Impression:
Kobeni, weak and feeble girl that she is, fell ill, leaving Benio in charge of the food…the horror. In episode 4 of Mikakunin de Shinkoukei the group dynamic is changed drastically when Kobeni falls ill, leaving quite a lot of the episode in the hands of our socially defunct trio. Benio takes charge, leaving Hakuya to…do “his thing” and Mashiro to continue to “pull those strings”, but it is the ever present feeling of guilt that dominated this episode, everyone blaming themselves for the tragedy that almost befell Kobeni.
Honestly, I’m impressed with Mikakunin de Shinkoukei – it has superseded my expectations. I only picked it up because, “why not?”, and it has truly taken me by surprise. If this had been any normal slice-of-life romantic comedy anime, we’d have been waiting for the reveal that Hakuya saved Kobeni until the penultimate or last episode, actual romance never even becoming an actual concept until the final scene where they either hug and or smile at one another. However, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei is moving quickly, getting all of the key information out onto the table and allowing for romance to bloom organically from their. Hell, Kobeni’s actually beginning to acclimate to Hakuya’s frosty posterior, something that even his little sister, Mashiro, can’t do all that well! Call me a hopeless romantic, but Kobeni x Hakuya is, to be quite frank, adorable. No, scrap that, Kobeni is adorable! That is all.
It has come to my attention that some people just flat out don’t like Hakuya and I can’t understand why. Sure, his passive nature is somewhat annoying, his seeming inability to take the initiative perturbing many to no end, but the reality is that we, the anime consumer, really need to be weaned off of this “instant romance” bullsh*t that has been clogging up the genre for so long. I’m sure that if it was Kobeni who was the passive, reluctant character, nobody would have a problem because it’s the “man” who instigates all romantic encounters in modern anime, and I think that it’s about time we remember the good ol’ days of Toradora and Clannad where there was some sort of build up before the romantic climax. It’s very obvious to me that Kobeni is attracted to Hakuya, and Hakuya even admits that his only real interest is “Kobeni”, so I really don’t see why everyone’s hating on good ol’ Hakuya! We’ve still got time for a plot twist, (I mean, we aren’t even halfway through the series yet for God’s sake) and we even saw Hakuya smile in this episode, so he’s making some good progress! I just think we need to take a step back and appreciate Mikakunin de Shinkoukei for what it is: potentially one of the best slice-of-life/romantic comedies to appear on the horizon in recent years…again, that is all.
Speaking of plot twists…is Hakuya a dog? I get the distinct feeling we’re about to go down a supernatural route in the story, and I’ve been feeling it since two episode ago when “the dog/wolf” appeared in Kobeni’s flashback…that and the fact that, firstly, Hakuya pulled off some superman speed maneuver, and that, secondly, Kobeni kept likening him to a dog both lead me to think that…well…perhaps the Mitsumine family is comprised dogs that can turn into humans? Not to jump the gun or anything, but if that’s the case, it’ll be one hell of a plot twist and it’ll definitely impact on Hakuya and Kobeni’s relationship in the long-term…ah, and just when we thought we were going to get some tasty romance… That said, it appears that a member of the Mitsumine family may in fact be appearing on the horizon soon, so we definitely have something to look forward to.
On a side note, did anyone else feel as though Benio’s reason for feeling guilty about Kobeni’s accident was the weakest/most self-obsessed? In the name of not sounding like a douche, I’ll admit that it’s not the worst reason ever for feeling bad about it, no, that’s be like God feeling bad because he made the mountains too tall. But, honestly, she had no reason to feel so bad. So what if she wanted to go play with her friends? If anyone’s to blame, it’s the person who left child-Kobeni all alone on a mountain path…eh, I’m going to stop there, before I get too into it.
To conclude, episode 4 of Mikakunin de Shinkoukei was great. Mikakunin de Shinkoukei is great. I’m lovin‘ it. It’s a perfect blend of comedy, romance and plot , bringing together and great cast of characters and building the plot around their comical traipse through life. I can’t wait to see what more Mikakunin de Shinkoukei has to offer, and I can only hope that the plot doesn’t derail somewhere along the line in favor of a purely comedy based routine because that’d be just too sad…here, this’ll make you feel better:
Oho- who was it who guessed there might be some supernatural animal business in the works? This gal =D I certainly didn’t expect Hakyua to practically morph his way out of the house at lightning speed, though, so the show’s still full of surprises O.o
Around episode 2 I guessed that Kobeni’s survival may have had a miraculous twist to it, and something about her eyes in this episode got me thinking about it again. Presently her eyes are a shade of blue, but in the flashbacks to around the time she went to the Mitsumine house, her eyes are shown to be the same color as Benio’s. At first I thought the color change was just to match the dreamy autumn lighting, but maybe not? In fact, Kobeni’s current eye color matches Hakuya’s more than anyone else- Mashiro’s insistence that “it’s no use if he’s not with Kobeni” and the subsequent crack at imprinting made me think…maybe Kobeni and Hakuya are bound together by more than just a simple engagement promise? Maybe even more than a life debt?
Well, even with supernatural elements thrown in, I’m probably just over-thinking things. MdS has become one of my favorite shows of the week in any case, both for slice of life laughs and some sweet romantic developments (go ahead and puke Benio, the Kobeni x Hakuya ship set sail long ago)! I’m always excited for the next episode, and I’m looking forward to next week’s especially with the promise of a new character introduction. This show may turn out to be my dark horse favorite of the season.
And people don’t like Hakuya!!? Unbelievable! He’s so refreshing for a romantic male lead!! I love him and hope Kobeni comes to love him even more T.T this entire episode I was like, “JUST GIVE HIM A HUG PLEASE!” because he deserves it. Plus dat smile! Dat arrow catch! One could hardly ask for more.