The following contains spoilers for Episode 15 of A Couple of Cuckoos, "We Have to Tell Our Secret," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The second part of A Couple of Cuckoos has a rather underwhelming start. Considering how amazing the end of the first part was, we thought the second part would start with a bang. But no, it turns out that the show runners prefer to use the same old, predictable formula.
Thankfully though, episode 14 proves to be a rather entertaining episode. Although not a perfect balance, there's still a good distribution between drama and comedy in that episode. It can make you giggle at the humor and gasp at the dramatic moments. So hopefully episode 15 can at least offer the same level of quality. Let's see how it turns out in this review of episode 15 of A Couple of Cuckoos.
Previously On A Couple of Cuckoos
Episode 14 of A Couple of Cuckoos is separated into two parts, the first two-thirds of it is comedy, while the rest is dedicated to the drama aspect of the story. In the first part, Erika asks Nagi to help her study so that she can pass her exam. She is rather desperate this time because her father says that if she fails, then she will have to leave their current house and go back to living with her parents. Nagi is reluctant to help her at first. But after getting an earful from Sachi, and seeing how hard Erika studied on her own, Nagi finally decided to help her.
In the second part of the story, Nagi and Sachi are asked by their parents to help out with selling foods during the neighborhood festival. It was supposed to be a quality time for Nagi and Sachi, but then Hiro comes and asks Nagi to walk around the festival with her later that night, which certainly puts Sachi in a bad mood.
When asked about who Sachi is, Nagi introduced her to Hiro as his little sister. Later on that night, Erika comes to visit the festival. When she is walking around with Sachi, they stumble across Hiro, and Erika immediately introduces Sachi as her little sister. Needless to say, Hiro is puzzled because two different people introduce Sachi as their little sister that day.
We Have to Tell Our Secret
Just like episode 14, episode 15 is also divided into two distinct parts with the comedy taking up about 75% of the episode, and the rest is drama. The story is still about the festival, and the first part is dedicated to showcase Nagi enjoying the festival with Erika. Since this is Erika’s first summer festival, there are lots of hilarious moments happening throughout. Such as that time when Erika tries to pay the food stall with her credit card.
The second part is where Hiro comes into the picture. Without further ado, she asks them about Sachi. Why did Erika and Nagi say that Sachi is their little sister? Surprised by the sudden question, Erika grabs Nagi’s hand and runs away from Hiro. However, after she has calmed down, Nagi tells her that it would be best if they simply tell the truth to Hiro.
A Big Improvment
As you can see from the previous section, episode 15 has the same overall story structure as episode 14. About two-thirds of the story is dedicated to comedy, while the rest is full-blown drama. That being said, this episode is clearly an improved version of the last one.
The comedy hits harder while the drama is more gripping, yet they still manage to keep the overall mood of the episode relatively light at the same time. Not only that, the transition between the two parts is also a lot smoother than in the previous episode.
The show runners seem to have found a new formula for this series, and they are experimenting with how to best improve it. And that is great news. Because this new format is way more enjoyable than alternating between full-blown comedy and full-blown drama like they used to do in the first part of the series.
A New Chapter in Nagi & Hiro's Relationship
One of the major contenders for the Harem queen, Hiro Segawa, finally finds out the truth about the relationship between Nagi and Erika. This means there is no longer any secret between the three of them. And this marks a new chapter in the relationship between the main characters, namely Nagi, Erika, and Hiro.
While Hiro seems to take the news like a champ, it’s clear that she is still very much in the competition. And that opens up a lot of doors for some new and exciting development between the three of them.
Maybe Erika and Hiro can be honest with each other about what Nagi means to them, and thus begin an open competition between the two. Or maybe they will compete for Nagi’s attention in their own way, which presents lots of opportunities for different comedic situations. The story can walk on so many paths.
Episode 15 represents a new and improved format for the story. The showrunners seem to be comfortable with this way of blending the comedy and the drama. After all, this structure allowed them to showcase hilarious moments while also delivering drama needed to move the story forward at the same time. Will they stick with this format or use a radically different one for the next episode? Only time will tell, but either way, the hype for the next episode is certainly high.