Kyouran Kazoku Nikki - Episode 13

After what was a pretty appalling twelfth episode of this series, the thirteenth instalment of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki has at least moved our focus entirely back to the main characters of the show, with Chika getting much of the screen time this time around.

Indeed, the first half of the episode is actually quite enjoyable as we again get to spend a little more time with one particular character, which has often been the hallmark of this series so far. We also get a smattering of quite sweet 'family'-oriented moments too, which is another thing that this show has done well quite frequently.


Given that, the second half of this episodes descent into relative randomness just didn't work as well somehow, between stealing that limelight from Chika and planting a whole bunch of rather generic madcap craziness in its place. That isn't to say that there weren't some amusing moments, as the episode certainly raised a smile here and there, but beyond that it didn't offer up anything that genuinely caught my interest in any discernible fashion.

Thus, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki's ever-changing episode quality strikes again - After reaching a low last time around, this instalment feels far, far better by comparison, but expand that reach out to the series as a whole and this was only a middling story, sat snugly between a couple of extremely good episodes and a number of far more mediocre to poor ones. All of this makes it difficult to find any good reason for sitting down to watch this series, as its positive points simply don't manifest themselves often enough to grab and, more importantly, hold your attention.