Episode 3

Episode 3 is the third episode of Haime! Sweet and Sour Boys. It was released September 11th, 2023.

*(SPOILERS FOR H!SSB BELOW!)*

## Synopsis

Kasaki has a bizarre dream, and Gasu and Tuzi have a run-in with two sweet girls.

## Full Plot

The episode begins in a strange, pink world in the sky, where Kasaki is lying naked. He comments on how relaxing it is, before getting strange visions depicting Gasu in suggestive situations. He screams in terror, crying rainbow tears.

It all turns out to be a dream, as Kasaki jolts awake and begins complaining about how that was the "yonth" time that week, and decides to drive off to find something to do in lieu of going out to drink, like a "salaryman with children that hate him." He complains further that there's little open at the hour that interests him, and then berates himself for talking to himself.

In the daytime, Gasu is working his job at Mochi Central (the first ever location, specifically,) and relays to another employee, Baioreto, that Luanne at table 14 is looking for more mochi ice cream. Baioreto complies, albeit uninterestedly. She then clears Gasu to have his lunch break upstairs, although it seems as though she's unhappy having to take on extra work as a result.

Tuzi meets up with Gasu for his lunch break, and expresses surprise that Gasu works at a place as prestigious and well-paying as the first Mochi Central building, to which Gasu replies that the reason for the high pay is unionization, giving a speech about the benefits of forming a labor union within one's place of work.

An elevator nearby dings, and Raku-chan and Koneko-chan come out of the elevator, explaining that they're eating upstairs because downstairs was too crowded. Gasu notes that they don't seem to be regular customers, and they explain that they come from another town for a high school reunion. They hit it off with Gasu and Tuzi near-immediately, and agree to have fun around the town after they eat mochi.

A montage showing the four exploring the city begins, and depicts the following scenes in order: Gasu flying a kite with Raku while Tuzi and Koneko get tacos, The group eating at Iris, going to Pantsu OK! to buy underwear, where Tuzi brings out a tacky thong to poke fun at it, but secretly purchases it while the others are laughing about it; however, Koneko notices this, and appears unamused.

At sunset, Raku and Koneko tell the boys that they have to head to the hotel since the reunion is the following day, and exchange goodbyes, with Raku noting she feels like their fates will cross paths someday. Gasu asks Tuzi if he thinks they'll see them again, causing him to burst out into incoherent sobbing.

## Major Developments

* Baioreto is introduced properly.
* Kasaki's conflicting feelings begin to flourish.
* Gasu's job is revealed.
* Raku and Koneko appear, revealing the series to be set before NNSG.

## References

* Kasaki's dream references a scene from Akira.
	+ A later scene references a shot of buildings from the same film.
* Luanne's voice sounds like it was made with VoiceForge, the software used to produce voices for the memetic "Garfielf" series of videos.
* One of the shots in the montage bears a resemblance to the image used in NNSG's credits.

## Continuity

* Luanne, the girl with the green afro from the Episode 2 flashback, appears at the Mochi Central.
* Kasaki's dream involves events that happened in Episode 2.

## Trivia

* The episode was released on the same day as "Keep Your Sex Life Safe! (PSA for Young Adults)," resulting in Baioreto debuting twice on the same day.
* Raku and Koneko seem to be drawn in a slightly different style that's closer to NNSG's than H!SSB's.
* "Meaningful Ways to Pass the Time (guitar version)," a song from Clannad that's considered Raku and Koneko's unofficial theme song, plays when they first appear.
* This is the first episode to feature a fanart section.