Thursday 29 October 2009

Nyan Koi! - Episode 4

At the end of the last episode of Nyan Koi!, it seems as though Junpei did more than just upset Kaede with the latest set of misunderstandings to surround him - He also raised the ire of one Nagi Ichinose, who is more than a little peeved to see Mizuno so upset.


Thus, what Junpei hopes is a love letter left in his desk turns out to be a challenge to a dual by Nagi - A challenge which he duly avoids and forgets about, only to have it come back and bite him a few days later. Before he knows it, Junpei (along with Kaede and Kanako) is helping carry Nagi home after that individuals efforts prove to be too much, only to fin that Ichinose belongs to a bunch of Yakuza, and that isn't even the only secret this person holds...

Yes, that's right, it's gender confusion time again, although at least compared to Natsu no Arashi's Jun and her seemingly endless dilemma Nagi's true identity is revealed in relatively short order (although you'd have thought her name and the pretty envelope used for her challenge letter to Junpei would have been enough of a clue). Of course, come the end of the episode she's fallen for Junpei as well, bringing us well and truly into the murky realms of the harem anime.

For all of its flaws (not least... well, being a harem anime), Nyan Koi! actually manages to get away with quite a lot on account of its madcap, quick-fire nature - There's hardly time to pause for breath here as this episode throws as much material as it can possibly muster at you in the hope that some of it sticks. Thankfully for this instalment, there's enough adhesive material to make the episode funny on enough occasions to be enjoyable, while at times the simple million mile an hour insanity of the show is enough to amuse me in its own right.

I suppose in many ways its exactly what you'd expect of this genre, meaning that at this juncture is neither exceeds nor falls below expectations - I worry that the harem angle will get pushed too far and ruin everything, but for now Nyan Koi! manages to remain entertaining, which is good enough for me.

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