Friday 17 January 2014

Golden Time - Episode 14

We're fourteen episodes into Golden Time now, and Koko remains as paranoid as ever, although for once this paranoia actually results in some desirable results.

Having heard on the grapevine that Mitsuo might have himself a girlfriend, it seems safe to assume that the girl in question might be Chinami - a prospect that leads to Koko, Tada and Takaya heading off to do a little spying on Chinami's house to get to the bottom of things.  The trouble is, Mitsuo is nowhere to be found and Oka herself is simply having a lazy day, proving that Kaga's predictions were way off base.


The good that comes out of this series of events is that Oka has been left alone in her house as her parents have moved out, and rather than endure a lonely summer it seems perfect to invite her on the beach trip that the others thought was off the cards.  The bright mood which ensues from this threatens to be destroyed when the group spots Mitsuo and Linda out together, causing some conflicted emotions for both Banri and Oka.  Following this, and as the beach trip draws closer, it's time for Oka and Koko to get together for some all-important strategic planning around choices of swimsuit - a decision-making process that leads to some in-depth discussion about the state of Koko and Tada's relationship, and more importantly the former's concerns about the latter's feelings for her.

This heart-to-heart discussion between Chinami and Kaga actually made for a really great episode - for all of their earlier differences the two characters have a great rapport that is enjoyable to watch, and it's actually nice to see two female characters in a romantic comedy being friends rather than constantly being at each other's throats as is normally the case (even for earlier episodes in this very same serious!).  The series as a whole still doesn't have the kind of week to week impact that I'd like it to, but it continues to serve up enough interesting fare to make for a worthwhile watch each week even if it's stumbling in its attempts to reach any dramatic heights.

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