“…Thank you.”
Impression
You can tell it’ll be a good week for Oreimo when the episode starts with “AYASE! MARRY ME!” 😀 Kyousuke must be some kind of masochist to be taking all this physical abuse from Lovely My Angel Ayase-tan, who was perfectly willing to put up with him once he was back in those handcuffs xD It was actually kinda creepy this time round, yet very much entertaining at the same time – anything’s better than Kirino’s verbal insults. I was surprised that Ayase was genuinely not happy with Kyousuke getting a girlfriend – she’s using the very poor excuse of not being able to ask for advice about Kirino, but I suppose she’s also slightly miffed that Kyousuke now belongs to that “thieving cat” and managed to fall in love with someone that wasn’t Kirino, despite all the siscon tendencies he’s displayed. I’ve always had a feeling that Ayase is aware that Kyousuke was only pretending to be a pervert (back when she first found out that Kirino was an otaku) in order to save Kirino – he took one for the team and ended up running with that image. It’s okay Ayase-tan, you’re behind the times 😀 Kyousuke is very much single once more!
Kirino’s face above is a replica of my shocked reaction to the OP’s sudden change – about halfway I finally saw the funny side and stopped gaping at the many blatant Nanoha references that Meruru’s always depicted. It’s not even the first season’s OP any more – A-1 Pictures must have an impressive budget if they’re able to commission so many more songs (putting aside the unique ED that already accompanies each new episode). And there was even a cameo mention for ClariS too! Anyway, I loved seeing Kyousuke turn up to Meru-fest as Kanako’s “Manager-san” once more, interacting with the ever-bratty Kanako and the ever-innocent Bridget – who are both pretty casual even after knowing Kyousuke’s apparent past record as a “sex offender”. Well…I can’t say it’s not true, especially towards Ayase-tan. But then Ayase does some pretty shady things herself – I’m not even sure what “punishing” Kanako is supposed to entail o.O
When Kyousuke revealed that Kirino had no ticket to the Meruru-fest, I had the hopeful thought that this would be a Kirino-free episode…but then I remembered the title. I’m glad it was just a shoot 😀 The last thing we need is a mix-up and misunderstanding over some mock wedding, which is how I imagined the episode to turn out. Kyousuke once again shows his stunning reliability as an older brother and pedals all the way to Kirino’s photo shoot – on Mikagami’s bike depicting a naked Meruru. Wow…what a bold guy. And I’m talking about Mikagami by the way, for owning such a…revealing bike. Kyousuke was just unlucky enough to have to pedal it through the city xD At least Kirino managed to muster up the courage to claim Kyousuke as her brother, instead of leaving him to get mobbed by security. If this was Season 1, she wouldn’t have said a thing 😀 Amidst the verbal abuse, she even thanked him for going out of his way for her – hey, perhaps Kirino does have a heart, after all.
