It says something about how messed up Japan’s work culture is that in a show as fluffy and positive as Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi, we get the characters expected to pointlessly wait for a phone call until the wee hours (unpaid of course).  And that’s just normal as depicted.  As a non-black company with literally Buddha as their manager.  An email, a voice mail on their cell?  No – sit in the dark and wait.  I guess they should count their blessings that it wasn’t a fax (which is not remotely unrealistic either, don’t doubt it for a second).

That being what it is, this was another stupidly cute and very entertaining episode.  This may be the cutest series since Miira no Kaikata, which sets a bar for kawaii few anime will ever approach.  And Koori Zokusei doesn’t have the advantage of adorbs teenagers as its human protagonists – these are working adults.  But that just makes it all the more fun, I suppose.  I’m also seeing a definite trend here where I’m enjoying the B-part much more than the A-part, which is always a good sign but especially with comedies.

First things first – or last things, as Katori-san was introduced at the end of Episode 3.  He is indeed a phoenix, as I speculated.  To be fair it’s not hard to figure out even without the effects, since everyone’s name here seems to identity what they are (Katori meaning “fire bird)”).  Makes me wonder what Otonashi-san – the co-worker Katori seems to have come chasing after, though he is a childhood friend of Himuro-kun – is, since her name means “silence”.  She’s definitely not mute, or Sakura Ayane wouldn’t be getting paid.

This week’s plot surrounds Fuyutsuki-san’s love of the children’s cartoon “George the Kitten” (discovered by Himuro after she dropped some fliers for the upcoming film).  Naturally he pledges to become an expert himself so he can see the upcoming movie (#2) with her.  This sounds very much like a date, after all – both of them are certainly nervous enough about it for it to be one.  At the theatre, Saejima spots them but keeps quiet.  He ends up sitting next to Katori-san at a screening of “Rice” – a three and a half hour magnum opus about an anthropomorpized grain of rice that ends tragically with a threshing.  Katori is an artsy type, but I get the sense that “Kome” didn’t much connect with Saejima.  And in truth Katori only went because he heard Otonashi say she liked rice.

That bit with the handkerchief was certainly adorable, and it’s followed by the aforementioned overtime session at the office.  As Himuro and Fuyutsuki wait by their phones the other four go to an izakaya on what sure looks like a double date, though after Saejima spills the beans about the main pair and the theatre that’s pretty much all they talk about.  To pass the time Fuyutsuki suggests a game of shiritori, which is a roundabout way to build up to Fuyu telling Himuro she likes him in very clever and novel fashion.

At this point the three pairings seem pretty much set, though Saejima (his name means “quiet island or something like that) is still a pretty mysterious figure.  This series doesn’t seem to be about the “will they or won’t they?” drama or love triangles – it’s all about the awkward couple interactions and the sly gags.  It’s a very winning combination for me so far, and I see nothing to indicate that’s likely to change.  That pretty much pushes Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi out of the bubble and into the “yes” camp, since what we’re getting here seems pretty set in stone.