Back to episode list

Episode 14 -	A Tiny Adversary Appears!
	chīsa na kyōteki aru!
Dub title -	Neju Who?
First aired -	3rd July 2002

Seina's new ship, the Kamidake II, leaves on its maiden voyage, taking their passenger Neiju to her destination. Amane is a little bothered about Neiju, who seems to be getting along too well with Seina for her liking. She is convinced she has seen this little girl before, but Kiriko points out that Amane's parents entertain many social circles, so she may have seen her at some party or other. Just then, they receive a message from Jurai, forbidding them from using the ship's weapon systems, even if they encounter space pirates! Neiju clings tighter to Seina's arm on hearing this, provoking considerable jealousy from Amane, Kiriko and Ryoko. To add insult to injury, she starts referring to the girls as "obaachan" (literally "grandmother" or "old lady", a term normally used to address women from middle age and onwards). Neiju continues to act needy, asking Seina if she can sleep in the same room as him. Seina shows her to her quarters, and Ryoko and Amane spy on them (by poking chikuwa fish rolls through the wall). NB spots them and offers them his camera to do the job. Seina and Neiju step out of the room to find Amane with the camera in her hand about to spy on them, and NB places the blame entirely on the girls!

Meanwhile, Alan, Barry and Cohen's ship has come under attack from pirates. The crew retreat to one of the cargo bays, but the pirate assault continues. Alan realises that Naoko, the officer they met and became infatuated with on joining the crew, is still on the bridge, and he leads them to go and rescue her. On the bridge, Naoko refuses to leave the captain's side, telling him she is carrying his baby. Alan, Barry and Cohen burst in and offer themselves up as hostages in place of Naoko and the captain.

The maiden voyage of the Kamidake II turns out to be much like all of Seina's previous journeys, and he and his crew soon find themselves under attack from pirates. Following their orders not to attack, they flee, with the pirates pursuing them relentlessly. The pirate ships continue to gain on them, so Seina orders Kiriko to push the Kamidake's power output to its limit. They speed up, but the ship's power core, an egg-shaped device at the centre of the bridge, begins to crack. The pirates remain on their tail, and the power core continues to break apart. With a blinding flash it splits open to reveal that it was an egg, containing a furry catlike creature with huge ears. The creature lets out a piercing yowl and the ship suddenly accelerates to an incredible speed, leaving the pirate ships standing.

Having escaped the pirates, the crew gather around the hatchling. Kiriko recognises the creature as being the same species as Ryo-Ohki, and therefore she must be their new ship's computer and power source. Neiju decides that the new cabbit needs a name, so Seina suggests the name Fuku, short for kōfuku (meaning "good luck" / "blessed"). Fuku meows with delight; she seems to like her new name.

With their ship safe for the moment, the crew relax for the remainder of the journey. Neiju continues with her display of affection for Seina, feeding him at dinner, washing his back in the bath. Amane and Ryoko are beside themselves with jealousy, and despite Kiriko reassuring them that Neiju is just a kid, she is clearly envious as well! As Neiju and Seina settle down to sleep (in the same room, as she wanted), Neiju tells him that she wants to be his bride when she grows up!

The next day, Neiju takes Seina to play on a beach (no doubt connected to the ship via an inter-dimensional gateway of some sort). The girls continue spying on them via the ship's security system, and Kiriko notices Neiju is wearing an unusual pendant. She recognises it as the type worn by the Melmas priestesses, a race of immortals who possess great psychic powers. Neiju is actually many times older than all of their ages combined!

As Neiju and Seina build a sandcastle, the girls appear wearing scanty bikinis to show off their figures and show up Neiju. NB uses a fishing rod to hook their bikini tops and whips them clean off. Confronted by such a display of topless pulchritude, Seina collapses with a nosebleed! As the girls chase NB to retrieve their bikinis, Neiju tells Seina that she has never been happier than being with him and the girls. She mentions her intention to be his bride again and goes to kiss him, but the girls drag her away for a private chat. Neiju makes no bones about being a priestess, and tells them that far from just teasing them with her displays of affection, she is genuinely interested in Seina. The girls advance on her, but she uses her powers to freeze them in their tracks. Her voice takes on a serious and adult tone as she warns them not to reveal her identity to Seina before the end of the their journey. Just then, Seina approaches and Neiju, reverting to her cute little girl act, releases the girls. A warning siren sounds, alerting the crew to an approaching space pirate fleet, and they rush back to the bridge.

The same pirate fleet from earlier has caught up with the Kamidake, and they are under attack once more. Their shields are barely able to withstand the barrage of laser fire. Fuku panics and fires back, destroying one of the pirate ships, but Seina tells her they are under orders not to fire. Ryoko and Kiriko try to boost the energy output, but Fuku is too scared to help them. Neiju enters and picks up the frightened cabbit. She strokes her gently and comforts her. Fuku soon calms down and, with a loud meow, her power output increases. She causes a gravity wave that pushes all the pirates away, then she accelerates the Kamidake clear of the fleet and off into the distance. In the face of such a powerful vessel, the pirates simply give up.

At last, the Kamidake arrives at the Academy, and the crew disembark to find Lady Seto waiting for them. She explains that Neiju's term as high priestess of Melmas was coming to an end, so Seina and his crew were meant to act as a decoy to keep any pirates in the area occupied while her replacement was transported in. Furthermore, Seto also wanted to see if Seina's mysterious pirate attracting ability had anything in common with Neiju's psychic powers, and if they would somehow interact. However, Neiju knows that her abilities are not alike to Seina's.

Neiju prepares to board a transport ship and bids farewell to her new friends. Amane, Kiriko and Ryoko are glad to see the back of her, but their relief doesn't last long; Neiju still intends to honour her promise to marry Seina. "I shall return," she tells everyone. The girls sink to their knees in frustration. Seina, however, is just puzzled as to why they are so upset!

<< Episode 13 - On Jurai

Episode 15 - Runaway Fuku >>

	This episode is the first to use slightly different opening and ending sequences. In the opening, the silhouette of Neiju has been replaced by a full portrait of her, and the shot of the original Kamidake above a planet in the opening now has Seina's new craft added, as well as Ryo-Ohki in spaceship form. Neiju also appears in the character line-up in the last shot of the opening. The ending sequence now features pictures of Mitoto and Ryoko, and shots of Fuku, Neiju and Yoshiko (Seina's sister) have been added. The song has also changed, using a different 90-second edit of the full-length song featuring parts performed by Yuko Mizutani (Mitoto) and Aya Hisakawa (Ryoko).
	Neiju's exclamation of "I shall return!" (in English) may be a tangential reference to the first Pretty Sammy OVA episode, in which Pixy Misa utters the same line, also in English.
	In the establishing shot of Nejiu's quarters on board Seina's ship, a doll can be seen lying on the floor. The doll bears a close resemblance to the character Nabeshin, series director Shin'ichi Watanabe's afro-toting alter-ego who regularly appeared in two other anime series he directed, Excel Saga and its spinoff Puni Puni Poemi. Watanabe also plays the voice of NB.

Back to episode list