Outbreak Company Ep 4 Review – Best In Show

Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

Outbreak Company Ep 4 Review – Quick Summary

In Outbreak Company Ep 4, “Furry Spy,” the events of the previous episode weighed on Shinichi Kanou. Were the terrorists right? Was Shinichi really a cultural invader? When he asked his boss, Jinzaburou Matoba, the answer was more confusing than helpful. Later, on the way home after school, Minori Koganuma detected an intruder on the grounds. With Shinichi in tow, she investigated. Shinichi was elated when he saw Elbia Hanaiman, a non-human he described as a “furry.” Koganuma was less thrilled than Shinichi, though, because she suspected that Elbia wasn’t an innocent artist looking for interesting builds to draw. Was she really a spy from a neighboring country, as Koganuma suspected? And if those suspicions are correct, what will become of the “furry” that Shinichi just met?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Best in Show Moment for Outbreak Company Ep 4

Shinichi tried to convince everyone that Elbia was innocent. In the end, he couldn’t even convince himself. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Shinichi Tries to Prove Elbia’s Innocence

I’m going to say something that might come across as clueless. Ready? I like Outbreak Company because it’s not purely a wish fulfillment vehicle. I mean sure, Shinichi wakes up and eats a breakfast that Myucel Foaran cooked. He gets to hang out with Koganuma and he gets to hobnob with the Empresses Petralka. That sounds a lot like wish fulfillment, doesn’t it?

Yes it does. At the same time, though, there are times when Shinichi is completely and hilariously wrong. Worse, many of those times aren’t in a comfortable, private setting where he could easily laugh it off. Remember how Petralka almost killed him when he called the her a loli back in episode 1? Well, you can add another example to the list. In this episode, everyone, including the Empress, Koganuma, Galious En Koldobar, and even the Chancellor Zaharl patiently watched Shinichi made a complete fool of himself.

This is Petralka’s skeptical face. She wore it a lot in this episode. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Elbia was going to be put to death as a spy. I’d like to think Shinichi was just being altruistic, but as optimistic as I try to be, even I have to admit that there were aspects of Elbia’s personality that… Oh, who am I kidding? She had a killer body, soft furry ears, and a fluffy tail. She had a hold on his otaku heart from the instant he laid eyes on her. So, he tried to make the case that she wasn’t a spy. And he tried to get her to help him do it.

Delivery: Shinichi is Completely Wrong

Shinichi first tried to make the case that otaku culture held illustrators in high regard. Petralka saw right through that, saying (14:32), “You seem quite fixated on defending this werewolf… Our information says she’s a young woman… Did that girl just happen to have big breasts?”

I’ll give Shinichi credit. He knew he wasn’t getting anywhere. So, he put a magic language ring on Elbia’s finger and asked if she’d just been innocently sketching his mansion. She answered yes, of course, before adding (16:30), “I didn’t even know that the Kingdom of Bahailam lay to the east!”

Koganuma confirmed that yes, Bahailam was east of Eldant. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Koganuma’s expression said “I told you so, idiot” as clearly as if she said it. Shinichi tried one more time by asking why Elbia was sketching his mansion. “I was never told to do anything like find places that might be secret military installations, and draw them from various angles before sending them home or anything like that… I wasn’t going to be paid for every pictures or…”

Shinichi knew he’d lost. He pulled the ring off her finger and said (17:25), “Who cares if she’s a spy? She’s got furry ears!”

It’s not Earth-shattering commentary on life. Nor is it an in-depth insight into a character’s soul. But seeing Shinichi try to argue his way into keeping the large-breasted, furry-eared, fluffy-tailed Elbia simply because he liked her was funny. So was seeing Petralka give him enough rope to hang himself.

What did you think of the first otaku classroom lessons? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!

Outbreak Company Ep 4: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: [Spoilers] Outbreak Company Episode 4 Discussions (Anime-only)
• The Fandom Post: Outbreak Company Episode #04 Anime Review
• The Glorio Blog: Outbreak Company: Episode 4

This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)

• Outbreak Company Episode 1 Review: I Landed in Another World
• Outbreak Company Episode 2 Review: I-I’d Better Watch It
• Outbreak Company Episode 3 Review: Thou Art Invaders
• Outbreak Company Episode 4 Review: Furry Spy
• Outbreak Company Episode 5 Review: This Really Is Another World
• Outbreak Company Episode 6 Review: Soccer… Soccer?
• Outbreak Company Episode 7 Review: Maid in Japan
• Outbreak Company Episode 8 Review: The Melancholy of Her Imperial Majesty
• Outbreak Company Episode 9 Review: Swimsuit of the Dead
• Outbreak Company Episode 10 Review: Magical Girl Petralka
• Outbreak Company Episode 11 Review: Plot Silent, Plot Deep
• Outbreak Company Episode 12 Review: Shoot the Invaders!