Megami no Café Terrace - Episode 15 - Valentina Holds Up Pinchos

Valentina visited the Familia Café Terrace to try out its new menu items. Did she commit treason?

Why is the Family Café Restaurant so busy? I can’t put my finger on it. Literally, I mean it. The police would arrest me if I honked those bouncy honkers. And Familia Café Terrace has tumbleweeds blowing across the screen. But things will change after the goddesses wear Ouka’s Halloween uniforms and serve Shiragiku’s new menu items. Ami is already implementing her plan: a new crazy mask! That’s the hope, anyway.

Shiragiku has the chef’s version of writer’s block. Hayato identifies her problem: she only modified his grandma’s original items instead of creating something new. The other problem — Grandma Sachiko never intended to make money with her menu. She wanted to serve regulars as a one-woman café so that she could spend enough time raising a bratty grandson. That brat in Goddess Café Terrace wants a menu for a café that makes money! Break those nostalgic chains, Shiragiku. Bring Hayato some moolah! Sachiko Kitty approves.

Oho. Riho and Ririka Chiyoda have a history in the entertainment industry. Ririka has a competitive streak against her “senpai,” but Riho claims a tool to help her restaurant reclaim business. Ririka guesses that Riho will rely on the story about a failed child star.

Meanwhile, Shiragiku broke through the chains around Hayato’s checking account to use up the kitchen’s ingredients. That’s marginally better than Goddess Café Terrace breaking Hayato’s laptop and phone. Uh oh. Ami can’t stop saying the Spanish word “pinchos,” an open-face sandwich in Spanish cuisine. Spanish speakers will understand how close she comes to saying vulgar things. Oh? Akane is an excellent cook because of her family upbringing. I’ll keep a note of that. Shiragiku calls her signature pincho “Primavera” because the café reopened during the spring. What did Riho do? She brought the market district neighbors to the café on its weekly day off! Is this something related to her past as a star child actor? More pressing question — When do we see Ms. Wagashiya’s abs again?

What is happening at the Family Café Restaurant? Ririka runs her live stream from there. Ugh. The Family staff calculates all their actions and appearances to craft an image. It’s inauthentic. The girls know their job is crushing someone else’s business, not running a restaurant. They’re in on Fuwa’s plot to destroy the Familia Café Terrace. It’s in their contract! What overwrought writing. Oh no, shocking news for the Goddess Café Terrace contract killers: their target has started its counterattack!

Why are all those people waiting to eat at the Familia Café Terrace? Ah. Riho told her sob story to that camera crew for the local news that ambushed her at the beach hut in last year’s Goddess Café Terrace season. That’s the mistake of thinking streaming numbers translate to walk-in business. People watching over the internet might not be anywhere near your location. Riho’s public relations sense is much more in tune than Ririka’s. Credibility and authenticity are the new coins of advertising and marketing. Hahaha! Riho used the shopping district neighbors as extras for the news shot! She has given away her identity to help the café, but Hayato can repay her. How? Make her his girlfriend! But only after the café makes a profit. Welcome to the fall season version of Familia Café Terrace!

Three weeks later, the café still buzzes with traffic from that news shot. It was a team effort to convert the curious into repeat customers. Oh? What is Riho’s “urgent business?” Why is she watching Ririka’s Family live stream? Ah. The tables have turned. Family Café Restaurant is in danger of going out of business. Their foot traffic dwindled to nothing. Ha! Valentina and Moemi came back from Familia with pinchos. The Family girls blame the management (Fuwa, the Goddess Café Terrace supervillain) for not letting them adjust to changing market conditions. And all of them want to stop playing their “characters.” The online reviews are below average. The complaints all refer to “busty waitresses.” Aw. They sound like nice girls, but Fuwa’s contract stuck them in a worsening situation.

Ah. Riho showed up with pinchos! Valentina will eat more! Uh oh. Riho noticed something about Ririka’s streaming setup. What? Goddess Café Terrace borrowed a cliché plot development? I’m gobsmacked! Did she forget to end it? If so, her audience heard her and her colleagues’ complaints about how fake the restaurant is. Riho points out how naive Ririka was for expecting her fans to visit the restaurant. Uh oh. Riho saved Ririka’s reputation with her fans by playing a villainess. She should have ended the scene with an evil “Ohohoho!” ojousama-like laugh. Ririka still has loyal fans. What will happen to the Family Café Restaurant crew now? Revolution?

Hahaha! Hayato is so nosy! He saw the whole thing happen! You can’t keep secrets from your boss, Riho. Repayment in headpats. Again!

Next time, the Family coworkers move in with Hayato. Really? I’m dreading the melodrama that will unfold before that conclusion. I might have to add character notes to reflect their hidden personalities instead of the roles they played.