Nyan Koi! - Episode 9

I've often asserted that no anime series (and in particular no comedy-led anime) is complete without a swimming pool episode, and despite it being the middle of winter Nyan Koi somehow manages to shoe-horn just such an instalment into half of its ninth episode. Thank goodness for indoor swimming pools, I guess.


Of course, this means that there's a fair amount of swimsuit related fan service on show for the first half of the episode, with some "impeccably" chosen camera angles to make the most of it, while all of the main girls from the series just so happen to be at the pool on the same day. In the ensuing ruckus from having all of these girls around, Junpei does at least get to feel Kaede's breasts, albeit at the cost of a bang on the head in the process (and to be fair, he was just trying to be chivalrous and save Mizuno from falling in the water in the first place). Indeed, everything seems to be going pretty well for Junpei, as he finds himself even able to help a cat who had somehow wandered into the swimming pool and found himself unable to escape.

The problem is, helping said feline to find its way out of the pool leaves Junpei with a cold, and for the second half of the episode Kanako manages to force her way into delivering Junpei an upcoming exam paper and taking the opportunity to play nurse for him for a while. Naturally, Junpei is completely clueless as to her motives, and finds himself more concerned with a visiting fat cat who has come to ask his assistance, which elicits a surprisingly emotional outburts even by Junpei's standards.

Compared to the impeccable comic timing and technique of the last episode, this instalment somehow felt a little flat to me (feel free to insert a breast joke here) - The swimming pool half of the episode felt rather forced and thus unfunny to boot, and things were only really improved by a second half which actually made a good fist of showing Sumiyoshi's conflicted nature regarding whether she should pursue her feelings towards Junpei or simply stand aside and let things take their course with Kaede, a conflict which actually somehow serves to make her a far more likeable character for perhaps the first time this series. Overall though, this certainly isn't one of Nyan Koi's better episodes, yet it still remains entertaining enough as a whole to continue to be watchable. If nothing else, there's always at least some amusement to be derived from fat cats...