Kotoura-san 6 – Natsuyasumi Fun!

[Kotoura-san Episode 5]

In my opinion, it wouldn’t be a romantic comedy without a swimsuit episode.  Even for the more humour-driven Kotoura-san.

With comedies it’s often hard to say precisely why they’re funny or not.  Putting the reason you laughed into words is about as unsatisfying as explaining why a joke is funny.  Even so, I feel compelled to give it a shot whenever there is an episode like this.

First of all, I’m glad that Kotoura’s grandpa is more likeable character the second time round.  His first appearance didn’t do much for me.  All I remember was him perving on his own granddaughter and saying nothing else.  This time round, his over-the-top energy was better used as he made great after joke, mostly at the expense of Moritani.  Of course my favourite moment involving grandpa was his bro-like attitude as he and Manabe indulged in some yuri shipping fun.

Grandpa aside, the other male cast members are terrific.  Manabe is likeable, yes, but it’s Shimono Hiro’s Muroto that continues to be the understated star.  That otaku attitude, very reminiscent of Keima, is just a blast of hilarious moments.  More-so since Mifune’s reactions compliment the comedy so much.

The female cast continues to be as adorable and funny as ever.  One thing I will say, is that they don’t seem to shine as much for me as the male cast does.  Exluding Kotoura, who’s the main character, the other two disappear at times.  Given the amount of screen time given to Kotoura and her romance – no complaints here – I can understand that.  Still, Mifune and Moritani have much less presence in this episode.  Especially Mifune, whose sole contribution was “jiggle.”

With most comedy scenarios related to the summer vacation covered, Kotoura-san tied it all up with the emotional.  A sliver of drama wedged to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  That might have been to do with the impending melodrama, as hinted by the last few seconds of the episode.

Looks like Kotoura-san may be returning to some emotionally heavy waters.  With the comedy being the central focus these past two episode, I don’t mind returning to the more serious.  Brace yourselves.  This could go overly dramatic.

Final Thoughts – That new ED (and last week’s) are pure gold.