Episode 6 of Kokoro Connect was my favorite episode of this anime so far.
What I particularly liked about this episode was two things:
1. It demonstrates how there is good narrative consistency/development to everything. Plot points that call for substantial follow-up actually get substantial follow-up.
2. The characters are similarly consistent. I think I now have a pretty good feel for Inaba, Iori, and Taichi. I'm starting to really get their characters, and a lot of that is because their respective personalities and personal issues are consistent. Yui, and especially Aoki, are less well-developed at this point, but at least they do have certain defining character traits that the narrative adheres to from one arc to the next.
Some people may have been disappointed that Taichi and Iori agreed to "status quo" everything, but I'm just pleased that their Episode 5 confessions were actually picked back up on in Episode 6, and given the screen-time that they frankly deserved. Their confessions weren't just completely ignored or even swept under the rug with a casual line or two, and the status quo agreement wasn't arrived at in a cheap and easy way but as a perfectly understandable response to the new situation caused by Heartseed.
I'll grant you that Taichi and Iori not having much chance to talk to each other alone over the course of three weeks
is a bit hard to swallow, but on the other hand I like how nothing terribly important is happening "off-camera" either. To put it another way, if Tachi and Iori do get more serious with each other, I want to see that transition from friendship to romance, and not merely have the narrative bring me up to speed on it after it happens "off-camera".
Kokoro Connect obviously has its titillating scenes, but I'm not sure if I'd call them fanservice, because they actually do have both plot and character relevance. These scenes
say something about the characters as much as any of the other scenes do, and they seem to build upon each other. I like how these titillating scenes are being used to develop increased tension and drama between the characters, particularly as it pertains to the Inaba/Taichi/Iori love triangle. And I have to say that this love triangle has become the most compelling one I've seen in anime in a long,
long time.
The dialogue in this episode toned down the Joss Whedon-esque quality that it's had in recent episodes, and I think it hit
just the right balance between sophisticated and naturalistic. It was sophisticated enough to be interesting, but naturalistic enough to never feel overly long-winded. It was thought-provoking, and it also flowed very well.
I also felt that the comedy moments in this episode hit a bit better than most comedy moments did in previous episodes. Inaba's more...
theatrical side, shall we say... came across really well here, and I found it genuinely amusing. And when she got angry with Taichi and punched him, I could truly feel and understand the emotion of that scene, and hence it worked as good slapstick comedy for me (i.e. Taichi really was being foolish in saying what he did, and he kind of had that punch to the gut coming to him
).
I also love the new ED, and I really like where the characters are going right now. So a great and very enjoyable and fulfilling episode this week. I'm hoping that Kokoro Connect's 2nd arc can keep this up.
