Inu x Boku SS - Episode 2

More Ririchiyo-sama~

I have now realized how hard it is to write reviews on the episodes of an anime which I have already read the manga of. There weren't any surprises that hit me during this episode of Inu x Boku SS as the adaption seems to be very faithful. I am anticipating the later episodes since the manga gets even better after a while. Right now, I'll continue watching in anticipation of more Ririchiyo-sama.

In case you still don't know, I am now a big fan of Ririchiyo. How often do you get an interesting, let alone tolerable, tsundere in anime? Most of them are either too forced or overly annoying. The last likeable tsundere I remember is Kurisu from Steins;Gate and it has almost been a year since S;G aired. Aside from her rare tsundere character type, Ririchiyo also surprised me by displaying how a sharp-tongued character is not always annoying. In fact, her verbal jabs at the other tenants at the Maison de Ayakashi add the necessary comedy to this series. Lastly, how could you not love Ririchiyo-sama's delicate and cute physical appearance? Seeing her seriously makes me want to hug her; Sōshi's lucky since he's able to do that. All in all, Ririchiyo my favorite character of the Winter 2012 season! MANIAC!

Now that my Ririchiyo rant is out of the way, time to move on to the story. The highlight of episode two, in my opinion, is Ririchiyo's thoughts about Sōshi. Instead of wanting to get rid of him and finding him utterly annoying (like in the beginning), she starts realizing how much he actually cares for her and wants to do the same. The text messaging scene at the end showed exceptionally well how moe Ririchiyo is, as well emphasizing Sōshi's bishōnen traits. The two of them were seen wearing glasses in this episode too, so fans with a megane fetish are bound to be pleased. I don't want to spoil anything but expect Ririchiyo to continue warming up to Sōshi in the upcoming episodes.

I find that Inu x Boku SS has found the right balance in regards to pleasing both genders of the audience. Male viewers get their moe fix via Ririchiyo while female viewers get to fangirl over Sōshi. Currently, the story is leaning more towards a shōjo atmosphere but I hear that it's going to head in the shōnen direction in the future. With the speed that the adaption is seemingly going at (one chapter per episode), the shōnen parts of the series may not be shown this season (I have read up to Chapter 12). Assuming my guess on pacing is correct, Episode 10 should be awesome!