Recap: With Haruka gone, Manabe is at a loss and reverts back to his former life. Yuriko will not stand for it however, and with Muroto’s help they go on a trip to find her.

Jel’s Thoughts: It’s hard to say exactly why but I feel like Kotoura-san’s magic is starting to wear off a little. Maybe it’s because this episode was completely predictable, right down to the melodramatic repeating names and words and Moritani’s redemption. Or maybe it was the emotional whiplash finally catching up with us with Pervy Grandpa. It was clear he was supposed to be funny once the gag got going, but considering how much has happened to poor Haruka I wasn’t sure at first. It made the joke a lot creepier in context, considering I was wondering if they were going to seriously suggest he was abusing her in the first episode.

Still, I’m not a heartless monster, and re-affirming Haruka and Manabe’s devotion to each other was really sweet. Even the aforementioned melodrama is tempered by humor in a few places, so I get the impression the writers are well aware of some of the potential storytelling pitfalls they’re up against. It really was a good episode overall, I just feel like the show’s hard mix of drama and comedy is plateauing a bit. I wouldn’t say the first four episodes have followed the same formula per se, but I wouldn’t mind seeing an episode or two dedicated to comedy OR drama and not a 50/50 split of both.

With a certain air of closure this week, I could see next week as a good opportunity to go full throttle on comedy for an episode or two. Thematically the characters have certainly earned a break, and I think we as the audience could use one as well. Of course I don’t want the show to PERMANENTLY go full time comedy (something I still can’t seem to rule out), but there will be plenty of time for drama later. For now I just want to kick back and enjoy the funny, sweet relationships Kotoura-san has worked so hard to achieve.