Kuragehime 7 – Blackmail Fail

I dunno, going by anime rules, I think “second base” means you’re married and have kids.

It’s probably a good thing that the blackmail attempt fell through, because getting the necessary money to buy the apartment building that way probably would have caused a whole host of problems down the road. Keiichirou definitely would not have taken that shit laying down. That’s short-term thinking, Kuranosuke!

I do wonder if there will be a real clash between Kuranosuke and the Nuns any time soon since he is sweeping them along so quickly with the plan to buy the apartment. They’re still fairly passive, even when their home will almost surely be taken away from them. And they’re not willing to part with their collections, either (or Chieko isn’t, anyway; I guess she and the yaoi author have the only things people would want to buy!), although they don’t protest too much when Kuranosuke makes his way to the storage area. (I wonder what sorts of treasures will be hidden away in there? :p)

That the flea market will provide anywhere near enough money is doubtful, but every little bit helps, especially if those little bits happen to come from the sale of a few Benz. A hit manga would also help, too, of course. My main concern is that all this is a bit too easy, and that Kuranosuke is doing all the leg work without the Nuns standing up and making a real effort to protect their home. A lot of romantic comedies thrive on those easy, coincidental events, and it’d be a shame for Kuragehime to sweep away the problems as if they weren’t problems at all. But there are still four episodes remaining, so I’m optimistic.

Speaking of easy . . . (I’m sorry; I couldn’t help it!)

Despite her devious plotting and blackmail all in the name of property acquirement, I can’t completely hate Inari. Really, it’s because she is such a cartoony villain. She’s vain enough to micromanage lighting to get the best cell phone picture, jealous enough to harp on other women’s fake qualities for minutes on end with no sense of irony, and goofy enough to use the same trick time and again to keep meeting Shuu. Are we sure Inari isn’t a secret kleptomaniac?

Also can’t hate her because she is one of those stock villains you see all the time in Hollywood romantic comedies, the ones who devote all their energies to breaking up the Main Couple and are petty, teeth-gnashing Sluts. I always thought they were funny rather than evil, personally. And Inari doesn’t even know she is a rival, which makes it funnier to me. She just wants the building. Can people and buildings be shipped? Probably best not to answer that.

I did greatly enjoy the scene between Shuu and Inari in the cafe. Shuu’s awkward phrasing of “sexual relations” is quite lulzy. Someone call Bill Clinton to coach Shuu on how to approach these matters, post-haste! The foreboding music is an especially amusing touch. Someone needs to let Shuu know that Inari is a completely ineffective villain, even though she holds all the cards in her hand right now.

Despite the teasing in this episode, I think there’s very little chance Tsukimi and Kuranosuke end up together, which is probably why I can’t fully throw myself into the almighty Kuragehime shipping war. I’m liking everything else in Kuragehime more than the romance, anyway; ShuuKimi is pretty straightforward, so I can get behind the pairing but don’t find ’em particularly interesting. More Kuranosuke, I say. He should become the new landlord and lead the ladies on many awkward adventures. It would be fun.

(By the way, how the hell did Mayaya not see that Kuranosuke is a dude in this scene?! That must have taken quite a bit of explaining. That has to be the way the conflict will come — everyone will be happy and accepting of Kuranosuke’s help, and then they’ll find out he is a guy, and then they’ll throw him out on his ass like dumbasses.)