Voice 03

Episode 03 Ohaguro Onna お歯黒女
Sexy Voice and Robo episode
Writer	Kizara Izumi
Original air date	April 22, 2007 (2007-04-22)
Viewership	6.9%
Forum Thread	Thread
Episode chronology
← Previous Voice 02 Next → Voice 04

Sexy Voice and Robo
< Voice 02	The Black Teeth Woman Ohaguro Onna お歯黒女	Voice 04 >

Plot

Urban legend Ohaguro Onna is kidnapping children and attacking townsfolk (including Niko's mother, but no one believes her). Robo is otherwise occupied with trying to stop a woman from committing suicide.

Guests

Ohaguro Onna

Main Guests

Ohaguro Onna / Yamano Tsukiko - Kashii Yuu → お歯黒女 / 山野月子 - 香椎由宇

Recurring Characters

Keroyama / Robo's friend #1 - Rokkaku Seiji → ケロ山 / ロボの友人 #1 - 六角精児

Muu-chan - Kajiwara Hikari → むーちゃん - 梶原ひかり

Minor Guests

Robo's friend #2 - Akaboshi Shouichirou → ロボの友人 #2 - 赤星昇一郎

Robo's friend #3 - Mansour Diagne → ロボの友人 #3 - マンスール・ジャーニュ

Robo's friend #4 - Nakamura Yasuhi → ロボの友人 #4 - 中村靖日

News anchor - Otukai Kazuhiko → - 大塚和彦

Little boy - Fukasawa Arashi → - 深澤嵐

Ohaguro billboard guy - Shouji Yuusuke → - 少路勇介

Ohaguro ad girl #1 - Kasugai Seina → - 春日井静奈

Ohaguro ad girl #2 - Teshima Tomoko → - 手嶋智子

Businessman - Ishihara Yoshinobu → - 石原善暢

Old lady - Mori Kouko → - 森康子

Trivia

Kazumi-chan as Ohaguro Onna

• When Tsukiko bumps into Kazumi dressed as Ohaguro Onna, you can see Kazumi has blackened teeth.
• One of Robo's otaku comrades is an African otaku. Keroyama, the friend who gave him the stained shirt, returns in this episode.
• A "no trespassing" sign, has slime on it, a trademark sign of Ohaguro Onna.
• The boy is played by child actor Fukasawa Arashi. He was young Jan in GekiRanger and Wataru in Decade.
• Reversal at the end. Tsukiko receives batteries from Kazumi (dressed as Ohaguro Onna), similar to the magic batteries she received from Niko. Kazumi also gives an item to a child. (Ohaguro Onna has a reputation of kidnapping children).

Episode motifs:

• Lack of money
  • Robo's meager lifestyle is very apparent in this episode. In the beginning, he eats unidentified leaves off the side of the road, and then meat that Ohaguro Onna has left behind. Robo later reveals his special eating technique - he smells coffee while eating bread scraps. It supposedly helps his concentration.
  • Meat is very expensive in Japan. So when the audience learns that Tsukiko is very poor and lives a meager lifestyle, it explains why she stops attacking Niko's mom to steal the meat. (It also explains why Niko's mother was so angry when the meat was stolen.) By the way, the price is on the meat. 3980 yen (~39 dollars).
  • Tsukiko becomes Ohaguro Onna because she is despondent that she is so poor, and sees herself as a loser because of it (even the five million yen bounty on her head is too little for her). She takes the Game of Life very literally, believing the one with the most money is the winner in the end.
  • Niko takes on Maki's job because she has lost the money given to her. Robo agrees to help because he also needs the money to save Tsukiko's life. While initially saying she didn't care for money, by the end of the episode she realizes that it is necessary.
  • Niko also comes to the darker realization that what Ohagura Onna had said was at least somewhat true - those with money are treated better. Still, in the end, Niko donates most of her money to those who truly lack it.
• Fantasy becoming reality
  • Anime robots becoming real life model figures.
  • Ohaguro Onna going from urban legend to attacking Niko's mom.
  • Tsukiko taking the Game of Life literally and trying to be the "winner" of Life.
  • Magical batteries that give pep are actually "thank you's".

Series motifs:

• Maki's summoning methods. Maki summons Niko by having an arrow with a message shot into her house. Throughout the series, Maki finds bizarre ways to let Niko know she is needed at Jizoudou.
• Kazumi-chan's part-time jobs. Kazumi appears to have finished her job of delivering packages (from Voice 1), hence her taking the Ohaguro Onna advetising job.

Continuity

• Niko's dad says "young people sure die easily," which he also said in Voice 1.

Mecha References

• Robo sings the theme song for 1978 mecha anime, Daitarn 3. The title is in the lyrics "Come Here! Daitarn 3"
• When Robo realizes that she wants to kill herself, he talks to GaoGaiGar, addressing it as Guy. The human operator for GaoGaiGar.
• Robo's otaku friend presents a Ginga Senpuu Braiger prototype for their contest.

Niko's History Mnemonics

Niko is reading mnemonics for memorizing important dates in Japanese history.

• 894 "Returning the white paper from China." 白紙に戻そう "遣唐使"
• 1192 "Let's make a good country. Kamakura Bakufu" いい国つくろう「鎌倉幕府」
• 794 "Crying nightingale. Heian capital." 鳴くようぐいす「平安京」

Uses of Niko's Power

• Asks her dad "Whose voice is that?" when there's nothing to be heard.
• Automatically recognizes Ohaguro Onna's voice when Yocchan plays a sound clip on his laptop.
• Uses her hearing to find Ohaguro Onna.

Notable Quotes

• Ohaguro Onna - "Can't live off just love, courage, and justice, right?"
• Ohaguro Onna - "Because isn't that how the world is? The worthy people laugh as they walk over the worthless."
• Ohaguro Onna - "I don't want to live as a shabby person... But... I'm even more against dying as a shabby person."
• Ohaguro Onna - "What's so good about it? Does it make you that happy that I'm so plain and incapable of anything? All I can do can be done by anyone else. There are plenty of substitutes for me. No one would be bothered if I died."
• Maki - "So you think living your life is doing what you want?"

Niko - "Is that wrong?"

Maki - "It's wrong. It's completely wrong. Even if your job is unsatisfying... Even if you're forced to do things... If you do things your own way... that is living your life."

Robo's Max phrases:

• "Set up! Max!"
• "Max Overtake!"
• "Itadakimax!"
• "And I am love, courage, and justice's emissary!"
• "Max Punch!"
• "Max Missiles!"
• "Max Boom Boom!"
• "Max Dash!"
• "Flash Beam!"
• "Max Shield!"
• "Max Bazooka!"
• "Max Bazooka Fire!"
• "Max Bazooka Shiitake Attack Bazooka Fire!"

Comparisons to the Manga

• This story is probably based on Voice 12-13 The Message Game. In it, a woman wants to die in a spectacular way so that she'd be remembered.
• At the end, Robo bows down to her as if to worship her. This is something he does in the drama to Kazumi at some point.

DVD Extra Footage

• 00:09:16 So this is a million yen? -> It's not as big a deal as I thought it would be.
• 00:18:05 I just need to do it, right? -> Alright!
• 00:19:02 Are you sure? -> Itadaki...max.
• 00:23:55 Max Missiles! -> Huh?
• 00:28:10 Maybe I should call for an ambulance. -> No way!
• 00:30:28 So I'm worth five million? -> Just five million?
• 00:32:19 You... -> Isn't that what it means to be powerful?
• 00:40:33 This part is vital. Be careful. -> You don't get it! You're too sloppy!
• 00:44:47 You're fine being the Ohaguro Onna? -> Come on.