- Tessa
After Mao plies her with the inhibition-releasing cocktail, Tessa wakes up on the bridge of the Tuatha de Danaan in her underwear. Before the dream-haze has a chance to wear off, she starts to wander around the submarine and engages a petrified Sousuke mano a mano, with a wise-acre AI running commentary in the background. At some point, she wakes up completely and retreats, but not before giving the sergeant an eyeful.
After taking a shower (why does this keep happening with this series?), Tessa goes out in search of her lost plush doll, this time fully clothed, complete with a TDD baseball cap and a blue bow in her hair. And that's pretty much everything.
Funny moments are provided by the mischievous Kurtz, at the expense of Clouseau. It seems that Kalinin's late wife had a passive aggressive streak; how else to explain cocoa powder and miso paste in a borscht?
But no day is complete without another misunderstanding between Tessa and her favorite sergeant. As she retraces her steps, it becomes evident that Tessa is beholden to Sousuke for smoothing over her indiscretion; she is impelled to run in her green sneakers to confess her love to him. Of course, Sousuke's pathological cluelessness is confession-proof.
My favorite moment came courtesy of Mao, of course. She's the girlfriend any woman would want, fun and brassy and not without wisdom. After listening to Tessa (and apologizing for her part as instigator), Mao asks the captain the one question that brings it all into perspective. Tessa’s a genius; she should know to let Sergeant Sagara be and hang with Mao.
Three obligatory remarks:
First, the animation quality was consistent with the series: good. As the OAV is set within the interior of the Tuatha de Danaan on Tessa’s day off, there’s no need for elaborate action sequences or backgrounds. Instead we get Kalinin in an apron and Tessa in the shower.
Second, the sinister instrumental during Kalinin’s preparation of the borscht and the military fanfare as Tessa gags through the consumption of it are funny. Tessa’s theme at the end was soft, playful and just right.
Third, the same voice actors mean the same strengths and irritations, sans Kaname. I watched the version with Japanese voice actors and English dubs.
Grade: B
