The cause of the tension between Tsukiko and her sister turns out to have a reason that no-one expected…
What They Say:
It is said that a stony cat standing in a hill can make our dream come true. Asking for their wishes, the protagonists come to a hill and ask for their wishes to the cat. Then, for some reason or other, a high school boy loses the face he wears in public and his nickname becomes a pervert prince. A cute girl is deprived of her true feelings… The cat makes mischief to their relationship better and worse. What will become of them?
The Review:
Tsukiko and her sister used to be close – until her sister started junior high. In Tsukiko’s mind, the reason they drifted apart was all her fault – after losing both their parents when they were little, she became very clingy with Tsukushi – she was the only person she could rely on, but over time Tsukishi began to tire of it and avoid her sister. Tsukiko had reason that, if she could learn to control her emotions, it might be a way to rekindle her relationship with her sister – hence the trip to the stony cat. And so Yokodera decides to try and help Tsukiko put things right…
To cut a long story short, Tsukiko’s labouring under false apprehensions – even saying that Tsukushi hates her is way off the mark. But half of the fun of this episode is in the ‘twist’ when the real reason is revealed, so I’ll say no more, other than that it’s always nice to be surprised.
But that little ‘twist’ takes only a few minutes of the episode to play out. The rest of the story is more conventional, with Yokodera on the one hand failing miserably at working out what the issues between Tsukushi and Tsukiko really are, while on the other failing miserably to get the many, many hints that Tsukiko drops throughout the episode about where she’d like their relationship to go. He can’t get past seeing her as a cute little sister to protect and fawn over; but Tsukiko seems to want more than that (“Once you’re done helping me out, what are you to me then?”) and gets ever more frustrated that Yokodera just can’t see what he’s getting at.
I have to say, I feel her frustration – fair enough, it’s being played as much as a plot point as anything else (and plays into this episode’s cliffhanger ending), Yokodera really is as thick as two short planks, and most of the fun to be had from watching his brutal honesty with dealing with the girls – he may have gotten his facade back, but he’s not bothering to use it here – is nearly cancelled out by frustration at his general cluelessness. The boy needs a clip around the head with a clue-by-four – which seems as though it may be coming in the next episode or two. Not before time.
Away from things plot-related, Henneko’s big ‘strength’ has been in simply overwhelming you with the cuteness of its female leads, and that aspect of the show continues at full strength here (yes, even when Tsukushi, when push comes to shove). It can get a bit much at times, but I can’t bring myself to criticise it too much – not until the sugar rush dies down, anyway.
In Summary:
Henneko is some way short of perfect, but it’s one of those shows where I just can’t hold its failings against it, as I’m too busy enjoying it, and this week manages to through a wonderfully surprising and funny ‘twist’ into the mix as well. Now if only Yokodera could get a brain…
Content Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
27” Apple iMac, 2.9GHz Core i5, 32GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.8.3
