Now that Shizuru and her friends have overthrown Chaos in NeriAli at Oizumi-gakuen, Shizuru seems more concerned about Yoka. Of course, we learn what happened to Yoka and what happened to her. What is the talk of her being the “Witch Queen of Ikebukuro?”
In the first half, we glimpse Yoka’s life after the 7G; she looks slightly different. Besides having even longer hair, she has gems that look like the same color eyes as Kyubey. Somehow, Yoka became brainwashed as she was put in a brainwashing device by Pontaro, the guy who compelled Yoka to press the 7G button. Of course, the guard who refers to himself as Pocchi is most likely the crow who appeared right before Yoka pressed the button. He is now a guard for Yoka, who takes on the name of Pocchi, as Yoka calls him.
We see a glimpse of Yoka’s brainwashed life, seeing Ikebukuro all warped up, which is something that comes from a nightmare fuel. Yoka has some kind of power, as seen in how she deals with a disgruntled man who tries to threaten her because he doesn’t like the state of the world. Basically, “Queen” Yoka turned the disgruntled man into a custard. As expected, this custard corresponds to the last stop on that map. More on that later.
However, Pontaro wants “Pocchi” to ensure the grip on Yoka does not become loose, although his loyalty to Pontaro is questionable. However, the bitter melon in the curry makes her remember Agano. We know that Bitter Melon has unique protective properties, which Shizuru and her friends use to get out of certain situations. It may be vital to release the grip on Yoka from Pontaro. Still, it’s a bit terrifying, but the bitter melon might protect them from Yoka’s powers and turning into custard (basically, disappearing from existence.).
With Yoka possibly being the “Witch Queen,” they pass the waterfall as the girls wonder what is happening at home. They find that the swan boatman is in trouble as he goes down the waterfall. He is trying to go to Agano but went the opposite direction towards Ikebukuro instead.
The girls save him, but we learn some things about what he is doing. He is one of the few that made it to Ikebukuro. Of course, he mentions that map, which Nadeshiko uses to put under the pot for her plant. Yep, he told what the girls should have known all along. The stops were the strange things the girls have experienced, such as the mushroom people town, the tiny people town, the zombie-like town, and NeriAl. It’s funny how they realize that until now.
The guy mentions that the world is changing and uncovers more things on the updated map. Of course, he tells what Makoto eventually finds out by using a special device to read Zenjiro’s mind. If nobody stops the source of 7G, the whole world, even Ikebukuro, will disappear. To save the world, they must find the cause of 7G and repair it while thwarting Pontarou’s plans. With Ikebukuro expanding, it will eventually pop like a bubble and disappear. In other words, they need to stop the expansion somehow.
While the swan boat man tries to convince the girls to stop their journey, they insist on pushing ahead. Besides speculating what the new stops even mean, as they don’t make sense before, it appears that Pontaro is worried about the intruders that might ruin his master plan. It makes you wonder what his motive is to destroy the world with 7G? Will Shizuru and her friends reach Yoka and bring her back to her senses before it’s too late? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
@chikorita157 it's been hinted at throughout the series since the girls got the map from the Swan boat man, that all this is coming from Yoka, well this episode pretty much confirms it