Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo Episode 7 Discussion

Lelouch22 said:
Unfortunately, though this episode was a slight improvement over the last two, it was still disappointingly mediocre. I enjoyed the reestablishment and subsequent infusion of the comedic elements that had largely been missing throughout the previous two episodes, but, due to the complete absence of any drama and the nature of the comedy, this increase of humor wasn't nearly as effective as one might expect, as it was far too abundant, thus creating an episode that, once again, lacked any sort of cohesive balance.

Sorata and Mashiro's relationship continues to be one of the most compelling elements in each episode, so it was rather disappointing that their fantastic interactions were diminished once again. As such, partially due to their excellent chemistry, their rare, fleeting moments throughout were consistently enjoyable, so hopefully their dynamic can actually be focused on again, at least for the entirety of an episode, rather than a perpetual stalling of their development by way of Aoyama's ever-increasing desire and subsequent attempts to indignantly interrupt nearly all of their isolated moments.

Mashiro's reassuring conversation with a worried Yuuko was a great moment, and, along with several others, such as the hilarious ABC scene, it effectively illustrates a noticeable growth in her emotional connection to Sorata, particularly in comparison to the seemingly disinterested detachment she felt towards the beginning of the show. Misaki was, of course, terrific, as the ridiculously exaggerated comedy complements her personality best. I'm hoping that her complicated, relatively complex relationship with Jin will be further explored soon, since, though it's exceedingly interesting, it hasn't been lengthily featured in an episode since the fourth.

Yuuko's antics, for the most part, weren't particularly amusing, save for her wildly imaginative fantasies of Sorata and Mashiro's relationship. Although, despite her predictably flawed characterization and mildly annoying personality, she's a decent character; certainly far more engaging and likable than Aoyama. However, I'm hopeful that she'll, if not completely, be mostly absent from the story following this episode, since, due to her involvement, the atmosphere and "developments" in this episode felt too closely similar to a typical, uninteresting harem, which definitely detracts from the intriguing and appealing nature of the show. It's just unfortunate that Yuuko won't be accompanied by Aoyama upon her imminent departure.

Sorata and Aoyama's interactions have been much too prevalent throughout the last three episodes, while consistently failing to elevate past an uninteresting, dull mediocrity. It seems distinctly obvious, even now, that Mashiro and Sorata's mutual, entwined romantic development will be considerably more essential and consequently more impactful to the narrative. For example, the moment in which Aoyama slipped and Sorata caught her would have potentially developed feelings and subtly foreshadowed later developments if Mashiro acted similarly. Instead, it comes across as purposeful and rather forced misdirection. Basically, their seemingly contrived dynamic often detracts from the show, since it's nowhere near as compelling or relatively intriguing as Mashiro and Sorata's slowly developing relationship.

Aoyama's tsundere personality is surprisingly grating, due largely to how one-dimensional it continues to be. Despite the numerous wasted attempts to create an engaging sort of characterization for her, she remains the worst character by far, never improving the show in a substantial, or even minuscule, fashion. As such, there really doesn't seem to be a point for the unnecessarily heightened focus on her. Her occasional romantic realizations feel thoroughly unimportant, never appearing to be significant or particularly noteworthy. I assume that, due to her insignificance as the third wheel, they desire to portray her as a potentially legitimate love interest, which ultimately doesn't work, since the conclusion to this "triangle" is quite inevitable. Essentially, she appears to only be necessary for her ability to consistently interfere and temporarily deter Mashiro and Sorata's relationship from actually developing.

The direction was unspectacular, rarely elevating the material, but, aside from the lack of visual creativity, it was largely solid throughout. The comedy was quite enjoyable at first, but the outlandish reactions and misinterpreted scenarios quickly became repetitive. The elevated tendency to include pandering fanservice, especially at the beginning, was completely unnecessary, but, aside from the few instances that stupidly involved Yuuko, it didn't really lessen the quality of the episode, since it's rather expected.

All in all, Sakurasou, though impressively good much of the time, has become increasingly inconsistent following the fourth episode. The preview suggests another heavily comedic, fanservice-oriented episode, but I'm expecting that either Sorata's game design or Jin's relationship with Misaki will be filtered into the episode's developments, since a balanced approach to the next episode would benefit the pacing of the narrative immensely, rather than an inclination to heavily lean in one direction. The show clearly peaked with the fourth episode, so I'm hoping that the majority of the following portion of the story will avoid a consistent, repetitious faltering into the generic, harem-esque formula that pervaded throughout this episode.