This episode hits hard with its Downer Ending. Komugi is shown missing her leash that was transformed into the Friendly Tact, feeling it's the thing that bonds her to Iroha. After an argument with Iroha, they have to face the lion Garugaru. Komugi is instinctually paralyzed with fear, not only can she not use her Friendly Tact, but it vanishes mid-fight. The fight ends with both Wonderful and Friendy defeated, the Garugaru still roaming and Iroha scolding Komugi for not fleeing. At the end, on a surprisingly sad note, Komugi, who feels that the bond she shares with Iroha is rocky, ends up running away in the middle of the night.
What hits even harder is that EP 5 seemed so triumphant, Komugi and Iroha share a Heartwarming moment and they summon the Friendly Tact to aid them. All seems hunky dory, which makes this EP even harsher.
What’s worse is that a big part of Komugi’s distress in this episode is that she wants to be of use to Iroha and her failure with the Friendly Tact has clearly shaken her. During the episode, this distress only worsens with two instances; The first being when Iroha is able to calm a shy puppy, Komugi ends up barking and running around, resulting in her having to wait outside while Iroha handles the puppy by herself. The second being during the fight, where Friendy, realizing Wonderful is scared, tells her to flee with Satoru and Daifuku, intending on fighting by herself. Of course Wonderful disobeys Friendy due to her strong wish to be of use to her, resulting in the Garugaru fleeing and Iroha telling her off for not running away. By the end of the episode, not only is Komugi feeling like her relationship with Iroha is ruined, but she also really is of no use to her.
The fact Iroha was also distressed by the whole thing with Komugi, as she clearly does love her, wants the best for her, and really did think that her now being able to talk would make them closer. However, her not fully understanding Komugi’s feelings about the matter (which in her defense, Komugi didn’t try to ACTUALLY explain herself) made her unable to give Komugi the assurance she needs, resulting in Komugi concluding that Iroha now hates her and running away. No doubt Iroha is going to be absolutely crushed the next episode when she realizes what happened…
When Satoru phones Iroha to let her know he has Komugi, Iroha is initially excited, fully intending to head over to his house right away to pick her up. However, when Satoru advises her to wait until he brings Komugi back himself as Komugi had been crying earlier, Iroha’s excitement immediately fades away and she soberly agrees. Later, she’s shown sitting by herself at home, Satoru’s words about Komugi crying echoing through her mind as she hopes her dog would come home, undoubtedly feeling like she had really screwed up.
This also hits hard with pet owners, as Iroha’s feelings can be very relatable when a pet is suffering and you feel like you’re responsible for said suffering and/or can’t do anything about it.
Mayu is an absolute mess without Yuki being there all the time, with her going to pieces, worrying about everything.
Cure Nyammy's introduction to Friendy and Wonderful is anything but nice, with Friendy and Wonderful horrified at seeing her rip into a Garugaru, both literally and figuratively, with her not willing to listen to their pleas to not hurt the animals.
