I continue to like this show, and I like it because of Ririchiyo, and particularly her feelings toward Soushi. That painful angst is wonderful. For me, the more time those two are on screen the better.
Hidaka Rina is using an awkward and formal voice, but it works. The formality somehow helps the emotion come across, for me. The way that Soushi's character is so artificial, and hasn't moved, is fascinating in its own way. Will he shift? Can he shift? Will she ever break down her inner conflicts and really get together with him somehow?
The other characters are good. There is some nice comic business. But it doesn't add up to much without Ririchiyo. And in fact, I have gotten tired of the way Hikasa Youko, a seiyuu I like, is doing the yuri wolf character. I liked her at first, but it has gotten too same and overdone for me. On the other hand, I think she is
outstanding singing the ED.
And I do have to add that the character design for Ririchiyo is just outstanding, in both her incarnations. The anime character designer, Iizuka Haruko, is one of the few of whom
a photo is easy to find. She was character designer for
Tamayura and for
Umi Monogatari, and has done a lot of animation direction work for shows like
The Idolm@ster and
Railgun.