Speculation/Wishful Thinking Concerning Misa of Uraharas (Concerns Episode 1-8)

The focus of this entry will be about Misa's character.  When we're first introduced to her, she's presented as being the one that will show the girls the way. The way to defeat this dreaded new enemy that she just so happened to escape from. She also has a mascot too.

Indeed, it goes without saying that a lot of us from the start were suspect of her. Not just because of everything being too convenient, but also because let's just say  certain character types in anime are reaching "Butler", "Uncle/Aunt" and "Duke/Duchess" levels of being blatant "We're betraying you" characters. See also Jester. Sure not every cute girl helping the protagonist and not every mascot "betrays" the protragonists, but eenough do that we become suspicious. It starts to feel like a 50/50 chances with some shows leaning it more towards 80/20 in either direction

However the show soon started to remove any remaining doubts I had of her being a bad person. With everything in the fourth episode leading up to what was at the very least  a foreshadowing moment if not a confirmation moment. It became harder to view any scees of  hers in a positive light.
 So now it just became a matter of waiting.

We actually reached this not so shocking plot twist in the series much sooner than I would have usually expected to have seen it. I had figured this would happen around episode 9 as opposed to near the end of episode 6. It may not seem like it matters when a reveal like this happens, but the sooner it does the more layers they can add on top it. This includes character development for Misa. Never mind for anyone else.

Again, shocking. Still if Scoopers can be this cute, maybe it's not such a bad thing. Ugh, I'm buying what she's selling now. In any case, we get the motivation for her actions or at least the Stupid Shrimp's (I almost wanted to say Baka Ebi)  actions as he does the speaking. Ie talking about how they want to bring to the Scooper's creative people such as the girls themselves. Hence forth they've been preparing them for this moment.  Ttraining them, feeding them, etc.

If you trust anything the Shrimp is saying then he gives the impression they'll keep being creative even after the change happens. Otherwise the very idea of the "capturing" them to "farm" them fot :creativity would make no sense. It would like stealing a bucket of water for the water, but having all the water spill across the ground. As Misa herself, we can only speculate how much agreement she has with Ebi. However this whole scene gave the impression she finds the girls becoming scoopers and helping them out to be a good thing.

This right here is the key moment. Why does she care if they're sad?  They're just tools, right? Here I started to wonder if she's really that bad. Sure the methods she chose to use or was convinced to use is questionable, manipulative, cruel, etc. However one could argue she has her kind to worry about. Actually, we can't be sure if she was born a  Scooper or became one. Then again maybe Scoopers can't repoduce on their own anyway.

After watching episode 8, I had to go back and see if earlier episodes might have shed a more positive light on Misa. This sceene could just be her putting on a huge act. However at the same time scenes can be a foundation of a change of heart or show a person's softer side. So it can work either way. Still I had to keep double checking and even earlier scene I missed and forgot about stood out.

This scene comes at a time where she shouldn't have any need to put on an act. It's hard to tell how the other Scoopers actually feel about the creations they steal. Do they enjoy them or do they merely consume them? A mixture of both? (Thinking about it feels like some series I consume more than enjoy)  At the very least we can assume that Misa gets some actual enjoyment out of it and seems to  want that enjoyment to spread further among the Scoopers.

It's possible that I'm reading too much into that short scene from episode 8. It may also be wishful thinking on my part. However I can't help but think she has a more major role to play than  what she played in the first 6-7 episodes of the series.. There is a chance of both seeing her redeem herself and come to terms with her own issues. Issues related to her Scooper Status. That and consider how episode 8 ended. Yeah, let's just say options are limited. Unless they're going to reveal the Cat is an all powerfyk God!

I'm going to predict that either episode 9 or episode 10 will be heavily focused on her character. That she'll see the results of what happened to the girls and have second thoughts if she made the right choice. In the end, she'll find a way to help them out. In turn they might wok with her to find a better solution for veryone including the Scoopers.