Hatsukoi Limited - Episode 4

We knew it was coming from the very start, and episode four finally delivers it, bringing us to the tale of Koyoi, the girl with a ridiculously overbearing love of her brother Yoshihiko.

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.