Episode 4 is a decidedly light-hearted fare: Segawa continues to be literally the nicest girl in Nagi’s entire school and gets set up as a somewhat dramatic love interest despite her own pending nuptials, Sachi is just the cutest little sister ever, and the cast continues to become more and more fleshed out as individuals collectively thrown into a topsy-turvy situation.
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But it’s the climax of this episode that really shines. Izumi decides to carry Shikimori up a lengthy series of steps leading up to a shrine (largely because her feet are killing her due to her sandals) so they can watch the fireworks with a genuinely gorgeous view. It’s romantic, it’s sweet, and it’s really good for conveying just how much these two care about each other. The show could have easily chosen to have Izumi trip and fall for comedic effect, but instead, he makes it to the top, settles Shikimori on a bench next to him, and they just watch the fireworks together with no incident.
Read the rest of Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – Episode 6 on the Anime News Network
Overall, episode 3 is pretty darn good on the characterization front: Nagi and Erika have grown quite a bit more likable, enough that I’m earnestly looking forward to their romance eventually beginning. Of course, a potential plot wrench has been thrown in with the “will they, won’t they” of Segawa, Nagi’s classmate and test exam frenemy. Still, this is yet another couple I kinda wanna stan as things get complicated and a bit more curious between those storked kiddos.
Read the rest of A Couple of Cuckoos – Episode 3 on the Anime News Network
There’s lots of good tidbits this week, though I’ll admit that the gag about Shikimori secretly being a bad cook definitely josses my idea that this series is gonna do anything with how it initially poked at gender roles. It feels like a minor loss but… it is what it is, you know?
Read the rest of Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – Episode 5 on the Anime News Network
A lot of episode 4 is just friendship: there are some romantic moments, sure, but the bigger story is that of friendship, and just how wonderful platonic love can be. It’s nice to see the show open up to that message: while I’m fully here for ShikIzumi, I’m also very much starting to get invested in their friends, and the beautiful simplicity of their joyful, everyday lives.
Read the rest of Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – Episode 4 on the Anime News Network
A lot of Nagi and Erika’s relationship is going to be proverbial bridges. Despite being integrated into each other’s families, they’ve got a lot to do before they’re even close to being friends, nevermind a couple that is able to understand and empathize with one another. There are worlds between them, and I’m intensely curious to see how these cuckoos overcome them in future episodes.
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Like I said in the premiere, I have no clue if this will develop towards actual commentary about gender roles; if anything, I expect that it probably won’t, and it doesn’t need to be – just watching the genuine chemistry between these two teens is more than engaging enough.
Read the rest of Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – Episode 3 on the Anime News Network
A Couple of Cuckoos‘ premise is unrealistically wacky in a pleasant “lean into it” kind of way. The cast is likable enough, and it’s a genuinely pretty show. It’s also actually funny in a way that reminds me of Wotakoi and Tonikawa—you’ll hear me reference both of these for my coverage of Shikimori as well—the blend of tropes from that shared genre all combine to make Parent Trap, but in Japanese and with no familial blood between our would-be couple.
Read the rest of A Couple of Cuckoos Season Premiere – Episode 1 on the Anime News Network
I think it’s fair to say that Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie is having a conversation with gender norms: how deep that conversation will go remains to be seen, though I’m going to preemptively lower my own expectations to “it’s probably not going to be subversive” which is alright. I don’t think I subverted a single thing at sixteen: I don’t expect these kids, nor the source material it draws on, to be doing heavy lifting on Japan and its entanglement with binary gender expectations.
A seemingly promising premiere that’s ultimately too many tropes doing… nothing at all.
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – Episode 1 — Anime Feminist
Backlit Pixels 