Ojarumaru 24th Series Episode 10 Review

I'm starting off with this particular Ojarumaru episode because, as of this writing, it's the most recently aired episode. I might go back and review the previous 24th series episodes some other time. 

Anyway, Kisuke no Hatsukoi (キスケの初恋 “Kisuke’s First Love”) is about Kisuke having a crush on a little girl after accidentally bumping into her on his way home from grocery shopping. His siblings Akane and Aobei, Ojarumaru, and Denbo find out about this and spy on them. 

I find the little girl cute because of her design and voice (though she is only heard laughing and gasping). I like how during the scene when Kisuke and the girl bumped into each other, she seemingly doesn't mind the fact that Kisuke accidentally broke her hair accessory and is more interested in the fact that a carrot landed on his horn. 

My favorite scene is when Aobei and Akane imagine Kisuke and the girl marrying each other. I find it pretty cool seeing cameos of various characters, such as Asako, Tommy, and Otome. Aobei and Akane expressing tears of joy in the fantasy sequence and then seeing them crying back in reality is pretty funny.

Another thing that sticks out to me is the ending. I didn't really understand it when I first watched it, however, it made a little more sense after I read this Japanese blog post. Aobei, Akane, Ojarumaru, and Denbo realize that they have been overthinking the relationship of Kisuke and the girl. Kisuke only bought her another hair accessory as a way of apologizing for breaking her old one. All is well, and as the oni start to go back home, Kisuke suddenly won't move. He reveals to Aobei and Akane that the girl moved away and therefore can't see her anymore. He suddenly starts tearing up and his siblings comfort him. I like how the scene was handled; emotional, but not to the point of making you cry. The way Kisuke's tears are drawn and the mellow orchestral music do a good job of conveying this mood. 

Although I'm not a big fan of romance, I find this episode enjoyable because of the presentation. It's kind of unfortunate that the girl was pretty much written out of the show, however, it was fun seeing how the relationship between her and Kisuke played out.