Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu, the comedic spinoff manga, begins with Yukari explaining the concept. She says that there will be no panty shots and fewer tanks, seeming less disappointed about the latter than most would expect from her. She then declares what it's about, but everyone from Anglerfish Team offers their own interpretations.
The chapter starts with some 4komas in which Miho visits Yukari's family barbershop only to discover, to her horror, that they are offering "panzer haircuts," that essentially style a girl's hair so that it has a hair turret sicking out of the brow.
The next two pages have Saori angsting about her weight; even considering that Hana steps onto the scale behind her, she's heavier than she would like. Her friends try to convince her that a healthy body is good for tankery, and that she's well-proportioned, but to no avail.
Saori takes note of what the others are doing, particularly how much Hana eats; an interesting look at how the anime subtly shows Hana eating a lot compared to her peers. Saori asks Yukari about her dietary habits, and she says that she doesn't buy snacks so that she'll have more money for her hobby, even if she ends up hungry between meals.
The manga shifts topic again, with Yukari complimenting Miho's skill at reading and explaining maps (which Miho modestly downplays), even after Miho draws a teddy bear head on the map. Yukari also praises Hana, eventually ending up with a head full of flowers. Mako sleeps, dreaming about walking out at night with the cats, and her sleeping habits resulting in her becoming significantly taller than her peers; while not especially short, she is the shortest of Anglerfish Team.
In the final pair of 4koma, Yukari goes about washing the tank, and chooses the tank she wants to wash first; the Panzer IV. Unbeknownst to her, Miho is inside,(one has to wonder if, like in Little Army, she's feeling troubled at the moment, even if she doesn't show it) and gets doused by water as Yukari zealously washes the tank. Yukari enters a Pose of Supplication to apologize, but Miho says she doesn't mind, saying that it's her fault for getting in without telling anyone. As Yukari tearfully requests a punishment, Miho obliges by squirting her with water, as Momo looks on, annoyed.
Miho then sneezes, and the scene shifts to a more typical manga layout. Momo asks if Miho is taking a sick day just because of a cold, but Anzu is fine with it, declaring that Miho's of no use to them if she forces herself to come. The History Team discusses various remedies, before deciding on a bag of Oryou's medicine. Duck Team encourages Miho to recover through the power of her guts. Rabbit Team is confused, with Yuuki and Karina saying that they've never had a cold (a possible subtle insult at their intelligence), Aya finding an online solution that involves taking off one's clothing and Ayumi suggesting that they settle for writing a card.
Miho apologizes for making the others worry, but they're reassuring, and Yukari even goes so far as to propose that she catch Miho's cold instead. Mako concurs, wanting to miss school, before Saori drags her and Yukari away. Hana, using a Headbutt Thermometer, determines that Miho has quite the fever, and while she admits that she can't cook, she offers to do what she can to put Miho at ease with her flowers, even if she ends up going overboard.
Saori gives Miho what the team gave her to deliver. Anzu gave Miho printouts, plus a leek (Incidentally, I think I know why they didn't say what they plan on doing with it). Saori produces Oryou's medicine but decides not to give it to Miho, and also reveals the freshmen's card, which has their team emblem on it. Saori also does her best to transfer the volleyball club's fighting spirit to Miho, who comments that everyone's lively as usual. Upon being informed that Momo has a cold, too, Yukari and Mako are speechless.
Miho finishes eating, but has gotten sweaty, so they change her out of her pajamas. Unfortunately, Yukari angsts about washing Miho with a damaged towel, and as she thinks about what to do, Miho reflexively throws a teddy bear at her head. As Miho's friends go home, she thanks them for helping her, and they say it's something close friends do. The next day, Miho recoers and returns to practice, but Momo is still sick and is begging for Yuzu to see her. It's somewhat amusing seeing the typically arrogant Momo reduced to the Butt-Monkey of the series.
All in all, at this point, the MLLSD series still seems to be trying to find out what it wants to be. It's often quite amusing, but it does often tend to distill the characters to their basic levels, without their Hidden Depths or Character Development, and tends to eschew honestly emotional moments in favor of humorous ones.
Next Installment: Katyusha and Nonna's daily life is shown.
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