Review of A Couple of Cuckoos
Kakkou no Iinazuke is a romcom with a harem tag, and I'll go straight to the point : this anime isn't original and doesn't feel unique at all, but that doesn't imply it's a bad one, I'm just pointing it out for readers who might have hoped for something innovative, that's not the case here. To explain my rating and why I recommend it, I'll give you some details about the pros and cons of this anime, without spoiling anything. Pros : + The male mc, Nagi Umino isn't the loser/virgin type you canoften find in that kind of animes, he's similar to mcs like Fuutarou in Gotoubun, or Hachiman in Oregairu. He's assertive, and he'll say what is on his mind without hesitation, which helps making the show more credible at times.
+ Aside from the initial situation of this show with this baby swapping thing at birth, everything else feels coherent. Obviously, in a slice of life context, it doesn't seem hard to achieve such a feat, but I'm trying to emphasize it because it's done better than in other romcoms. ( I'm thinking mostly about the characters' profiles, they all make sense and the show/manga respects the traits given to the chars along the story. )
+ It's linked with the last point, and it's kind of hard to describe without spoiling, but let's say that regarding the harem tag, this show isn't "binary", usually in those romcoms there will be the obviously shy introverted girl, then the obviously extraverted girl etc... In Kakkou no Iinazuke, while the female MC do have some common traits, the story remains interesting because their profiles are kind of similar but different enough at the same time. ( I know this might seem like a detail, but I'm writing about it for the same reason mentionned above : I think this point in particular is done better than the norm for romcoms )
Cons :
- This show contains brocon. Now, to qualify this fact, keep in mind that there's no suggestive scenes at all ( and this show doesn't contain that much fanservice btw ) and there is the usual excuse that those siblings aren't blood related, but yeah, I'm marking this as a con because some viewers will hate the show for this sole reason.
- I think that the pace of the story isn't done really well, but that's kind of a double-edged criteria. On the one hand, if you enjoy the characters and the sol vibe, you'll enjoy every episode and you'll be glad there are 24 of them, but on the other hand, if you are eager to see some quick evolution, plot twists and so on, you'll be heavily dissapointed/bored by the show.
All in all, I recommend Kakkou no Iinazuke for anyone that enjoys romcom : as a matter of fact, the show has an interesting enough cast, and the dynamics between characters all feel coherent, making the story easy to get into and you'll feel much love for your favorite character(s). The main problem with the show is its rythm/length, I reckon that in the span of 24 episodes, there might not be enough things happening, and you shouldn't bother with it if a story focused anime is what you are searching for. Furthermore, this show contains a bit of brocon, nothing unbearable, but it's always questionnable to see that kind of stuff.