Mikakunin de Shinkokei (Engaged to the Unidentified) has ended its run with episode 12. It's kind of a shame, because they should have made this a two episode arc. If they did, the ending could have been both more dramatic and the relationship between Kobeni, the sister who finds herself thrown into a rather strange engagement, and Hakuya, the low energy but very faithful boy she is engaged to could have solidified quite nicely.

Mikakunin de Shinkokei is a fairly low key series as a whole. With no tragedy, combat, Love Hina-type "misunderstandings", or other over the top events that can tend to dull the senses in other shows, the lack of hyperactivity lets the smaller moments work quite well.

The quiet, unassuming Hakuya shows almost no emotion, but when he does, it is always towards Kobeni, and she is the only non family member who notices. This is a recurring theme, but not beaten to death. The surrounding characters wonder why Kobeni is reacting to Hakuya, when his expression does not change. She sees his emotional reaction clear as day. We see it as a background shift in the animation art. Flowers sprout and a multi colored world tends to fill the background. Sadness, meanwhile, shows Hakuya as surrounded in waves of dark mood. When he does smile, his smile leaves a nice impression because of the rarity. It isn't until the last episode where the two of them smile at each other at the same time, and it turns into quite a nice moment.

In return, because Kobeni has few quirks and is clearly the "normal" character, her gradual warming to the engagement and her emerging affection toward Hakuya is comforting for us to discover along with her. Early on, she asks the brother and sister not to reveal anything about the engagement. In a later episode, she finds herself distressed when Hakuya does this very thing. To her credit, this is not lost on her. Later on, while not willing to admit deep affection, she nonetheless makes sure he knows she is not unhappy that they are engaged, merely she wanted to avoid the rumors engulfing them.

That's not to say there aren't high energy characters. Kobeni's older sister, Benio has such a sister complex, that she is having a tough time with Kobeni's maturing, and often whines about it  to her best friend. In steps Hakuya's younger sister, Mashiro, who is about nine. Regrettably for Mashiro, Benio now has someone who she can once again dote on the way she doted on a younger Kobeni. Mashiro is at first frightened, and then angry at this smothering, wondering aloud how Benio could have hypnotized the student body into adoring her so. Mashiro has that kind of whiny voice that can get on one's nerves, but she tends to be as affectionate to Kobeni as she is angry at Benio. She is full of the special ignorance that comes from those who thinks they know all, but is informed enough to help her completely out of his element older brother cope with their new surroundings. She is the most annoying character in the series, but she has her moments.

 mild spoilers below
The big reveal about the brother and sister from the mountains is that they are both Inugamis. Dog spirits who can take on human form. Kobeni visited the mountain homestead of the two when she was yonger. She took to Hakuya in his dog form, and while they were playing she got into a severe accident. While falling off a ledge, Hakuya softened the fall, sustaining considerable injury himself. He imparted half of his powers into her to keep her alive while he ran to get help.

How this is treated in the anime explains much of my affection for this series. Never once do we see any of the Inugamis transform, including another student who we find later is one of them. Very little of their abilities are shown, other than some excessive speed, the occasional safe jump from a height, or a bit of magic so the students don't tend to question why a girl as young as Mashiro is in High School. Nor do the creators give Kobeni any special traits. They actually lampshade this a bit in a throwaway scene. It is never mentioned again.

Even without the series being completed, I have re-watched every episode I had at least twice. Some episodes I have watched three or four times. I can't explain it, because I don't ever do that until a series is finished. I did it here, though, and I will probably watch the whole thing again. I will definitely buy the series once it is released here in teh states.

One of the better shows of this season, and one that surprised me quite a bit.

Posted by: topmaker at 12:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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