REVIEW: ‘The Invisible Man And His Soon-To-Be Wife’ Episode 2 — “The Great Date Plan”

The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife Episode 2 (Tōmei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fūfu ni Naru Futari), “The Great Date Plan,” is another incredibly cute and wholesome episode in the series. It sees Yakou and Tounome’s budding romance bloom and reveals more characters and inter-racial relations in the anime’s world.

The episode begins with Tounome (Yōhei Azakami) and Yakou (Yuka Nukui) on another date in a tea shop. There, they meet the owners, an elf and her dark elf husband. Tounome and Yakou bond over their love of tea and express how they want to get to know more about each other, while the dark elf gets overly invested in their relationship. The opening scene offers little in the way of narrative, beyond showing that the two leads clearly have feelings for each other and introducing more fantasy humanoids.

The next scene shows Yakou and Jarashi (Riho Sugiyama) going clothes shopping for Yakou’s upcoming date, while KiraKira (Masaya Fukunishi) reluctantly helps Tounome with restaurant recommendations. The dynamics and interactions among the characters are incredibly wholesome. It’s clear that all the coworkers care for one another.

The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife Episode 2 highlights some of the everyday difficulties of being blind.

The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife Episode 2 also highlights the difficulty blind people have with picking outfits and the process involved, such as describing the outfits and their colours before trying them on, which is a nice touch that effectively raises awareness of the minor and major challenges people with disabilities face.

The major event of the episode comes after the elf couple, Karma and Light, show up at the Tounome’s detective agency to report a mysterious group of cloaked men who have been stalking them and their business. The agency gets to work cracking the case, but things escalate when the couple is chased by the men. One of them even manages to sneak into the agency while Yakou is alone.

Tounome subdues him just in time, but it’s then revealed that the mysterious man and his followers are just Light’s father and his employees, who were concerned about his daughter. It’s also clear her father is not fond of the dark elf she married, and that the stereotypical rivalry and prejudice between elven races seen in many fantasy media is also very present in this world.

The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife Episode 2 doubles down on being light-hearted.

While this new revelation deepens our understanding of the world, it’s a shame that information about the world’s origin has yet to be revealed. As a result, it’s probably safe to assume the fantastical setting and elements are meant solely as a novelty, not as a real narrative element, which is disappointing.

Additionally, it’s becoming increasingly obvious with The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife Episode 2 that the series is meant to be light-hearted. Any danger featured is never actually serious, at least so far. While it’s nice to have a wholesome series, it makes any seemingly dangerous moment feel less impactful.

However, the episode does an excellent job of highlighting both leads as we learn more about them. The episode features a touching flashback revealing how and why Tounome is afraid of the dark after he goes on a date in a dark restaurant with Yakou.

We also learn that Yakou becomes extremely boisterous and easily frazzled when she’s embarrassed, especially at the end of the episode, when Tounome confesses his feelings to her. Her facial expressions by studio Project No.9 (Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective) were also excellent.

Details about Yakou and Tounome are seamlessly revealed throughout the episode.

The episode seamlessly reveals minor details about Yakou and Tounome through their actions, such as Yakou’s offhand comments in the restaurant, which imply she’s completely blind, not partially blind. These inclusions add depth to both characters and make their interactions much more engaging. As such, the characters and their interactions make the romance the best part of The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife.

Overall, despite some disappointing elements, The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife remains a great light-hearted romance anime with excellent characters. At its current pace, the anime has the potential to be one of the best romance anime of the season.

The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife Episode 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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