What better way to clear a dungeon than to do it in your underwear. That’s what Masato and Mamako have to deal with in this week’s edition of Do You Love Your Mom. There’s much higher stakes as the moms travel upwards towards the top of the dungeon. Let’s get right into this week’s story then. 

Plot & Story 

Medhi and Wise are exhausted after helping the mothers out, so the group decides to rest and have a picnic inside. Meanwhile, Amante waits for them in another room, but electrocutes herself after having a spell go awry. After finding them, she challenges Mamako to a dishwashing and laundry duel, both of which she loses. She runs off as Masato’s party continues through the dungeon. They discover special tiles that alleviate their fatigue; Unfortunately, at the cost of their armor. Wearing only undergarments, Masato and the other main members of the party encounter Amante again on the upper floors. She uses an army of monsters transformed from all the mothers’ sons to try to harm them. Mamako gives the mothers special armor, which destroys their weapons and dispels their transformation. After reuniting with his mother, Pocchi warns Mamako and Masato of Amante’s plan to rid of mothers once and for all. 

Episode Highlights

Medhi and Wise Work Together

Sure they may have started out as enemies, but it’s great seeing them work together for a single cause: to make fun of Amante. It started with them giving her an unflattering introduction in her duel against Mamako to making fun of her clumsiness. They also team up to protect the mothers from their transformed sons by building magical barrier and distracting them using spells. These best frenemies make a perfectly compatible fighting duo.  

Amante Strikes Back 

Amante’s been pretty much the joke villain of the arc so far, but we finally see her do really evil villain stuff in the second half. Despite her clumsiness, she has enough skill to transform adventurers into violent beasts and uses a special crystal to make them rage. Her devious plans are revealed by the episode’s end, which will make her a tough villain to beat in the next episode. 

Full Mom-Or

Mamako blesses her mom army with a bunch of godly armor (or Mom-or if you like your mom puns). When she’s in a cheery mood, her good graces benefits everyone who fights alongside her. Don’t underestimate her love for Masato because you know it’s strong whenever she glows. 

Comments

The penultimate episode of Do You Love Your Mom features a good mix of comedy and higher stakes, as our heroes fight their way up to the top of the dungeon. Having Amante and Mamako dish it out in a dishwashing duel demonstrates how the anime dabbles in its fun, absurd premise. What better way to clean up the competition than to have Mamako use her water sword to wash dishes and laundry. It gets even funnier in the episode when all the main characters have to fight in their underwear, after stepping on some wrong tiles. 

The mothers are more involved this time when they reunite with their sons. Both parties are aware that they can do better for themselves and the change in hearts result in an embarrassing hug for the sons (including Masato). I find it hilarious that it’s taken eleven episodes of endurance for Masato to grind his way in this mother-centric game. At the end of the day, he’s fine with it all. 

Amante gets more of the spotlight this time around. It seems that she’s a girl trying to live independently and rely on herself rather than on a mother. Her ultimate goal is to clear the dungeon and wish all the mothers in the world away. This revelation raises several questions. First, it’s unlikely things in the video game universe will affect whatever happens in the real world. The more likely situation is that Amante wants to get rid of all the mother in-game avatars, with only the kids left in the game. That’s why Shirase is involved as an admin to keep the peace between the players and mods. It also gives her an excuse to use Masato’s party to her own benefit. 

Even if Amante succeeds, another question is how you’d define what makes a mother. If all the mothers were gone, what’s stopping other women from becoming mothers themselves? And how will reproduction work again if she accomplishes all this? I realize asking about real world logic and pointing out nitpicks like this is pretty useless for a silly anime about the love of mothers. Her goal doesn’t really make a lot of sense since she doesn’t have that kind of power and it seems like Amante is just doing this to throw a tantrum. Perhaps more of her motives will be explained in the final episode, but right now, this villain’s evil plan produces a mixed reaction from me. 

The Endgame

We’re approaching the endgame folks and next week promises us a climactic battle. It’ll be up to Mamako and the rest of her party to stop Amante from achieving her goals. Let’s hope they stop her before she does anymore harm. 

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check our other Summer 2019 Anime Reviews on MANGA.TOKYO. 

Up Next: I Hoped Against Hope the Wish Would Not Be Granted. But It Totally Was.

Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?

Summer 2019 | Anime Info | Simulcast