Nisekoi – 05-07

This is not the key Raku is looking for.

Hey guys, my apologies for falling behind on this show. And so without further delay, it’s time for a three episode special of Nisekoi!

Fun at the Pool

Episode 5 is basically male gaze time at the pool. A bit more fanservice-y than I would have expected from the show, but I’m not one to claim this is a bad thing. Anyway, the gist of it is that Ruri’s suspicions of Raku and Chitoge continue to grow. Which is only natural, because those two seem to need to be reminded every single time to stop fighting and act like a lovey-dovey couple in front of everyone. You’d think they’d learn by now to keep the arguments in a private setting. But I guess the point the show is trying to hammer home is that they really don’t get along. Seems a bit excessive to me at this point since I’m sure we all get it. I do like, however, that the false couple’s constant bickering can sort of throw others off. Because as they say, a couple can only argue if they are close enough that it won’t break them apart.

Continuing, there’s also a bit more hinting that Onodera might be Raku’s childhood crush. Yes, I know. More beating the dead horse. The show actually comes close to having a confirmation this time though, with Raku actually taking the initiative to try Onodera’s key on his lock. But as expected, he makes a mistake and gets the wrong key so it all goes to moot. That said, the others do walk in on him in the midst of the act, so at least now Onodera is aware that Raku might be aware that she might be his long lost love. I’m still suspicious of how overt the show is making it out to be for us viewers though. This time it even outright shows us a conversation between Onodera and Ruri about her childhood promise, which is more or less identical to Raku’s. But why continue to make it so obvious that she’s the one when the show continues to stop just short of actually confirming it?

Generic Confessions

Chitoge’s way of showing thanks.

Moving right along to episode 6, we have perhaps the most annoyingly cliche episode of the show yet. It comes complete with misunderstandings, dense male leads, and hesitating love interests. I wouldn’t say that makes the show bad; these elements are more or less staples of the romcom genre by now. But nonetheless, some of the more generic events really rubbed me the wrong way. Raku and Chitoge’s conversation (her attempts to thank him for saving her) was actually surprisingly tolerable and kind of amusing (he deserved every single one of those punches), so that wasn’t too concerning. What I really didn’t like though, was Onodera’s failed attempt to confess to Raku. That ordeal was like the blandest text book example of how a cliche failed confession scene should go, complete with beating around the bush and getting inadvertently interrupted before the most important bit. Which, coming after the unexpectedly entertaining exchange between Raku and Chitoge, is rather disappointing.

Confession? More like confailsion. I’m so bad.

Anyway, let’s forget about that unfortunate incident and instead discuss some of the developments. The main thing here is that Chitoge has revealed to her new best friends Ruri and Onodera that she isn’t really going out with Raku. Basically this opens up the chances for Onodera to realize her feelings. This episode’s horrendous failure aside, hopefully she will capitalize on the opportunity and make some more serious attempts to confess her feelings in the near future without things getting too dragged out. Next, we also have the starting suggestions that Chitoge might also have a past connection to Raku. It’s still very purposefully vague right now, but I’m sure we can all see where this might go thanks to the suggestive OP and ED.

Cute Hitman

A “fair” duel.

If it wasn’t obvious by now, I am writing each part of this post after watching the corresponding episode. This is instead of writing everything after watching all the episodes at once. So hopefully the post doesn’t turn out too segmented. Now on to episode 7. This episode sees the introduction of the third heroine, Tsugumi. She’s one of the two who are still silhouettes in the OP, and turns out she fills that tomboy role as a girl who cross-dresses as a guy yet doesn’t understand why everyone mistakes her for one. You can’t expect me to take that seriously when she herself complains that she wants to be strong and manly instead of cute and girly, even if this is a result of her desire to protect Chitoge. I mean, when she says that girly things like a ribbon don’t fit her, what does she expect?

Oh well fancy that. The bishie is actually a bijin!

Personally I’m not too big a fan of the “girl mistaken for guy” character. It always seems like a gimmick relying too much on the sort of unexpected, contradictory cuteness to play up the charms of said character. And so far, Tsugumi is no exception. Bonus points for even getting into a tight and cozy situation with Raku after what was essentially a death match to further exploit this gap moe. But hopefully her character will grow on me eventually. Speaking of Tsugumi, the show briefly attempts to pass her off as the source of the past promise that Chitoge might have forgotten about at the very end of episode 6. But as usual, it does a 180 near the end and reveals that Chitoge’s promise really is with a certain mystery first love 10 years ago. You know, exactly as it is with Onodera.

False Extras (Swimsuits Included)

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I wish I could say “well played, Nisekoi,” but it’s been so obvious due to various reasons that Chitoge will end up having her own first love promise that I wasn’t surprised at all when it finally happened. Which now leaves me wondering where Tsugumi stands in all this. She’s not the type to seriously be interested in Chitoge romantically, so the only thing I can see happening is for her to also start falling for Raku. You know, because he’s undressed her and gotten cozy with her in a locker. Oh, and he also says just the right things at the right moments to pierce her heart. But only for her. With Onodera he fumbles as much as Onodera herself, and with Chitoge he spits out as much poison as Chitoge herself. So given this trend, one can expect Tsugumi to start calling Raku cute, right? I jest, but the point is I don’t see the need for yet another rival for Raku’s attention to crop up. And we even have the fourth heroine to be introduced yet. So I’m kind of wondering how Nisekoi will avoid turning this all into a giant harem mess.

Chitoge recalls a promise forgotten.

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