Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko - Episode 13 OVA

Having not expected all that much of it, Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko ultimately managed to be a pretty enjoyable part of the spring 2011 anime season - although those heady days already seem like an aeon ago, we now finally (finally) have our hands on the series thirteenth and final episode.

Following on from the big (well, somewhat big) baseball game which closed out the show's TV broadcast, episode thirteen takes us beyond that into the summer festival which follows it, starting out with something rather akin to a date for our protagonist Makoto Niwa (or Nyawaniwanyoa, if you prefer) with the ever-energetic and affable Ryuushi (sorry, Ryuuko).  Things take on a pretty typical festival schedule here, with the consumption of foodstuffs and idle chit-chat, interrupted only by an impromptu meeting with Maekawa as she works one of the stalls.

Eventually however, Makoto has to leave Ryuuko to her own devices (much to her disappointment), as the little lothario has another date to keep, this time with Erio.  Indeed, Erio's choice of time and place proves to be decidedly important, as she's managed to find the best possible stop for over-seeing a meteor shower, making for an impressive precursor to the traditional festival fireworks.  It's a little irritating then when this rather lovely view is interrupted by the loud braggadocio of Yashiro Hoshimiya, who promises to finally prove her abilities once and for all.  While Makoto wearily plays along with Yashiro, what happens next turns his concept of what is real and what isn't well and truly on its head....

While the end of its TV broadcast run felt rather abrupt in its ending, this additional OVA episode isn't really much better in a sense, presenting an intriguing and surprising finish to seemingly set the series up for a second season.  Not that I'd mind if this proves to be the case mind you - although Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko's discussion of aliens and the supernatural aren't all that interesting for the most part, it has proved to have a great line in likeable (if crazy) characters while developing some brilliant dynamics between them, courtesy largely of a protagonist who is actually more than your usual dull cipher for the viewer.  Watching these individuals lark around and bounce off one another has been great fun for the most part, and that was on show again to at least some degree here - sadly, much of the impact of its second half was lost thanks to the long gap between watching this episode and the rest of the series, but it has at least delivered some reminders of why I even wanted to watch the final episode of this fun little series in the first place.