Ookami-san 7

****

After a successful (?) date episode, Ookami-san can now call itself a proper high school romantic comedy! Although they skipped a bit of relationship-building leading up to said date by making it a part of another job for the Otogi bank. So I guess the date wasn’t really a date, but actually a device to set up others on a date, while that date is actually a façade for the couple who weren’t really going on a date, but whom end up going on an actual date due to another plot device. Amnesia was definitely an interesting path to take, and seeing Ryouko undergo such a dramatic character change is pretty jarring. It sure was fun to see her acting so cute and innocent, although alas, it was short-lived. That makes Ryouko/Ryoushi’s date somewhat…. different, although Ami and Jin were hilariously awkward.

****

Just seeing them in their robotic state was funny enough, although it’s true they didn’t get much screen time at all. Although a cameo or recurring appearance isn’t out of the question, ‘cus I’m rather curious as to how they’re relationship turns out. I’m sure the fairy tale was lost on me this episode, but I think it probably had something to do with the umbrella incident that caused Ami to fall head over heels for Jin. It’s not as noticeable as, say, the Cinderella story we had in the first episode, but toning it down keeps the episodic nature of the show from getting too gimmicky. While I thought Tarou looked like a twenty-year-old high schooler, Jin, that baseball player, looks likes he’s about thirty. Or forty. Hitsujikai looks pretty old, too. This gets me started on how wacky some of the characters look in relation to the relatively normal high school background—although the rest of the Otogi bank was notably absent. Ringo’s outfit stands enough, but just seeing them all together in their quirky getups, out in public, no less, is just strange to see.

****

Making Ryoushi such a weak character at first glance makes his man-up moments much more effective; the light and happy date-storyline took a very dark turn with another creepy appearance of Hitsujikai, and the pouring rain was scarily suitable for the occasion. A bit too suitable, along with Ryouko’s sudden case of amnesia. While Ryouko took a break from her usual tsundere self, Ringo continues to demonstrate her penchant for pairing up others, and in the most devious of manners. She’s the standard stock character in the romcoms you see at the movies who has a need to pair up the Main Couple (along with any pairings in general) but the fact that she’s so unassumingly little and cute at first glance makes her a bit more unique. The hunter showed even more backbone than usual when it came to defending Ryouko, and seeing his normally manmoe-like shiny innocent eyes go all serious was a fitting way to end the angsty-confrontation-in-the-rain scene. I honestly don’t have mch to say about Jin, and Ami was another quirky character to add to the growing cast of side characters. Although breaking and entering someone’s house on a daily basis is a bit more than quirky. Ryouko was the cutest that we’ll probably ever see her during the whole run of Ookami-san, but it’ll probably be more impacting when her tsun side genuinely softens instead of due to a peculiar case of convenient amnesia.

****

On the whole, this is a fun episode, though I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it if you’re falling the series pretty loosely. Thankfully, the ending proved that Ryouko didn’t forget completely what happened when she had amnesia (how does that work..?), which means the main couple’s relationship is inching forward. I’m quite pleased with the pace it’s going at, so looking forward to that next episode!