Note: Since it's no longer the holiday season, and I've gotten to this point in MLLSD, I decided to move Chapter 9 to its appropriate spot in the MLLSD coverage.
I'm going to deviate slightly from my schedule again, since 'tis the season, so to speak. I'll do Chapter 9 of Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu (sometimes incorrectly listed as 8), the Christmas Episode. Once I catch up with this point in MLLSD, this will be moved to just after Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu Chapter 8, and the entries will be edited accordingly.
The chapter begins with Saori excited about Christmas, and Hana commenting on it. Her excitement is natural, since I've heard that Christmas is a somewhat more romantic holiday in Japan than in the West.
But Saori's excitement turns to frustration, as she reveals to us that the Oarai ship went somewhere northeast of Australia, where not only is there no snow, but it's warm enough for the girls to go around in bikinis. Anzu mentions that school ships can go somewhere warm for the winter, and Saori complains that there's no romance and little point to wearing those santa costumes.
Rabbit Team then asks Saori for presents, and she hands them out. Miho and Yukari comment on Saori's popularity among the girls, even if it's not the popularity she'd hoped for. Speaking of dashed hopes, Rabbit Team is not happy to learn that they're getting dried sweet potatoes, and throw them at the student council.
Yukari asks Miho what she does for Christmas most years, and Miho notes that she usually does something with her sister, and wonders what Maho is up to.
At the Nishizumi residence, Jagdpanther-chan hurries to get in, and comments that she just barely made it. One of her colleagues angrily tells her that she's dead wrong, and she should have noticed that by reading the atmosphere. Another commander says that they were called to answer for their mistakes during the Final Battle, and a montage shows every time Black Forest's plans faltered. While Maho is a talented strategist, her soldiers aren't always able to react well to unexpected situations, so the question remains of how she plans on dealing with them.
Koume Akaboshi, the girl Miho saved from the river, doubts this, but doesn't say it out loud. While the others are intimidated by Maho's terse invitation, Koume knows that it's minimal. Even Erika seems to believe this isn't a Christmas party, despite being dressed as a reindeer.
Maho comes out in a Sexy Santa Dress and wishes them a merry Christmas. She's confused by their belief that this is a meeting to go over their mistakes, and says that if anyone is responsible for the loss, it's her. The others are shocked by her apology, but momentarily get into a partying frame of mind.
The mood proves fleeting, though, as Maho is uncertain of what to do, having left setting the mood to Miho. Koume suggests that Maho lead the toast, and Maho, after wondering what Miho would do, makes it to Oarai for winning the tournament, making her comrades wonder if it's a disciplinary meeting after all.
Meanwhile at Oarai, Hana, whose birthday is December 16, gets a belated birthday celebration, and is pleased to be able to eat even more cake. Apparently, the warm climate made the cakes not sell well, making it easy for Oarai to buy some. Anzu proposes a pie fight, but Sodoko vetoes it. Anzu asks Miho if she sent out what she told her to, and Miho says that she did so, as well as making preparations of her own.
Back at the Nishizumi residence, Maho notices that the mood is down once again and tries to serve cake, only to fail at cutting it. She tries to put on karaoke, but everyone puts in the Black Forest school anthem. She tries to imitate Darjeeling, but few people react. Her subordinates find her friendly behavior a bad sign, and once again wonder if a punishment is in store for them.
Koume proposes that this is just a Christmas party, and tells Maho that she finds the costume cute. Maho is appreciative, and says that Miho sent it over. Maho says that she usually celebrated Christmas with Miho since their parents were busy, but now that she's at a different school, she decided to try it with a group. With that, Erika finally understands what's going on.
Maho then gets to handing out presents, as she struggles with the routine of passing them around (a tradition that I'm not familiar with).
- Jagdpanther-chan gets a model of a Hetzer (the tank that detracked hers), and almost smashes it out of horror, before realizing that Maho is looking her way. She then decides to gratefully accept this gift from Miho, while the commander of the Maus pities her.
- The Maus commander opens her gift and finds the model of the Type 89, the tank that drove up on top of hers. She has a (non-literary) flashback of the event.
- The Panzer III commander gets a model of the Maus and apologizes for her failure to protect it.
- The Panther commander gets another Hetzer model and is shocked that there's two.
- Koume gets a model of the Panzer IV, and is quite happy to get the same model as Miho's tank. Koume is the only one actually happy with the gift, but they all put on a show of being happy that Maho believes.
- Erika opens her gift, and gets an Anglerfish dance suit. In spite of her shock, and presumably because Maho is watching, she puts it on.
- Maho gets an oddly shaped package that the others are worried about It turns out to be some kind of stuffed toy that she finds cute.
A montage is shown of Black Forest, St. Gloriana, Saunders, Pravda and Anzio celebrating Christmas before returning to Oarai. Miho gets an equally terse thank you note from Maho and a picture, and she seems pleased.
All in all, it's an interesting and more sympathetic look at the lower-ranking members of Black Forest, even if some of the potentially Heartwarming Moments are downplayed or removed because of the general comedic tone of MLLSD.
Next Installment: Oarai is thrown into a panic over a supposed murder. The real mystery is why people think someone was murdered in a series like this.
