Shuffle - Episode 4 (my omelette, punk)

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Shouldn't I just skip like 16 episodes of Shuffle! and just go forward to sad Kaede time and blahblahblah ending stuff with green-hair? That's really, what I know about this series and why I keep watching it. Just to see how Kaede can compare with emo-Nayuki for the sad rejected (despite 'First Girl Wins' trope) character.

But then again, I'd be missing out on 16 viewings of that spiffy opening. I tend to judge anime a lot by their openings - or the music at least. The animation in Shuffle!'s OP isn't anything out of the ordinary - it looks to have spoilers x 1000000 in there but I can't really say for sure yet. Also, it lacks dancing :P But it's a decent rock-ish song that's been stuck in my head for a few days now.

And considering it pushed out Lucky Star's 1 minute 10 seconds of caffeinated karaoke, I call that impressive.


Shuffle! continues to speed onwards at rapid pace. While the supernatural aspects of the story haven't seems to kick in yet they are readily apparent as Nerine (blue hair) proves she shouldn't be messed with. Man, harems sure are dangerous these days.

Also, collateral damage, hmm?


I was more surprised at the fact that this wasn't a continuation of Sia's arc, as it so seemed to be at the end of last episode. Not sure if this may end up pulling a To Heart 2 where it focuses on all the girls for an episode and then launches into something...different.

Also, there's something about that cat. It's everywhere. Originally, I thought it was part of Primula's arc, as she shows up with it in the OP, but with it in the eyecatch, alone in the OP by itself and now in the flashback Nerine, it might be more all-encompassing than I thought. It remains to be seen if it grants 3 wishes also.


Shuffle! has done away with most of the angsting of most romance shows, in that the female characters all have an established huge gigantic crush on Rin. There' s no 'do I like him, do I not' (see: Syaoran from CCS) here. Still, they didn't have to resort to the obviousbat here.

Also, about the second picture there, the girls in Shuffle have too many names, I swear. We've got Kaede/Kae-chan, Shigure/Asa-sempai, Sia, Nerine/Rin-chan (and I thought that was a translation error), and Primula/Rimu/that one thing she was called in the second episode. Geez.


An oddity here is the flashback in this episode...to all of one minute ago. I understand that this line certainly be an important one, but I doubt we would forget it that fast. As long as it doesn't end up like Nayuki's snow bunny, showing up 20 times in an episode, I'll forgive it. Besides, I figure Rin should already know the status of everybody in his harem (infatuated beyond belief). The line in question here also reminds me of 'infinity plus one'.


What is it with anime and cooking scene? I must be missing the whole 'make a lunch box for your beloved' scene in America. Shame. But this feels like the tenth time I've heard this line, and I'm not sure what I can attribute it to as 90% of the romance anime I've watched have a cooking episode.


Not the brightest line to say to a girl with a knife. I was surprised how Rimu seemed to confront Rin so readily after glomping him for an entire episode 2 episodes back. Not sure if it's because she doesn't know personal skills, or if she's bitter? Abandoned from Rin's childhood (think Mai, or pretty much any other Kanon girl for that matter)?


And the iconic line from this episode. The whole omelette scene made me burst out laughing. Turns out harem leads have a way to stand up for themselves after all, if only in trivial situations.

Also: why does Midoriba get to partake in all the bento awesome, being the resident ecchi? His line where he gets a different lunch from a girl every day, supposedly. Maybe it's because he, along with Rin and the harem's parents, is the only guy with a face that is not entirely fugly.

-CCY