Itazura na Kiss - Episode 9

Well, it may have taken eight occasionally tortuous episodes but it seems that, as of episode nine, we may have finally reached a point in Itazura no Kiss where Naoki lightens up and becomes less of the nasty piece of work he's been thus far. Hallelujah!

Quite simply, this is the episode that the series has been crying out for for some time now - Kotoko acting arguably cuter than ever, her friends relegated to a very small bit part, and Naoki being a reasonable guy for once. Yes, I know, his reasons for sticking around with Kotoko towards the end of the episode are... well, stupid... but it's a start, and at least starts to push Itazura no Kiss in the right direction.

While the episode is pretty run-of-the-mill with regards to its actual plot, it makes a half-decent fist of it without ever really getting the bit between its teeth on the comedy front, but really all that pales in comparison with Naoki being less of an asshole. I hate to go on about it, but it's pretty much the single best thing that could have happened to the series, leaving me ready to tackle the next instalment with renewed vigour.