Through its first few episodes, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting has established itself by showcasing a softer side of the Demon of the Sakuragi Family, Kirishima Toru, and the weird antics the family can get up to while trying to please the patriarch and his daughter. However, Episode 4 of the series, “Why Don’t We Start Streaming” goes in another outlandish direction that the show had not yet seen. Gone is the idea of babysitting, it’s time for Kirishima and fellow family member Sugihara to become money-making content creators. All of this leads to one of the most ridiculous and fun episodes of the series so far.

 

Basing an episode around the idea of streaming or creating video content isn’t a strange idea in 2022. Most people understand the work that goes into that job and might have even dabbled in it themselves. The concept behind this episode manages to work because it both takes the idea seriously and also throws as many silly ideas at the wall as possible. Even though this is certainly a comedic episode, there’s a lot of realism in how the boys tackle becoming content creators.

 

 

 

 

Sugihara coming up with the idea to utilize “characters” for their videos is a smart idea because it gives them anonymity — although some people might still be able to tell who Kirishima is through the mask — and gives them a gimmick to base their videos off of. Not only does that allow them to have a way to stand out right off the bat, but it allows them to create this wacky look at what the yakuza does. With their main goal being to make money for the family, it’s a smart way to start out because these are the kinds of aspects that would get eyes on your content pretty quickly and easily.

 

 

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Despite the goofy nature of their initial videos, there’s still a matter of realism that is included in this episode that is something you wouldn’t pick up on unless you know what they’re doing. In one of their early videos, they show off equipment they’d use on a raid such as guns and knives that gets blurred out later. Even though they are edited out, you can see Kirishima putting his hand behind each item in a very specific way that is used to allow a camera to focus specifically on the item and allow viewers to see them as best as they can. It’s a very subtle thing that, in hindsight, isn’t really necessary since they end up mosaicing the items anyway, but it also makes for a good inside joke that people who know their way around making videos can look at and have a chuckle.

 

 

 

 

Of course, as the episode progresses, things get out of hand very quickly as they have to worry about being found out for who they actually are, try to shut down their channel and denounce that they’re actually yakuza members and then somehow become international superstars — very normal things to have happen when you just wanted to make the family some money. Everything spirals out of control with the boys jet setting around the globe. That effectively makes us lose the plot of the entire show, which is that Kirishima was tasked to babysit the patriarch’s child.

 

 

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As Team Cherry’s popularity grows, Kirishima is no longer able to really spend time with Yaeka, forcing their relationship that had been building through the first few episodes to fall apart. What started off as a silly hobby quickly became something that was Kirishima’s new priority. It had completely overtaken the family and Yaeka. With their rise to fame, they quickly start to see the dangers of that increased popularity where they have no time for anyone or anything else in their lives. All of this leads into a rather large tonal shift and a somber moment where Kirishima starts to break down and has a panic attack mid-flight because of what this new path in life has taken from him.

 

 

 

After all of that, it’d be extremely hard to find a way to course correct this series and get it back on track as a show that’s just about goofy babysitting adventures. How could you make these international superstars become just normal members of society again? Well, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting created a rather simple solution: make it a dream sequence. It does pull the rug out from under you but that’s what helps cap this episode off in a comedic way. Not only have we gotten back on track with the series but another layer of ridiculousness has been added on top of everything that’s just been seen. Plus, we get to see just how out of control Kirishima’s dreams can really get.

 

With how the first couple of episodes had set the tone for the series, this episode going in an even wilder direction than expected was a fun way to showcase how bizarre The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting can become, while still managing to fit into the comedic style the previous episodes established. Episode 4 is certainly the most ridiculous episode so far, I can’t wait to see if something else will top it as the season continues.

 

Would Team Cherry's efforts have earned a subscription from you or would you have seen past their gimmick? Let us know down in the comments below!

 

 

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Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup and author of One Shining Moment: A Critical Analysis of Love Live! Sunshine!!. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.