A Couple of Cuckoos

A Couple of Cuckoos... I tried so hard to fight the urge not to drop the anime so hard that by the time I was around episode 18, it was too late for me and I had to see it through even as all the negative points of the anime kept getting worse with time instead of fixing themselves.

It's an anime that makes a lot of promises to the viewers like development between the 3 main heroines, finding the lost older sibling Nagi has, revealing more about the Amano and Umino households and finally seeing who Nagi sets his sights on as a bride.

However, instead of answering any of these questions or developing interesting plot lines, a lot of episodes felt like the characters were kicking rocks and teasing each other instead. The amount of clichés that were jam-packed into a single episode time after time could make the average watcher's eyes fall out from rolling them too many times.

I was genuinely interested in the dynamic between Erika and Nagi, the two meeting by sheer coincidence and him saving her from a seemingly dangerous situation set things in motion nicely. However, near the ending of the first season, it's revealed that Erika only gelled with the MC so greatly because he was a carbon copy of his older sibling that she had a previous connection with. Pair that with the reveal in the first episode that they've entered an arranged marriage... and you've now stolen the fateful and charming introduction that was literally just established.

Continuing with dynamics, Sachi and Nagi's relationship throughout the series did a complete 180 as soon as it was revealed that they weren't siblings by blood. She immediately wanted Nagi to see her as a woman instead of a little sister, which is the most Pornhub plot development I've ever seen. Nagi being a fairly normal person doesn't go along with her requests since MORALLY it's disgusting. Morals are nonexistent in this anime, everyone is okay with RAMPANT incest as long as their ends are met. Seriously, I don't think I've seen this much batting for incest since I watched Yosuga No Sora. Literally every single character was okay with Sachi wanting to fuck her brother, disregarding the fact they've spent their ENTIRE lives viewing each other as siblings...

On Hiro, there isn't much to complain about, she was actually a solid option, and was who Nagi had set his sights on since the beginning of the series. However she is engaged to an unknown figure that is only vaguely ever mentioned who acts as a wall between Hiro and Nagi actually getting together, but when I say vague, I mean they're never shown or mentioned by name and only exist to be a wall. Knowing this, Nagi and her still prolifically tease each other and she leads him on dangling hope in front of him for the ENTIRE duration of the 24 episode anime even till the very end.

But when it comes to characters, none were as pathetic as Nagi's original father. The anime tries to paint him in a villainous light and he's meant to be Nagi's ultimate conflict throughout the season. He has all the answers yet chooses to cloak his words in thinly-veiled mystery and swirls his drink in a villainous way while looking out his skyscraper window. The issue with this is that in reality, he isn't as smart as the plot wants you to think and his motivations are never made apparent for all 24 episodes. First his motivations are to make Nagi and Erika marry, then he pivots and wants Nagi to marry his sister Sachi instead by the end. But the reasoning is NEVER discussed and he barely appears in the anime until the last 3-4 where he makes a few appearances stirring the pot. The lack of appearances through all 24 episodes is important because he's supposed to be the big key to all the questions Nagi wants to solve but Nagi almost never visits him until the last episodes where he's forced to. So there's never a development in the relationship and the viewer never comes to understand him as a character.

And that's why, even though this anime doesn't have a drama or mystery tag, it tries SO hard to frame itself as one and instantly fails. There's no depth to the mystery because we know what the deal is the entire time; Nagi has a secret sibling that shared a childhood with Erika, but for some reason she can't remember anything but his name, appearance and 1-2 times they played together... so where are they now? That's literally the entire mystery... it has the depth of a kiddy pool.

I am not continuing the anime's second season. I will leave it at the first because I've heard the quality doesn't get any better. Honestly I'm hurt, it was 24 episodes... I could have finished 2 regular animes in that time, I want my 8-something hours back.