The animated commentaries for this series continue to be some of the most fascinating DVD extras I’ve seen in ages. It’s a strange mix of inside humor, foreshadowing, and a kind of in-the-moment psychoanalysis for the characters both on-screen and off.

Firs off, we had Kanako and Kyousuke. Kyou continues his pattern of making a move on just about every girl he does a commentary with, but a great deal of the dialogue is inside baseball about just what a looney-bird Ayase is (and indeed she is). That’s been a popular subject in these commentaries, in fact. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Kanako – she didn’t raise much of an impact in the series, but she was very funny here. I enjoyed Kyou’s little revelation that both his father and Kanako are tsundere towards him. Kanako’s main insights were in the realm of foreshadowing the Kyou/Kirino relationship, and she opined that Kirino never lies.

Which was interesting, because Kuroneko said in the next segment that Kirino never tells the truth. She was staring the commentary with Manami, and while Kuroneko is the ultimate scene-stealer, Manami held her own pretty well. Kuroneko starts out calling her Belphegor, then simply a slut. Though she says she later revised her opinion, the scenes Kuroneko shows – her presentation was very much in the mold of a prosecuting attorney – are an indication that Manami is not quite the innocent she seems and indeed, her behavior during the commentary is more sly and knowing than it first appears. In many ways these appear to be the two main contenders for Kyou, assuming you don’t believe the incest angle – and I’m trying like hell to wish that possibility out of existence. There’s again a lot of foreshadowing of what will happen with this threesome, and it’s no coincidence that they’re the main players of the last scene in episode 12.5. I don’t see either one of them giving up without a fight.

Also cute – Kuroneko’s comment that she can “never invite Kirino over to my house.” Damn right, not with two little sisters around…