English Dub Review: Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory (Uncensored): “Serene the Shut-in / The Goddess Dormitory Goes on Vacation”

Overview: Koushi (Brittany Karbowski) along with Frey (Melody Spade), Mineru (Carli Mosier), Atena (Christina Kelly) and Kiriya (Katelyn Barr) try to come up with a way to make Serene (Natalie Rial) feel at peace with the moon while away on their trip. Later, the gang go on vacation but Atena mistakenly books their stay at a creepy inn with an ominous presence. 

Our Take: Serene has truly been the biggest question mark throughout the series thus far and the first half of this episode serves to only add to that mystery. With Serene being the moon hungry shut in she is, Koushi and the girls come up with some way to give her some way to be connected to the lunar planet while going away on vacation. Everyone of the girls tries to help Serene in their own corky way that is unique to them, which in Mineru and Frey’s case, lead to Sailor Moon inspired cosplay and an aphrodisiac that caused the fashionista to get especially handsy. But with Frey being affectionate as she is, I didn’t mind that part. Then when Kiriya’s tai chi lessons don’t work, an umbrella with a moon and star pattern from Atena is of course the solution. I couldn’t help but laugh at the simplicity of the solution and needless complexity of the others, but hey it gave us some fanservice that definitely served its purpose so who can complain? The true nature of Serene and her abilities still remain quite the conundrum, especially how Koushi factors in with how he can mend her clothing. Also, the show not being afraid to lean into fantasy and, apparently, the supernatural could be an intriguing fun aspect especially for a series that planted itself into the everyday real world.

One of the purposes of the retreat to the haunted hotel is to get some much needed time with that of Mineru and teasing a will-they-won’t they type relationship as well as steamy moments between her and Koushi. Although, it really just seems like window dressing especially with her lack of focus in the romance department up until now and doesn’t feel as if they will have any real consequences in the future. But just like with Mineru and Frey’s cosplay mishap, the sexy scene most certainly got the heart beating a few ticks faster. Truthfully, the real goal is having Atena come to terms with how she may feel about Koushi with their close call kiss as well as her contemplation of how she feels. Although hopefully, each episode, or, for God’s sake, at least each season, actually feels like it’s building towards a meaningful relationship between the Koushi and Atena whether that’s romantic or not. Like how the last few episodes have been and doesn’t feel as if we’re running in place.