The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of My Home Hero, "Cutting the Cake," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After a rough first episode that really didn’t sell us on the anime, the second episode of My Home Hero was a lot better. It had good writing and better characterization, and to be frank, was actually interesting. It was all about the immediate aftermath of the murder last week and how this seemingly ordinary couple had to deal with it - which they did shockingly well.
If it wasn’t for Tetsuo’s quick mind and endless knowledge of mystery and crime fiction, there was no way he was going to get away with the murder. But thankfully, he has both! And he used them to the extreme in "Cutting the Cake," and very nearly was able to get away with it. Actually, we are not even sure what gave him away in the end, so let’s have another look at what he nearly did so well.
Think Fast
At the end of episode one, we thought for sure that Tetsuo was going to have a double murder on his hands to get away from the second yakuza goon, Kyouichi. That was our first underestimation of his quick thinking though; he was able to convince the goon he was a cleaning service!
Plus, he had already broken Nobuto’s phone, so it didn’t give him away when the Kyouichi tried to call it. Tetsuo’s quick thinking didn’t end there, though. He also sent a detailed list with his wife of what he would need to dispose of the body, and turned Reika’s bath tub into a home-rigged giant soup pot! And yep, he cooked Nobuto’s body in it with the reasoning that cooked meat always shrinks. Tetsuo did this without even a second thought, and with his wife’s full support that it made sense - and it worked.
Red Herrings
Tetsuo’s family was still followed by Kyouichi and his henchmen though, and he knew he had to throw them off. He had been seen leaving Reika’s apartment with the suitcase he had brought home Nobuto’s remains in, and he took that suitcase out with him the next day to find more supplies to finish off the rest of the body. But Kyouichi and his friends were ready, checking the suitcase to find….a bunch of clothes, like Tetsuo was going on a business trip, covering up for himself the night before.
Tetsuo bought planters and composting materials to dispose of the rest of the remains, and was able to fool Reika into thinking they were starting a garden as well. This keeps Reika in the dark, as the whole thing is meant to protect her. She bought the lie as well, helping preserve her innocence at least for now. Whether that will last much longer remains to be seen.
Suspect Everything
Finally, Tetsuo and his wife were able to drive away Kyouichi’s gang with some good acting. After they discovered a bug planted in their house, Tetsuo wrote a fake story about Reika having a stalker, complete with a script for him and his wife to follow next to another listening device. The whole story was false of course, but they used it to throw doubt and blame on the stalker rather than themselves. They would not have even noticed the listening device if Tetsuo’s wife had not noticed the TV had been subtly moved when she was cleaning.
And Kyoichi may have discovered Nobuto’s remains if she had also not thrown suspicion on his friend, who was posing as a property appraiser and trying to buy Kyoichi time inside the house. Tetsuo has been the mastermind, but his wife has been a huge help.
Near the end of the episode, Tetsuo’s wife did ask him if this was his first murder since he was so good at covering it up. It’s an interesting question for sure as we were thinking the same thing! How did this seemingly boring, mundane office worker from last week turn into someone staying one step ahead of the bad guys this week?! Well. Almost one step ahead. Considering the couple was captured at the end of the episode, something must have given them away. They aren't even detectives, so it must be something obvious that we somehow cannot see. We will be spending the whole week puzzling over what it was.