Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi is the first winter series to reach the halfway point, and as such I suppose it’s time for me to commit.  Last week’s episode was the weakest of the run and that gave me a bit of pause.  But this week was solidly back on track, likely for the obvious reason that the spotlight shifted back to Fuyutsuki and Himuro.  They work best as the main attraction, and the supporting characters as supporting characters.  I like them, but I don’t get the feeling that any of the B couples has the magnetism to carry the series.

If I have a criticism of Koori Zokusei Danshi, it’s that it’s a bit one-note.  It’s a very good note, but the lack of layers places this show a notch below the likes of Senpai ga Uzai for me.  In truth this is a flat-out kawaii orgy, relentlessly fetishizing the main couple and throwing in a cat fetish to boot.  And it’s also a niceness festival – it’s not enough that our heroes help one child in trouble at Nekomi Land, they have to squeeze two in.  If those two weren’t really likeable this wouldn’t work at all, but happily they are.

There’s a quirky little cold open here about Fuyutsuki teaching Himuro how to make eye contact that ends up with the two of them blushing like crazy, but the bulk of the ep is dedicated to the aforementioned Nekomi Land.  Buddha-san offers Himuro a pair of tickets (knowing exactly what he’s doing, no doubt), basically taking the liberty of inviting Fuyutsuki to go with him (the snowmen saying “thank you” in English wins the scene).  It turns out that Komori is a Nekomi Land otaku with her own annual pass (such people exist in both SoCal and Tokyo, I promise you), and winds up getting herself invited along despite knowing full well what this trip is really about.  Her Plan B is to invite Saejima-san along to at least balance the numbers, but I think Himuro would much rather have had it be a duo.

The rest of the episode is basically a cuteness bomb, with FuyuMuro and Nekomi Land achieving a mind of kawaii resonance that shatters glass.  It’s like a dessert (or whisky) that’s a bit too sweet, but the saving grace of Ice Guy is that the humor has a cheeky side to it  – not outright snarky or cutting, but just cheeky enough to provide a tonal contrast.  Nemuri land is a treasure trove of gently mocking Disney-isms, brought off in very knowing fashion.  That lost child thing happens, and splits up the two couples.  Saejima rightly decides to keep it that way.  He’s playing it very cool with Komori, but they’re doing plenty of flirting (and blushing) in their own right.

It all wraps up with HimuTsuki buying matching “Ninnie and Nickey” (ROFL) mugs, to match their matching George the Kitten plates.  He suggests they use them at the office – she wonders whether “people will talk”, and his reaction pretty much says it all about where they’re at as a couple.  If it’s not official it may as well be.  The teaser cliffhanger (that seems to be a regular thing) is the enigmatic “Two Billion Yen!” – I guess we’ll find out what that’s all about soon enough.