Kuragehime - Episode 5

Given the goings-on last episode, it's probably not really surprising to find Tsukimi still dwelling on her aquarium trip and what happened with Shuu during it, leaving her wanting to forget the incident clearly not wanting to forget it at the same time.

However, there's little time for such distractions as it soon becomes clear that Amamizu's future is very much in doubt, with Chieko's mother having decided to sell the property inhabited by the "Sisterhood" and a lot of the other opposition to it seemingly collapsing.  This calls for desperate measures from the boarding house's residents, involving (shock, horror!) actually going out, in the name of attending a presentation on the area's redevelopment.

Needless to say this doesn't exactly go well, with the girls over-powered by the good-looking woman running the presentation before they've even entered the room, while Tsukimi is distracted by the presence of Shuu, who once again fails to recognise who she is and brushes off her sole attempt at striking up conversation.  Depressing times all around then as the Sisterhood leave the presentation early in various states of bedraggled depression, headed up by Tsukimi as she sees Shuu leaving whilst sharing an umbrella with the aforementioned beautiful (yet canny and manipulative) organiser of the event.  Finding this state of disarray before him, it seems that it's left to Kuranosuketo rally the troops and teach them how to make their voices heard in the modern world, setting the wheels in motion for another major step forward for the show's plot (coming thick and fast as such steps are).

Although this episode didn't hold either the comedy or the emotion of last week's instalment, there was still plenty to enjoy as Kuragehime's plot and various character inter-dependencies move on apace.  While it does take a leap of faith to believe Shuu's inability to recognise Tsukimi, this increasingly tangled web of love and misunderstanding remains pretty compelling and heart-felt stuff, while digging a little deeper reveals yet more social and anthropological commentary that marks the series out as more than just another romantic comedy or show about otaku for otaku.  In particular, the importance of looks and external impressions is becoming a more and more pivotal part of this show, and I'm more than a little curious to see in what direction this point is headed - when such things are blended in with some good characters, laughs and story-telling it certainly continues to impress.