Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - Purezza - Episode 8

To use the phrase "poor old Yuuto" in an episode where he's invited to spend some time within an all-girls school perhaps doesn't sound quite right, but to Hell with it... In Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - Purezza's eighth episode, poor old Yuuto finds himself the subject of intense scrutiny as he visits the all-girls school attended by Mika Nogizaka.

Once there, he soon finds out that he's quite the celebrity amongst Mika's classmates, who it appears have been told all about him by Mika himself, and before he knows it he's being poked, prodded and bombarded with questions about his life and experiences at a mixed-sex school.


With that ordeal out of the way, Mika takes Yuuto to pay a visit to the drama club which she runs (well, it has a fancier name than that, but drama club will do), ostensibly so that he can act as a guinea pig for a magical girl play both penned by and starring Mika herself. From there, we run through some pretty familiar anime romantic comedy territory, from Mika having to watch as Yuuto looks set to kiss another girl (calm down dear, he's only acting!) and hiding together in a closet in a compromising position.

After enjoying some rather sweet little episodes of late, this particular instalment seemed determined to shoehorn in some unnecessary fan service whenever possible once again, while I suppose my overall enjoyment of the story as a whole is tempered simply on account of Mika's attitude towards Yuuto - Sure, she likes him, but is it really prudent to come on so strong to someone who is practically your sister's boyfriend? I know, I know, this is just anime and it shouldn't (and doesn't) surprise me, it's just that the whole premise doesn't work as well for me as, say, Shiina's efforts with Yuuto last episode, which feels far more like a justifiable love rivalry between herself and Haruka. I suppose at the end of the day, the biggest problem here is simply that it's always the episodes which rely on the Haruka/Yuuto dynamic which work the best - While that fact doesn't make this a poor effort per se, it was all rather predictable even by this show's usual standards.