There’s nothing like White Day to bring out the romantic in a deadpan male lead.
What They Say:
Yonomori Kobeni is a high school student who leads a pretty normal life… and then the day of her 16th birthday arrives. Despite having very little presence, her fiance, Mitsumine Hakuya shows up suddenly along with her sister-in-law, a little girl named Mitsumine Mashiro. Without any prior explanation, they begin their peculiar life together. Kobeni’s older sister, Yonomori Benio, who has has a sister complex and is a bit of a pervert is thrown into the mix and things get even weirder. Kobeni’s life is no longer normal.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
If Engaged to the Unidentified aired a day later (or a few hours later in Japan), it would be perfectly on time with all of its seasonal episodes. Japan’s sequel to Valentine’s Day, White Day, comes a month later for the male population to reciprocate the chocolates and gifts from Valentine’s Day, and as long as it’s not a leap year, March 14 is of course on the same day as February 14, putting the corresponding episodes of Engaged to the Unidentified on the day before each. That works well enough to lead-up to the real days, and the latter means much more to a Japanese audience. This episode certainly does touch upon White Day, although not as thoroughly as the one four episodes prior did for Valentine’s Day.
Although the protagonists are both a bit unfit to be romance leads, Kobeni shows a lot more emotion than Hakuya, so White Day demands a bit more from Hakuya to actually be a proper romantic interest compared to Valentine’s Day simply requiring Kobeni to whip up some chocolates and withstand a little more embarrassment than usual in delivering them. Of course, there have been three episodes in between, offering a bit of a conflict in the romantic plotline, an element that generally serves to strengthen romance plots that may be lacking a bit.
As we know, though, the romantic aspect of the conflict was only in the perception of the affected parties, as Konoha has no actual attraction to Hakuya. Even as it’s been largely resolved, though, there’s still enough lingering to further create some misunderstandings, which do a decent enough job of keeping this plot rolling. After being left out of all of this to an infuriating degree, Benio is now even more unglued from seeing just how positively Kobeni’s relationship with Hakuya is developing, and a lot of the episode is focused on that. To say Benio is crazier with her obsessive nature than ever may seem unfathomable, but she hardly spends a moment of the episode acting like an acceptable human being. For someone who knows her tropes so well, I suppose it’s only fitting for her to ramp up the hyperbole as the series reaches its later parts. It can wear a bit too much and cause Benio to lose the surprisingly endearing qualities of her madness, but it still works with the show’s structure smoothly enough that it’s unlikely to be a real deal-breaker to those who have found the material enjoyable enough thus far.
In the end, the romance is still in its infancy even for an episode basically dedicated to it, but considering the characters we’re in question, it comes out seeming like quite a success in that regard. Of possibly more interest, the series continues to offer up bits about the mystical nature of the Mitsumine family, this time tying it back to Kobeni in a way that serves to both connect the couple in the spotlight and bring closure to the minor issue of Kobeni vs. Konoha concerning Hakuya’s engagement.
In Summary:
It’s White Day this time, and that calls for Hakuya to be bit more forward in his contribution to the romance. He’s still very passive, so it takes most of the cast to get the romance rolling, in one direction or the other. There’s nothing big in any department, but the smaller touches on each make for a decent total.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Toshiba Satellite L655-S5191 PSK2CU-1C301U Notebook PC.
