This time we have an episode on plain old Manami that depicts how she’d probably be the perfect match for Kyousuke. Together, they’d probably make one of the dullest couples ever (albeit most normal), which was made plainly obvious when her grandparents showed more youth in them than they have. In the case of an age identity crisis, we have young geezers and old teenagers mixing things, and not a whole lot in the younger sister department. Not to be completely forgotten, there was every indication that Kirino missed having Kyousuke around to preach to about eroge and talk down to though. For the most part, that came off as feelings of frustration and loneliness from not having him around to listen to everything she has to say, though I can definitely see how it could be seen as a brotherly complex developing as well. Whatever the case, this episode wasn’t about Kirino so much as Manami, who’s a victim of falling so far into the “friend zone” that Kyousuke doesn’t even see her as a girl anymore. That’s the overall sentiment anyway, but Manami makes a good attempt in turning it around by inviting him over to help out with a Halloween event, getting him to try out some of her homemade chocolates, and even teasing him about taking a bath with her. Go Manami!

However, had it not been for Manami’s eccentric grandfather, easygoing grandmother, and younger brother Iwao (Ootsuda Hiromi), a.k.a. “Rock”, one could probably argue that the rest of her time spent with Kyousuke was about as eventful as watching paint dry. I never thought I’d say it, but thank goodness for old people bringing some life to the party — even when they’re posing as a corpse or a zombie. While Kirino was busy making love snuggling with her new dakimakura, Kyousuke did get flustered on enough occasions to suggest that if Manami really tried to seduce him, it may just work. What’s more, it looked like Manami had found a “dakimakura” of her own, which I would’ve loved to see Kirino’s reaction to if she somehow caught sight of it. For the time being, Manami still doesn’t feel like much of a contender for Kyousuke’s heart — especially given how he’s not looking for any sort of a relationship — but I do enjoy watching the plain-looking girl show a girlish side of her and remain true to her feelings. Manami is cute and would be perfect wife material for Kyousuke on paper. The only problem is, that’s not the type of uneventful series I’m here to watch, so bring on the violent little sister who wants a piece of the Kyousuke pie too.