This season has the Mariana Trench of bubbles.  It’s not quite “Vinland Saga and everybody else in the pool”, but among the new series we’re not all that far from that.  I’ve been strongly leaning towards covering Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi, and I still am, but this episode didn’t close the sale.  I found my attention wandering in the second half, which is actually the opposite of how the first four eps played out.  I’ll make a decision for certain after next week – that will be the halfway point and there’s not much sense in pushing things beyond that.

In fact, Ice Guy may be one of those rare romcoms where the “A” couple is actually more compelling than the “B” couple(s).  Not that there’s anything wrong with those here – I like Saejima and Komori individually, and while Katori is a bit much he and Otonashi-san seem okay.  But this was the first episode without any intense romantic development between Fuyutsuki and Himuro, and I must say I found myself missing it.  There was that business with the “George the Kitten” collector’s plates, but it was pretty much a simmer rather than a boil on the romance front.  Himuro fantasizing about school days with Fuyutsuki was definitely the high point.

Maybe Saejima-Komori will grow on me, because as I said I do like them individually.  She’s just a complete goof and his tsundere tendencies make a nice contrast.  There was that whole business with her tail flipping up her skirt, and his suggestion that she just leave it out all the time (the tail that is).  And it was rather romantic of him to systematically collect all the “Gluco” animal toys (even if there was no fox).  He even confessed in the end there – after a fashion.  “I did it for love… of foxes”.  Even as a hedge that can be taken two ways.  This one is beyond inevitable.

As for Katori and Otonoashi, it’s just too soon to know.  He seems to have fallen in love with her because she’s fast (not that way), which may provide some sort of clue about her likely youkai ancestry.  To say Katori comes on strong is an understatement – Fuyutsuki-san tries to tell him that in her diplomatic way, but he’s too dense to really get the hint.  Because this is Koori Zokusei and everything is pretty much guaranteed to turn out fine, I’m sure they’ll get together soon enough, so we’ll find out how much appeal they have as a couple.