The following contains spoilers for Episode 18 of A Couple of Cuckoos, “Who is That Person…?,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Although the second part ofA Couple of Cuckooshas numerous mediocre episodes,a couple of gems manage to slip through the crackand onto our screen. Last week’s episode 17 is one of those gems. It’s not even a stretch to say that episode 17 is one of the best episodes in this part of the series.
As usual, being the next act after the best performance of the day is always difficult. After all, the audience’s enjoyment is at an all-time high, and they don’t want it to be ruined by a stinker show. So can episode 18 live up to the hype brought upon by the last episode? Let’s talk about it in this review.
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Previously On A Couple of Cuckoos
In episode 17, Nagi, Erika, Hiro, and Shion go on an overnight study camp at Erika’s summer house. At first, Sachi is the one who would go on this trip, but because she suddenly gets ill, they bring Shion instead. It’s clear thatShion has a crush on Erika, so once they arrive at the Summer House, he asks Nagi to be his wingman, and in exchange, he will also help Nagi so that he can spend some quality time with Hiro. Nagi reluctantly agrees.
When Erika and Shion go shopping at the nearest supermarket together, Shion tries to confess his feelings but only manages to say some gibberish that only confuses Erika. Back in the Summer House, things don’t really smooth sailing either. Because althoughNagi does manage to spend time together with Hiro, and there’s even a sense of romance in the air emanated from her, there’s really no meaningful progress between them whatsoever. The episode ends with them forming pairs to go through the forest at night to find an abandoned shrine. To everyone’s surprise, Erika chooses Nagi as her partner and quickly drags him into the night.
Who is That Person…?
The story of episode 18 is a direct continuation of the study camp arc from the previous episode. Here we see Nagi and Erika walk together through the forest.Nagi is still pretty surprised because Erika suddenly chooses him. So he asks her about it, and the answer is indeed quite shocking and hilarious at the same time. Hiro, on the other hand, decided to not go look for the shrine with Shion. They forfeit the challenge.
Before they go back to their room and sleep, Nagi asks them to go outside and see the stars. While they enjoy the clear sky with countless stars and a couple of shooting stars, Nagi receives a message from his mom. Sachi is in a hospital now. Worried about his sister, Nagi immediately got up, left the group without saying anything, and took the last train to the city. Although it takes quite a while,he manages to arrive at Sachi’s room that night. Needless to say, Sachi is happy because Nagi cares so much about her well-being.
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Once Sachi gets better, Nagi goes home and apologizes to Erika and the group because he has to dash without telling anyone. He expects to hear Erika comment on how much of a siscon he is. But on the contrary, Erika praises him instead. Sensing that Erika seems to finally open up to him a little, Nagi decides to be brave and ask her about who is the important person that she has mentioned before, back in the first part of the series.
Stern But Loose
Although this episode is a tad more serious than the last one, it still provides quite an enjoyable watching experience. Because if episode 17 has a near perfect balance between the drama and the comedy, this one sits at about 70% drama and 30% comedy. So yes, it focuses on progressing the story, butthere are still quite a few hilarious moments here and there. It’s a bit stern, but still quite loose at the same time.
This formula is actually not that bad. As a matter of fact, this could be a winning formula if the show runners manage to execute it perfectly. Because through this formula, we will still get the comedy that we expect from a RomCom series, but the story and the characters also get the chance to progress and develop properly. That being said, if executed poorly, then it will only end up being a boring episode. Since they’ve done it properly in this episode, it could be the blueprint for the subsequent ones.
Sluggish Romance
This particular point is not really aimed at this episode alone, but rather atA Couple of Cuckoosas a whole. This series has its shortcomings, but one ofthe most frustrating one by far is its sluggish pace. We’ve already 18 episodes in out of the planned 24 episodes, and the progression on the romance between the main characters is basically just “The three girls seem to develop feelings towards Nagi, and he also seems to feel the same thing to them”.
Sure, there are times when Nagi went on a date with Erika, Hiro, and Sachi, but for the most part, these 18 episodes worth of content can only be described as them getting to know each other. There’s barely any conflict, and there’s barely any obstacles that stood in their way.
This issue mostly stems from the fact that this series decided to alternate between comedy and romance for the majority of the episodes in the first part of the story. Two funny episodes, and then two serious episodes after that. This is actually the reason whya good balance between the two is highly crucial. Because when there is a good balance between drama and comedy, the stories can move forward while the audience can get a laugh at the same time.
Episode 18 is actually quite good. It may be leaning more towards drama, but there is enough comedy here to make the viewers smile and chuckle. That being said, hopefullyA Couple of Cuckooscan provide a meaningful progression to the main storyline. Because there’s only 6 episodes left in this series, and if it continues to be like this, then there will be barely any story worth mentioning from this series. Might as well make itan episodic comedy likeTeasing Master Takagi-san.
