The following contains spoilers for Episode 12 of A Couple of Cuckoos, “This Isn’t Going So Well,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Episode 12 was the last episode forthe first part ofA Couple of Cuckoos, and what a great episode it was. It manages to attain that elusive perfect balance between drama and comedy. Watching it will make you smile and laugh, and it will also warm your cast iron heart at the same time.
After about a week of hiatus, we finally get to see episode 13. This will be the first episode in the second part of the series. And after such an amazing closing in episode 12, the hype and expectation for this episode couldn’t be higher. But still, let’s proceed with caution and see if this episode is any good through this brief review.
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Previously on A Couple of Cuckoos
The story of episode 12 centers around Nagi’s realization of his potential harem situation. It began when Hiro asked him to accompany her to the gym. Yes, Nagi was there to help Hiro practicing her kickboxing technique, but in his mind, it was still a wonderful date. Unbeknownst to him, Erika happened to pass by the gym and saw the two of them having fun together, with Nagi especially putting on such a blissful face.
Soon after that, Erika forcefully asked Nagi to an impromptu date with her. She took him to all kinds of places and did all kinds of stuff, like shopping and jogging. But none of those activities can make Nagi look as blissful as he was when he went on a date with Hiro the other day. And that pissed her off, to the point of accidentally insinuating that she was jealous of Hiro. And that is the moment when Nagi realized that he hada potential Harem situation in his life. Needless to say, he is utterly and absolutely confused as to who he actually loves.
This Isn’t Going Well
Episode 13 deals with the shock that Nagi’s felt over the fact that he now realizes that he’s no longer sure who it is that he loves between the three girls. This issue keeps occupying his mind to the point that he can no longer think straight. As a result, he performed badly during an exam and ranked 13th for the first time in his life.
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To somebody who thinks thathis grade at school is the only good thing about himself, getting the 13th rank causes a terrible existential crisis to Nagi. Thankfully, Erika managed to lift his spirit and make him stop being so hard on himself. Unfortunately for Nagi, Hiro senses the fact that Nagi is getting closer to Erika now and even relies more on Erika than her. So just like Erika in the previous episode, Hiro is jealous. So she decided to avoid Nagi for the time being. It is now up to Nagi to calm her down and earn back her attention.
A Return to The Usual Formula
Episode 12 is definitely the best episode in the series thus far. There’s no question about that. So after such a masterful episode, it is clear that the show runners finally found the winning recipe. They manage to crack the code and achieve that elusive perfect balance between drama and comedy. So as a viewer, it’s only natural for us to expect that they will begin to implement this recipe for the subsequent episodes, right?
Well, no, episode 13 proves that is not the case at all. We are now back to the usual formula. This episode is once againa full-blown drama with only traces of comedyreluctantly sprinkled on top. It is actually quite disappointing and frankly a bit confusing as well. It’s not like they haven’t found it yet, the show runners literally end the first part of the series with the secret formula to create a wonderful episode. So why go back to this terrible formula?
A Mediocre Beginning
It is clear from the previous episode that this one will mark the new beginning forA Couple of Cuckoos.We are officially entering the second part of the series now. So it is only natural forthe fans to expect something new and refreshingfor episode 13, right? Maybe introducing a new character, or a new love rival perhaps? Or at least present an interesting new development for the established characters?
But no, that is not what happened at all. Episode 13 is just an uninteresting, extended version of episode 12. There’s no new character development, no world-building, no progression to the story, nothing. For something that is supposed to be a new beginning to a series that finally finds its proper footing, this episode is painfully mediocre.
Episode 13 is the beginning of the second part ofA Couple of Cuckoos, and it is quite baffling how the showrunners manage to make it feel likea throw away, filler episode. Sure, the whole point of this episode is to show Nagi being confused and then getting back up again. But we already know that he is confused from the previous episode. And it doesn’t require a full episode just to show him getting back on his feet. This is really a pointless episode. After such a powerful 12th episode, the 13th is unfortunately so agonizingly mediocre.
