hime, and he reveals that he has a job of cutting up fishes to make enough money to buy an updated cell phone, a smartphone. When Bossun says that they are looking for someone, Shinzo gives them a handout that will lead to the captain.

Hime and Bossun bump into Chiaki's brother, and they learn that fact when he picks up the Pelolin doll that resembles his mother. Chiaki arrives to find her two friends, and she explains that she is taking her brother to a Pelolin show. When Pelolin mascot wants to give handshakes, Chiaki's brother has her shake hands with the giant mascot. Hime expresses her delight by smacking Bossun's back repeatedly. Switch and Reiko actually spy on Hime and Bossun, and as they turn back, they bump into Kobayashi, a former, middle school student of Reiko's. Kobayashi insults Reiko for staying the same, scary girl and thinks Switch is her boyfriend. He apologizes for turning down Reiko and tells her to look cooler before he leaves Reiko.

Later, Reiko explains to Switch that she wanted to fall in love (to fit in with the girls), so she confesses to Kobayashi, a popular guy. Switch takes Reiko's hand and makes her get a make up. In front of a fountain, a girl with brunette hair waits for someone, and Kobayashi tries to flirt with her. When Reiko replies that she is waiting for someone, Switch appears and explains to Kobayashi that this Reiko. As Switch tells him how he improve her looks, Reiko curses Kobayashi to fall into the fountain when Kobayashi attmpts to ask her out. Bossun and Hime observe the whole event, and Hime and Bossun go out to eat. Meanwhile, Reiko thinks she likes wearing makeup, but Switch tells her that he likes her occult looks. Reiko thinks Switch is implying that she is not a normal girl. Somehow, Switch states that he is not a normal guy. Switch tells her that he will not help her tomorrow because his body reeks of the occult. When Switch tells her that the computer will push her to the science, Reiko states to drag him into the occult.

Gallery
Check out the episode's image gallery!

Cast & Credits

 * Hiroyuki Yoshino: Bossun
 * Ryōko Shiraishi: Himeko
 * Tomokazu Sugita: Switch
 * Nobuyuki Hiyama: Reiko Yūki
 * Noriaki Sugiyama: Kobayashi
 * Satomi Satō: Chiaki Takahashi
 * Megumi Takamoto: Mimori Unyū
 * Yū Kobayashi: Daisy
 * Ai Kayano: Roman Saotome
 * Kaori Nazuka: Kaoru Yagi
 * Kenta Miyake: Shinzō Takemitsu
 * Mika Teratani: Chiaki's Brother

Trivia
Switch narrates and host a Shiriitori with the girls on the beach. Hime freaks out. The theme is words that have to do with summer. If the word ends in "n," the player is out.
 * Daisy - UOA stands for "I swam in the ocean and my legs are tired!" (Umi de Oyoide AshitsuRE)
 * Yagi - "ReimeN" means chilled noodles. Yet, Hime makes her change the word to "Reisei soBA" stands for "cooled buckwheat noodles."
 * Mimori Unyuu - "Basuto hachijuukyuu senchi, kappu wa JI" stands for "Bust: 89 centimeters. Cup size: G."
 * Kibitsu Momoka - "Jiyuu wo motomete, Maji sanjoU!" stands for "Seeking freedom, Maji is here!"
 * Chiaki - "UchiWA" stands for "hand fan."
 * Roman Saotome - "...tsukamaeru no wa da-a-RE" stands for "Who'll be the one to catch me?"
 * Hime - "ReimeN" stands for "cold noodles."

Manga & Anime Differences

 * Shinzō, Chiaki, and Chiaki's little brother did not appear in the Otaku and Occult chapter.
 * Change in Events: In the manga, there is no make up lady, and Switch talks about make up after taking the escalator with Reiko then they arrive to the laptops area. Compared to the anime, after taking the escalators, Switch takes Reiko to the laptops area. Then when Reiko scares the make up lady, Switch talks about how to apply makeup.