That button is definitely the one that makes me laugh.

I haven’t forgotten about this OVA, though the post is so late I wouldn’t blame anyone who thought otherwise.  While we wait for the announcement of the second season for the surprise hit of 2012 – I’m surprised we haven’t gotten it yet, quite frankly – we have this very funny OVA to help tide us over.  Inu X Boku is a show that defies categorization, and the BD/DVD sales mix indicates it’s found the perfect sweet spot in between male and female viewers.  No matter your fetish, there’s a little something in here for everybody.

No question about it, this is one of the most unapologetically perverse shows out there.  Until the last couple of eps of the series there was almost never any real plot, and while it’s superficially incredibly cute with plenty to please otaku and fujoshi alike, there was always a dark undercurrent that would occasionally flare up and almost take your breath away.  From Ririchiyo’s moe to the unmitigated sweetness of the Karuta/Watanuki pairing to the deviant Kagerou to the very creepy male lead, this is a show that’s all over the map, and that’s one of the things I really like about it.

The OVA is broken down into three shorts, the first of which covers Ririchiyo and Soushi “dating”, specifically her extreme nervousness at doing so.  To be honest I found the notion of a 22 year-old – especially one with Soushi’s history – dating a 15 year-old girl more than a bit unsettling, but seeing him be so open about it makes it worse.  Soushi’s transformation into a furry shota and a hot chick both played by Sawashiro Miyuki adds a lot to the dish, but this is my least favorite of the three.

Next up is a weird and hilarious time-waster that perfectly sums up the willingness of Inu X Boku to follow the garden path to some very strange places.  Bored people pushing each other’s buttons – quite literally – is not a subject I expected to see made into an anime short.  Soushi manages to be creepy here too, but it’s great to see a healthy dose of Renshou, who I always liked but sadly disappeared for much of the second half of the season.  His “Maniac!” Yukinokouji impression is spot-on, but Karuta pretty much steals the show with her “Make you love me more” button-pushing with Watanuki, and her “Human chamberpot!” round with the always riotous Sugita Tomokazu as Kagerou. 

Finally we have a game of house, as Kotarou brings his little sister Hana (Ogura Yui) to spend the day.  Again Renshou plays a central role as things get progressively weirder and Kotarou tries to protect Hana from seeing things no child should have to see.  Soushi again manages to be really, really creepy here, both as a dog and especially as a deliveryman who might have been from a 70’s porno, and Karuta again steals the show as Grandma, calling everybody “Deary” as she asks for her breakfast.  When Kagerous shows up as the “real father”, his promise of three squares a day is enough to lure her away from Onee-chan Ririchiyo.  The fact that a single short sketch can be hilarious, kawaii, twisted and unsettling is a prime example of what makes this idiosyncratic show so unique.  Bring on season 2 – I’m ready.