A Couple of Cuckoos

Episode 22

It feels like the momentum that was carrying A Couple of Cuckoos so effectively through the past couple episodes has finally broken with this one. It could simply be that the plotlines are just kind of coasting to pausing points in this episode with little indication of how they'll be followed up next. Or it could be that the way this episode arranges itself around telling those stories doesn't leave much for the characters to do or interact with each other the way they did so strongly in last week's episode. Either way, it's a more iffy entry, back down to Cuckoos's usual "inoffensively fine" quality, though with a few noticeable highlights.

Most of these stronger bits come at the beginning of the episode before things start feeling like they're running out of gas. We continue exploring Segawa's angle of observing Sachi's obvious brother-crushing tendencies (even if the sister is still denying it). In doing so, Segawa only reinforces why she's probably my favorite character in this thing. As her admission of her feelings to Nagi indicates, she's probably got the most self-awareness and emotional intelligence of anyone in this cuckoos' nest, rebuking Sachi's accusations that she 'betrayed' her earlier indication of not pursuing Nagi by hitting her with some knowledge: "There's no such thing as a relationship that stays the same forever." Everyone's feelings, especially at this tender teenage point in life, are evolving, and it's best for all parties to be understanding of that.

Even if they haven't been shown as particularly oppositional by rom-com standards, this point does set Segawa up opposite of Erika in their approaches to relationships with Nagi. As Erika expounds a little later in the episode, she's come to dearly cherish the relationships she's forged with this crew, genuinely wishing for their connected moments to stay the same, always. While I personally agree with Segawa's viewpoint, I can understand this component of Erika's character: Her less-social upbringing coupled with her concerns over her mysteriously-missing brother drive the degree of attachment she's experiencing here. Given that the Sosuke plot does resurface this episode, it's a smart part of her personality to spotlight.

Amusingly, it also helps that this sincere expression of Erika's comes during a whole goofy scene where a nakedly-bathing Nagi is convinced she's stripped down and joined him, only to end on the punchline reveal that she was wearing a swimsuit the whole time! This isn't that kind of jacuzzi, Nagi! It's easily the funniest joke in the whole episode, and even prompts a little reflection from Nagi as he wonders exactly how far his relationship with Erika has actually come after all this, and realizes how he might need to navigate that moving forward now that he knows how Segawa feels about him. It's a silly, small bit, but one that demonstrates Cuckoos's ability to communicate character through conversations alongside decently funny scenes.

It's also likely the most interesting part of the whole episode, as after that is where this one sort of deflates. There's plenty of potential for more upswings here, with a sleeping arrangement conspiring to get Nagi and Sachi in the same bed and maybe actually confront that incestuous elephant in the room, but no dice on that one. We mostly just re-re-re-confirm that, yeah, the siblings are kind of awkward around each other at this point. For Erika and Segawa's side, we get to watch them faff about playing Twister and taking bubble baths. It's supposed to encompass the friendship the two girls have forged, and perhaps even gesture at Segawa's concerns over complicating such arrangements as she becomes more clear about her feelings for Nagi. While I appreciate Segawa rather courteously taking stock of her friends' potential feelings in a way that suggests her concern about hurting them, it's another aspect where nothing major has materialized out of it yet. No wonder the story instead ends up getting distracted by that Twister game and bubble bath and insisting they're clues to the story's other major thread.

As consistently compelled as I am by the Sosuke plot-line, it does feel like it's starting to exist primarily for the purpose of yanking us around for as long as the show still has to go on. The twist in this case is that Erika 'suddenly' remembers the vacations she took to this beach house with him ten years ago, and in parallel realizes that that game and bubble bath and new saves on her Nintendo Wii indicate that the dude might have been hanging out at the place only a few days before they got there. It feels like an odd swerve thrown in to propel that plot with little thought about what it indicates for the mysterious parties involved; Why is Sosuke getting to Goldilocks it up in this house if his dad disowned him and denies his existence? Or maybe by this point I was just distracted thinking about Sosuke buying a new copy of Twister and taking it to a beach house to play by himself. Cuckoos has delivered on making odder storytelling choices come back around as seemingly sensible later, so I'll bet this whole thing will feel sorted out better eventually, but in the moment it just comes off too incidental, like they felt they had to remind us of this plot without actually advancing it.

So when the search for Sosuke still comes up empty despite all the new evidence (as Nagi says "It was never going to be that easy"), it doesn't really feel like it comes with a worthwhile amount of character or thematic advancement either. The main point is highlighting Erika's emotional uncertainty over how she'll actually feel when/if they find him, and associating that with Nagi's drive to also track Sosuke down. But I don't feel like the resolution to this conflict comes off as anything more than a vague understanding that Erika and Nagi reach. I understand it doesn't have to, there's still several episodes (and who knows how much manga) left for Cuckoos, but it still lends to that sort of 'coasting' feeling I mentioned. It does leave me still interested in where the story will go next, but now partially out of hope that it can ramp up again the way it has before. Until then, I'm still fine with it, sustained by Segawa's noticeable character strengths here, or bits like the running gag about her comparing her lonely only-child life to everyone else's memories of growing up with siblings. It's the little things.

Rating:

A Couple of Cuckoos is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris is a freewheeling Fresno-based freelancer with a love for anime and a shelf full of too many Transformers. He can be found spending way too much time on his Twitter, and irregularly updating his blog.