The reason for Koyoi's obsession isn't explicitly explained during the course of this episode, but the obvious subtext links it in to the death of their mother - Further proof that being the parent of a child in Japanese anime is a dangerous business, causing either death or a job that forces you to work long hours or overseas. Koyoi's love of her brother couldn't be further from Ayumi's feelings towards her own brother Arihara - To be frank, she thinks he's a pest, hating the poor guy despite his attempts to be closer to her as a sibling.
Anyhow, as per previous episodes of Hatsukoi Limited, what this episode serves up is an increasingly tangled web, as we observe Yoshihiko's interest in Yamamoto, who herself falls for Arihara after a frankly bizarre incident involving a lollipop. An interesting development in seduction techniques, but I don't think I'll try sticking an unsheathed lollipop into a strange girl's mouth by way of an introduction any time soon. Wait a second, that really doesn't sound right...
It's really hard to know what to make of this series - The more I watch it, the more I'm becoming suspicious that it's just an excuse to parade a variety of cute girls in front of us rather than building anything in terms of deep characterisation, story-telling or humour. Sure, there were a couple of mildly amusing moments on show here, but not really enough to justify a slice of life series such as this, and when the panty shots outnumber the jokes you have to start wondering just what is afoot. Still, I suppose even the most hardened of anime-watching intellectuals needs a bit of eye-candy to look at every now and again, and Hatsukoi Limited certainly delivers in that regard - Fan service aside, it continues to look beautiful and pretty well-polished, which at least makes it something of a draw against its so far cookie-cutter characters and scenarios.
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I'm giving up on Hatsukoi, though F3licity says the manga's better - waiting, waiting for the girls to act just a little more like characters and less like low-hanging fruit. Don't have stamina to continue...
I have certainly found myself preferring the manga from the chapters I've read so far (I'm nowhere near finished with it though) - I can't help but wonder if this is just one of those things that is better suited to that medium.
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