Ookami-san and Seven Companions 4 – That Fairytale Where Everyone Becomes a Maid
Like last week’s episode, this one was about one of the seven companions, the maid Otsu Tsuruyaga in this case. That’s about all it had it common with that episode, though, or with the rest of the series, for that matter. Without a clear fairytale analogy to latch onto, it was an episode that could’ve been a part of any other show. Unfortunately, when this show isn’t standing out thanks to its gimmick, it’s downright plain and… boring.
OK, it was nice seeing Ryouko in this.
The premise was pretty ridiculous. So much so that it was funny, I’ll admit. If only it didn’t remind me of a bazillion other anime out there. It was just the classic “girl falls into main character’s lap” story rolled up into an episode instead of an entire series. Actually, it was lifted wholesale from some eroge if anything.
Then things continued to get more ridiculous, but not in a good way. It started with Otsu’s back story, which felt like it belonged in another type of show altogether. That it was out of place didn’t bother me as much as just how played out a story it was. The “pushed out of the way of an oncoming truck” plot element has been used to death, especially in anime, and it leaves me feeling nothing, if it ever did at one point. It’s uninteresting.
Sorry kid, your role was only to die so that our heroine can have a sad back story.
The last third of the episode was without humor. Even the narrator, who had saved some scenes earlier in the series didn’t feel all-there. She could’ve had a field day with the craziness of the set up, but she was restrained, doing only enough to remind us that she was still around. The way the story turned out was sappy and difficult to tolerate, especially during the big all-maids scene.
I did like getting to see Ryoushi’s home life. It’s an unusual set up, and Yukime was a fun character. I suppose her conversation with Ryouko and Ringo was part of developing the main romance story. And the gag involving Hansel and Gretel was amusing, if predictable. Though showing us that brother sister love reminded us again of how eroge based this episode’s plot was.
Will they return, or were around just to be the punchline of one joke? I'm hoping for the former, thinking the latter.
That’s all I have to say about this one. The show needs to get back in track with what made it so appealing in the first place, what made it stand out from other shows of the same vein. Because it depends on its unique elements to stand out from a sea of shows that is identical to this one. Instead of this moe fanservice, let’s see more fairy tale adaptations. Which one is Otsu based off of, anyway?
