Special A - Episode 12

We've been subjected time and time again during this series to varied explanations of how Kei Takashima has a hard life, but finally the stresses and strains of the expectations placed upon him take their toll - As Kei tries to whisk Hikari away by helicopter, so he is soon overcome by illness, finding himself left largely in her care.

Of course, as we've already discovered from earlier in the series, Hikari isn't necessarily the kind of person you'd want to be looked after by, especially when food (or it now turns out ice) is involved, but despite all that this episode is almost entirely focused on just how smitten Kei is with her, and indeed the fact that he's a slightly romantic guy at heart. See, us serious and logical guys aren't all cold and heartless when it comes down to it really...


Anyway, as we reach the half-way point of this series it looked as though this rather obvious couple were finally going to do the decent thing and get together, but of course it all turns into little more than joking from both sides at the end. While it seems a little odd that Kei is capable of running a huge company basically single-handedly yet can't ask a girl out, I suppose we've all been in a similarly stupid "should I or shouldn't I?" situation, so maybe I should go a little easier on him. That aside, this was actually quite a sweet episode, especially given how it reversed the roles between the two main characters to give Hikari her turn in the driving seat.

While Special A has never exactly topped my 'anime to watch' list, I have to admit that I do find myself increasingly emotionally involved in Kei and Hikari's burgeoning relationship, and while I may not have cared what happened to them earlier on in this series I'm now rooting for the pair of them. Although this series isn't proving to be either spectacularly funny or dramatic, it has produced enough likeable characters for me to invest my emotions in, and at the end of the day that's a very important point of business for a romantic comedy such as this. I'm really not sure how they'll spread it out over twenty-four episodes, but what I do know is that I've increasingly warmed to the series.