Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11: Marie learns Kazuhiro's real name as she meets his grandpa

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 was expected to focus primarily on the development of Kazuhiro and Marie’s relationship while also establishing his grandfather’s importance. Officially released on Friday, March 21, 2025, the latest installment for the series did both with great success.

On the former, a major moment came in Marie realizing she had been saying Kazuhiro’s name wrong this entire time and her subsequent resolve to correct herself. Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 also achieved the latter in its final moments, which confirmed his knowledge of Kazuhiro’s ability to enter Marie’s world.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 teases major revelations coming in the season finale

Brief episode recap

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Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 began with Kazuhiro and Marie waking up in Japan to find a black and red cat in bed with them. The cat was revealed to be Wridra’s familiar, whom they took with them in her stead since she could experience everything it did. This was so Wridra could attend their trip to visit Kazuhiro’s grandfather without forcing Kazuhiro to spend money on an extra last-minute ticket.

Marie was shocked to see how many people were traveling in Tokyo Station, as well as how young some of them were. Kazuhiro then grabbed Marie’s hand so they didn’t get lost, with her telling him not to ever let go. Others admired their relationship as they shopped for bento boxes to eat before going to board the Shinkansen. On board, they ate together while showing Wridra the sights they saw and giving her some of the food they ate so Wridra could experience it too.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 saw Marie fall asleep shortly thereafter. Kazuhiro mused on his life in the meantime, revealing he had lived in Tokyo until moving in with his grandfather during fifth grade. However, his memories of living in Tokyo were hazy, to the point where he couldn’t even remember his mother's face. He concluded that this was due to the scenery of Marie’s world being all he focused on as a child.

Wridra uses her familiar to go on Kazuhiro and Marie's trip with them in Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 (Image via ZERO-G)

They arrived in Aomori shortly thereafter, where Marie was amazed by how different it looked compared to the city of Tokyo. She then saw Mount Iwaki for the first time, amazed at how large it was and that its peak was covered in snow. Kazuhiro then remembered his first time seeing Mt. Iwaki was in his grandfather’s car. He then remembered that his grandfather gave him something to eat, which seemed to be the same thing Marie offered him in the present.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 saw them finally get off the bus and let Wridra’s familiar out, walking through the town while Kazuhiro got nostalgic for his past. Marie and Wridra’s familiar were then shocked to see a cow for the first time, which Kazuhiro said must be his grandfather’s. His grandfather then stepped outside to greet them after hearing the cow make noises, where Marie introduced herself and Kazuhiro gave his grandpa a gift.

It was then revealed that Kazuhiro’s grandma was dead via his grandpa sitting at a shrine for her, saying she’s happy to see Kazuhiro bring home such a pretty girl. His grandpa then spoke of how they thought Kazuhiro would play in his dreams with how often he slept as a child, before noticing Wridra’s familiar and picking it up. Focus then shifted to Kazuhiro and Marie praying at his grandma’s shrine, where Marie asked him if his grandpa knew of the dream world.

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Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 saw Kazuhiro say that wasn’t possible, before adding that his grandpa was always very perceptive. Marie then tried searching the house for evil spirits like she saw in anime she watched, and was disappointed to not find any. They then went into Kazuhiro’s childhood room, where he revealed it had a secret passage. Marie excitedly began searching for it, eventually finding it on the ceiling with the help of Wridra’s familiar.

The two thought they found an evil spirit and argued about who’d pursue it as Kazuhiro’s grandpa called them down for dinner. Marie was blown away by the meal as always, while Kazuhiro’s grandpa offered them sake as well. He also gave Marie a gift in the form of a handmade coin purse from a local Aomori textile. She and Kazuhiro did the dishes after dinner, deciding to go for a walk after they were done since Marie drank a tad too much.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 then saw Marie successfully cast a spell by calling on the spirits of Kazuhiro’s world, which shocked and excited them both. They then began thanking each other, which led into a conversation about how similar Kazuhiro and his grandpa are. This also led Marie to realize that Kazuhiro was his real name, and that Kazuhiho was a typo he made as a child and never fixed.

Marie's first meeting with Kazuhiro's grandpa goes exceptionally well in Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 (Image via ZERO-G)

Marie grew upset at herself for calling him the wrong name, and her for calling him the wrong name. She then called him by his proper name several times, which made him blush from embarrassment and joy given his feelings for her. Upon returning, they went to bathe, still clearly somewhat embarrassed and tense over their conversation.

Kazuhiro then thought about how his younger self would react to seeing his life now with Marie. Later that night, his grandpa went to go give them a new night light, but figured they were already asleep. However, he peered into their room to see a wisp of magical light fading. Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! episode 11 ended with him telling them to “have fun over there,” clearly confirming that he knew of the dream world which Marie was from.

Final thoughts

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Episode 11 sets up an exciting season finale, which will likely split Kazuhiro and Marie’s time between each of their respective worlds. They’ll likely have a brief adventure in the latter’s world to start before returning to the former’s. The pair should discover that his grandpa is aware of Marie’s world here, with the explanation why likely relating to Kazuhiro’s mom, in turn setting up a hypothetical season 2’s main focus.