10 Second Anime - Nisekoi S2 - Episode 12 [END]



Chitoge loses her red ribbon. Chitoge debates whether to tell Raku her feelings for him. Season Finale.

Heh.

Using the cliché of being late for school, even running with toast in her mouth, Chitoge lost her most important charm point.

This is a bit of a callback to the first episode when she was trying to get Raku to notice new things about her, so I'm a bit disappointed she didn't break out the sparkly ribbon while she looked for the sentimental one that young Raku picked out for her.

Oh, but Chitoge still can't tell Raku why it's important besides her mom picking it out for her. This show is all about maintaining the status quo while layering it with backstory to make it more excruciating for the viewers hoping for some movement.

We did have a nice bit of comedic misdirection with Raku's replacement ribbon. Not only did the gorilla keep her super strength while depressed, we learned Chitoge has a keen sense of smell.

Charm point reactivated. All is right in the world.

 

When the plot is a little light, it feels like SHAFT just wants to show off its animation chops.

We've seen this crazy Chitoge reaction showcase before.

Yes, Tsugumi, Chitoge confessed to a stuffed gorilla with its own charm point.

We did get the story of how Chitoge's parents met and Hana set the tone for the relationship in their first moments together.

Leave it to Raku to inadvertently let Chitoge off the hook. Oh, she put herself on that hook anyway by reading a shoujo manga, but in their real world they still have lots of time together before Chitoge needs to tell him how much she likes him. You hear that SHAFT? A year and a half! You can milk this episodic situational gag comedy for 2 and a half more seasons before you wrap it up in the third. Make it count!

Goodbye Chitoge. Let's go have some ramen and talk about how you and the other girls still won't let Raku choose a best girl.

Final Thoughts.

Considering how nothing has been resolved in the source material manga, we can't hope for any resolution in the anime adaptations. That's fine. What matters here is that each of the girls in Raku's growing harem get some air time, show off their cute sides, make funny faces from being self-conscious about being attracted to nice guy Raku and the audience appreciates character development in the form of flashbacks and inner monologue reactions to contrived romantic comedy plot devices.

 

The episode that stood out among the others was Shuu's unrequited love story. In a microcosm, it encapsulated the biggest fear each of the four girls has about their love for Raku. At some point in time, they will each have to say goodbye to a piece of their hearts they held onto for so long. Will the main story ever reach that point? I don't know. At the very least, Nisekoi will continue to provide the model for unrequited harem comedy.

 

The comedy didn't falter this season and the gags definitely worked, but that was only because the story provides enough emotional depth for us to care about the what happens to the characters. However, there's only the vaguest sense that things are moving forward relationship wise for the girls and if you enjoy that tension of looking for those barest of hints that the glacier moved an inch, you'll continue to enjoy these adaptations.

 

One last thing - #teamtsugumi 4evar!