I have a more or less ironclad rule with anime (well, several). When I start to fast-forward, the end is pretty much nigh. I would see no point in blogging Sono Bisque Doll for 21 episodes and then bailing for the final (for now) three. But I was skipping material this week, and that’s as sure a sign as there is. I know going in this show is cosplay-themed and fetishizes the lead, but it’s been out of balance and out of control. Yes its lack of focus on the first love angle annoys me but I never dislike this show – it just takes me to “I don’t care” territory. And that may be worse, actually.

“I just don’t care” is where I’ve been for much of the season. Camera angles, in-episode bad anime, in-episode bad games. Some character I’ve never seen hating Marin for some reason – none of it holds my interest. I was, in truth, pretty close to the edge by the eyecatch. But just when I thought I was out, I did get pulled back in. The light switch clicked on, and all off a sudden I was engaged again for obvious reasons. That takes me right back to be being annoyed of course, but being annoyed in the final analysis is better than being bored where anime is concerned.

Seriously – JFA. That’s my take on Marin and Wakana at this point. You’re young. You have no parents around to harsh your mellow. You have a deluxe apartment in the sky to play in. Of course we don’t know how Wakana really feels about Marin, because his character only gets token development. But at the very least we know he finds her physically attractive, as any heterosexual teen male likely would. We certainly know how she feels about him. All this cliche navel-gazing is irritating at hell, but it’s a lot more interesting than endless cosplay minutiae. And yeah, I do get it – it’s not easy to take that final step. It’s like going over a cliff not knowing if there’s a net underneath. A leap of faith.

Still – just jump already. The premise for setting this inevitable false alarm up is the trains stopping due to an accident (with 30-odd train lines – and buses – in Tokyo there’s always an alternative, but whatever). Marin is perfectly right to urge Wakana to stay over, romantic questions aside. And it’s extremely silly for him to be that freaked out about it. Scared, sure – but guilty? Not unless he intends to progress the relationship (which he should) given this turn of events. Once he relents the pair make a trip to Don Quijote for emergency supplies (underpants and breakfast, basically). And this is some serious product placement here – they even got the Don Quijote theme song in there. Donqi got their Yen’s worth.

Wakana gets it into his head that if he stays up all night, he didn’t “sleep over” so he doesn’t have to feel guilty. So he decides to load up on energy drinks, which he intensely studies while trying to decide on the best option. As it happens they’re next to the liquid aphrodisiacs , which causes Kitagawa-san to take his “I don’t intend to sleep tonight” rather differently than it was intended. Her reaction is interesting, and for now cryptic.

Watching this play out is fascinating in that it really plays up how much more nuanced and realistically these matters are treated in something like Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu. And yes, I’m quite certain this is going to end in a disappointingly anti-climactic way. Nevertheless it’s a huge improvement over what the last few episodes have offered – at least we’re dealing with the part of the premise that has some actual weight and charm to it. And just in the nick of time, too.