With this episode, we already consumed 17 episodes worth of content in the story of A Couple of Cuckoos. If there’s one thing that can be said about this series so far, it would be a roller coaster between fun and mediocre. You got a couple of boring episodes, a couple of amazing episodes, and tons of mediocre ones.
That being said, the quality gap between the mediocre, the boring, and the great ones seems to be shrinking down in this second part of this series, which is basically from episode 13 and up. For example, the last episodes are rather unremarkable, but it is still better than the worst episodes in the first part of the series. So even if there are countless ups and downs, there’s nowhere to go but up.
RELATED: A Couple of Cuckoos Episode 16 Review - Sachi’s Determination
Previously On A Couple of Cuckoos
Episode 16 of A Couple of Cuckoos focuses heavily on Sachi. The story started with Sachi being jealous towards Hiro. So she decided to follow her around with Erika. But since Hiro turns out to be a much better person than she thought, Sachi then decided to talk to her directly. The next day, Sachi visits Nagi’s school and asks for a tour of the school under the pretext that she planned to go there once she graduated from middle school.
As it happened, Hiro is the tour guide for Sachi. So they use that time to talk more as Hiro takes her around to see the school ground. Sachi ended up liking Hiro and also liking the school. But once she said to Nagi that she wants to go to the same high school as he is, Nagi rejected her decision. The reason is simply because it’s an expensive school. Their parents are already quite strained financially just to support Nagi, so if Sachi decided to go to the same expensive school, their parents would be overwhelmed.
So the siblings decided to talk directly to their parents. Much to their surprise, their parents fully support Sachi’s decision and say that they’ll figure out a way to pay for the expenses. Needless to say, Sachi was elated.
It’s Almost Like Anything Could Happen!!
Episode 17 is about a study camp. As we’ve found out several episodes ago, Erika is in dire need to improve her grades, so Hiro and Nagi agreed to go on a study camp at Erika’s summer house in order to help with her study and improve their own score at the same time.
At first, the members of this study camp were Erika, Hiro, Nagi, and Sachi. Unfortunately, due to overexcitement, Sachi ended up getting sick and can’t make it to the camp. So rather than canceling the plan altogether, they go with one of their classmates, Shion, instead. Shion is no stranger to them, after all, he was a member of their group for the last study trip.
When four of them get to the big house by the lake, the sense of relaxation quickly overpowers their initial intention to study. And since Shion has a crush on Erika, he immediately approaches Nagi to ask him for help. So the plan is for Shion to approach Erika while Nagi gets to spend some quality time with Hiro. What could possibly go wrong with this plan? Well, everything.
Romance Is In The Air
There are a lot of comedy and funny moments happening all over this episode. From Sachi’s overexcitement over the trip, to Shion’s hilarious banter with Nagi, there are so many scenes here that can make you smile and giggle.
However, what’s even more interesting is the fact that there’s also a thick sense of romance in the air. Sure, Shion is trying hard to get Erika’s attention, but the most stand out one is definitely the overwhelming romantic feelings between Nagi and Hiro. This means not only this episode will make you laugh, but it will also warm your heart at the same time.
A Return To The Best Formula
When we moan about the need for a good balance between the dramatic romance and the hilarious comedy in A Couple of Cuckoos, this episode is the perfect example of that balance. We get a healthy dose of comedy, but there are also some dramatic moments happening that can warm our frozen heart.
This is the formula that needs to be followed by every episode in this series. Interestingly enough, there were other episodes that manage to achieve this perfect balance, such as episode 12. So the showrunners already have the best formula for the series. Yet they somehow always fall back to the same old rusty formula and ignore the balance that makes this series so great. Hopefully this time around, they keep the formula for this episode in mind and make the subsequent episodes based on this blueprint.
Episode 17 is the best episode in this second part of A Couple of Cuckoos, by far. It successfully tells a heartwarming romance that showcases character development and story progression, but we also get to enjoy a healthy dose of comedy at the same time. As mentioned earlier, hopefully, the showrunners can use the formula of this episode and apply it to future episodes.
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