Episode 2

**How to Spend a Long Night** (長い夜の過ごし方, *Nagai Yoru no Sugoshi Kata*) is the 2nd episode of *Odd Taxi* anime series.

## Synopsis

* At the sauna, Odokawa tells Kakihana that he and Shirakawa exchanged phone numbers. Kakihana believes that she wants to use him for free taxi rides, but Odokawa reveals she invited him to have lunch or dinner with her on her days off.
* The Homosapiens complain on their radio show about their lack of popularity, and read out a fan mail from Satoshi. The student tries to give them a nice review while also giving constructive feedback, but Shibagaki reacts angrily towards the letter.
* Shirakawa starts a conversation with Odokawa, first talking about his lack of sleep, at which he replies that he forgot how to. Later she asks him if he has anybody he likes, but he says no, he is too old for love. Shirakawa retorts that life is more fun when you are in love even when he is 41.
* Odokawa reveals that he was orphaned after his parents left when he was in late elementary school. Although it is implied that they died, later conversations imply that they simply left.
* Shirakawa says that she regrets taking a loan to attend nursing school, because she did not want to rely on her parents. When Odokawa asks whether she was able to pay them off, she answers that she was able to, but it is implied that the means to pay for them was what she actually regrets. When Odokawa asks where she comes from, Shirakawa answers she is from Miyazaki. She confides that she wants to start a family. Odokawa asks her the type of guys she likes, to which she reveals that she actually likes him.
* Back at the sauna, Odokawa has trouble measuring the amount of interest he has for Shirakawa. He says it is about the size of a vitamin supplement, which causes Kakihana to give Odokawa advice for his upcoming date. However, Odokawa points out that he does not need advice from a man who is looking for a wife. Later, he reveals that after his parents left, he joined a support group who paid for his living expenses.
* Shiho is revealed to use the same dating site that Kakihana uses, and she shows interest in getting to know him, much to his surprise.
* Kabasawa keeps trying to become viral, but he fails yet again. After seeing a viral post from Donraku Shofutei, he looks back at his post of the selfie with Odokawa and resolves to try harder.
* At the Meet & Greet session after the Mystery Kiss concert, Rui confides to Imai that the popularity of the group is waning. When Imai asks whether Shiho and Yuki should take their mask off during the photo op to sell more, Rui reveals that those are the conditions of Yamamoto's superiors for their debut. Imai also notices that Yuki's dancing has gotten a little sloppy compared to their earlier performances.
* Yamamoto tells Shiho and Yuki to sell the leftover merchandise on the street, where they complain about their lack of popularity compared to Rui; Yuki blames it on the fact they have to wear masks, but Shiho believes it is for the best. They also talk about things that make them happy, with the two of them making fun of each other. Shiho says that her parents never supported her unlike Yuki, which could explain her low self-esteem.
* During a meeting, Rui complains about the lack of fans, and tells Yamamoto that she wants more dedicated fans like Imai. Yamamoto later gets a call from his superior, who asks him to find a specific taxi driver implied to be Odokawa. Yamamoto replies that he cannot do much without a name.
* Imai cons Odokawa into giving him a reduced taxi fare, saying he is broke. During the ride, he reveals he spent most of his money on lottery tickets, as he wants to be rich to impress Rui. He shares with Odokawa that he has been a big fan of Mystery Kiss for over a year. While Odokawa tells him how dumb his plan is, Imai retorts that he only needs luck. Odokawa says that he was in an accident and that it was pure luck that he had survived. Before exiting the taxi, Imai asks him his lucky numbers, so he can buy another lottery ticket.
* Baba and Shibagaki discuss about their personal lives off work, with Baba being more interested in spending time with his girlfriend, and playing Zooden to connect with his fans, while Shibagaki wanting to keep on practicing and check reviews about them. When Odokawa reveals that he is a fan, Shibagaki asks him for advice on how to become more popular. He tells them that, while being in the second round of the N-1 Grand Prix preliminaries is impressive, they are not equally committed to their job.
* When Shibagaki suggests dissolving the group, Baba tells him he understands because he sees himself as a burden and that Shibagaki can have more success going solo, as he is considered as having more talent than him, much to his colleague's dismay. Shibagaki tells Baba that he can never stand up for himself which causes the two to start fighting, which Odokawa finds funny. The argument is cut short when Baba gets a call from their manager, who asks him to appear regularly in a daytime food show, but without Shibagaki.
* Dobu enters Odokawa's taxi and points a gun at him. While this happens, Shirakawa sends him a text telling him to meet at the park across the clinic.

## Characters

* Hiroshi Odokawa
* Eiji Kakihana
* Kuroda
* Miho Shirakawa (flashback)
* Satoshi Nagashima (fan mail, flashback)
* Taichi Kabasawa
* Donraku Shofutei (Twitter)
* Shun Imai
* Rui Nikaidо
* Fuyuki Yamamoto
* Shiho Ichimura
* Yuki Mitsuya
* Kensuke Shibagaki
* Atsuya Baba
* Dobu

## Trivia

* The Miyazaki folk song Shirakawa was singing is Hietsukibushi (ひえつき節, video).
* The Mystery Kiss song in Imai's flashback is Namima ni KISS.
* Odokawa's lucky numbers (probably chosen at random) are 2 10 12 18 20 32 and 33.
* In the taxi, Shibagaki was mocking a guitar cover that Kabasawa has uploaded. The song he covered is Sadness in the Subway (悲しみは地下鉄で) from the rock band MowMow LuLu Gyaban (モーモールルギャバン).
* Baba likes to play Zooden, a mobile animal raising game. He even named his account "Homosapi Baba" to connect and play with his fans.
* The lucky ballpen can be seen in the taxi during the conversation between Odokawa and the Homosapiens duo.
* N-1 Grand Prix is a reference to the M-1 Grand Prix annual Manzai competition, currently the most prevalent manzai competition in Japan.