“Do you know of the Lucky Prince?”
Synopsis: With the cat God’s mischief still taking a toll on everyone’s lives, Youto Yokodera must find a way to deal with the issue at hand whilst also trying to put together the pieces of his lost memory. And what’s with Azuki Azusa?
Impression:
If I had to name a single gripe I had with this episode, it would be that they tried to cram an entire novels worth of information and action into two episodes… That said, those two episodes were great, this latter episode being better than the former (episode 8). And there was a kiss! Intimacy!? What’s this? I’m fed up of intimate acts no longer having a place in romantic comedies/harems so that a ‘comical effect’ can be implemented, it’s stupid and ultimately takes away from the experience. I’m glad that HenNeko has decided to add at least SOME pure romance… though in the grand scheme of things this particular act of intimacy probably means nothing… I am most unappeased.
Firstly, let’s discuss the arc as a whole. Convoluted, that’s the only word that makes any sense. Such is the nature of the Stony Cat. For the last two episodes we’ve known that something was wrong with Azusa and she even stole… Tsukiko’s smile…? Tsukiko’s presence is still that of the jealous onlooker and Tsukushi… well she has big boobs. That is all. This arc’s plot was poor and whilst I was glad that we finally had an arc that focused on Azusa, I wasn’t satisfied entirely with it because all this means is that we’ve come back to where we started. Tsukiko will be jealous, Azusa will be infatuated, Tsukushi is still leaving and the Stony Cat/Cat God is… the antagonist? What’s up with that?
Secondly, I’d like to talk about Youto’s ‘selective memory loss’. Does anyone else hate it when anime use amnesia as a plot point, conveniently allowing the protagonist to remember relevant bits of information was that area of their memory is aroused? I hate it. It’s poor writing. As much as I love Youto as a character I can’t forgive the use of such… premature techniques. I was writing stories about amnesiacs when I was 10, it doesn’t require skill of any sort and allows for the writer to use continuous deus ex machina’s whenever they want to advance the story. Youto remembers Tsukiko’s mother (only slightly though)? Creates new plot point that can be delved into when the comedy becomes stale. Youto remembers a pink haired girl who sang in a choir when she begins probing his memory (only slightly though)? Allows for an area of animosity to arise that can be revisited whenever the writer feels like it whilst advancing the story in such a way that the viewer has no idea what’s REALLY going on. And, of course, there is Youto’s apparent lack of memories about any of his childhood. Is this kid an imbecile? I’m sure I would have realized that I have no memories of anything prior to the point at which I am in life… Why do these girls like Youto again? Ah, because he’s kind and prince like. Gotcha.
Thirdly, let’s actually discuss episode 9. Episode 9, whilst at time losing direction and purpose, was a good episode. Most of the characters had a fair amount of screen time and the comical aspects of the show remain one of it’s strongest points. Tsukiko’s lack of emotion is becoming an issue for me, though. Whilst it does make her singing particularly cute, it doesn’t make her character interesting as a whole. Will she ever get her ability to display emotion back? Probably not until the end of the series (which isn’t going to end with this season because the light novels haven’t finished… unless they decided to do an ‘anime only ending’ (which would annoy me to no end). I prefer Azuki Azusa because she’s able to display emotion and when Youto kissed her… yum. If Youto kissed Tsukiko she’d blush and that would be it… Get your emotion back! Do it.
Lastly, the kiss. I’ll keep this paragraph short because there’s not much to say, but I (personally) didn’t expect it. Will Azusa use it to her advantage? Will Tsukiko ever find out and if so how will she react? If this is done well it could be an interesting plot point and if not… I’m going to be pissed. Azusa x Youto for the win!
To conclude, this episode was great, especially the kiss at the end. Annoyed as I am about Youto’s amnesia, I think I can forgive him because of his latent perverted tendencies. Just don’t ignore Azusa from now on, that would annoy me to no end… but from looking at the preview I don’t think she’s going to be forgotten… but isn’t it a bit too early for another Azusa arc?
Preview:
