Shuffle! 16 - The Haruhi jokes of Lisianthus

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Whose arc is it anyway? Well, we've covered Sia's, Nerine's, and Rimu's, so that leaves two characters to go; Kaede and Asa.

Right? Wrong.

We're not quite going to wind it down that quick, as Sia refuses to be put down as she comes back for Part II.

Of course, if you've watched this episode you may vaguely be aware of the face that although it's Sia's arc, it's not really Sia's arc. WTF am I talking about? Hit the jump to find out. Safe for through Episode 16. (uh, this episode)


But first, a recap of the rest of the episode! Although, mostly this entire episode is 1) Things being happy and back to normal, except for 2) sad Sia in, uh, room. And mirror.

Things are nice and bright again at the Fuyou household with the return of Rimu, and we get the return of the lunch scenes with the whole group (and, as Itsuki mentions, plus omelettes) spending some time together. Itsuki even takes the time to mention how Nerine (and Rimu) have changed in personality recently, presumably as a result of the conclusion of their arc.

We get more Asa points as Rin takes the time to personally visit her, which results in more of them staring lovingly at each other, while Kareha goes all shiny. Did you miss that?


Forward to the group lunch scene as always with everybody and a half; even the side characters, yay!


Asa gets a little more attention from Rin than any of the others when she 1) backslaps Rin to death again (another thing that's been missing) and 2) semi-flashes Rin when bemoaning her pudgy belly (really now?), in response to Kaede's mention of Asa not eating. Is this important? It seemed that way to me when I watched this episode. We'll see if it stays that way.

Also, who's looking sad in the background of those two scenes? That's right, Sia.


Also, more omelettes, even though I've mentioned it ten times already. We get another lengthy Itsuki exposition on his bento adventures, and the usual scene of I'm crying because the food is so damn good from him as well. Sometimes I wonder, did Lico have any cooking skills in comparison to Nerine?

That's right. It's Sia again, looking stunned in the back/fore-ground.


Funnily enough, Sia's melancholy does not only extend to Rin but also to the other Rin (chan), as Sia is noticably saddened when Nerine cannot walk home with her, Rin, and Kaede. Side note: this is because she's distracted by Awesome Megane Girl.


We catch up with Nerine later, when she and Sia talk at night about, yup, Rin. Infinity plus one ensues as they discuss their affection for him, and Nerine talks about how comfortable she's become around Rin since she confessed ,made out with him, and accepted Lico's feelings as well as her own. Sia, who as we will see has some similar issues to deal with, is noticeably more uncomfortable with her own feelings, and Nerine even notices this in a pseudo-fourth-wall-breaking way when she mentions how it's Sia's turn to be happy. (i.e. her arc time now go!)


And finally, we get a strangely sad Kohaku lookalike Sia alone by herself at night for once. There's another looking-in-the-mirror scene, which is definitely hinting at something by this point.

Meanwhile, Rin and his Not Plot at All Boat stare out the window and think of Asa. Hmm, is this a sign on how it's going to end? It's a sign on where we're heading for sure, but maybe not the final destination... (I'll fight for a Kaede ending, since there's no hope for Mayumi. Perhaps thankfully.)


Sia continues to be melancholy on the way to school, and has a bunch of flashbacks to Nerine. At lunch there are clear signs that Something Is Up as Nerine has no omelettes for today, to the wild despair of Itsuki (who is more uncool than usual today). In side notes, Mayumi gets harem points for once by sharing a lunch with Rin. The more Mayumi the better; Flat Chested Alliance fighto!

Rin begins to chat up Asa again, oblivious to the growing problem in his harem, who is lookingly increasingly ignored, and depressed. Even Itsuki and Mayumi, the comedy team (and more?), manage to figure it out.

At home that night, Asa calls up Rin and discusses matters necessary for the private phone (which surprisingly does not bother the other ignored girl, Kaede). It turns out that she's asking him out - on a shopping date trip, with excuses of course. They're not an Offical Couple at any rate. Will they become one?

Meanwhile, Sia sits at home, alone, again, and stares at the mirror, wondering what's the point of longing after someone (Rin) she'll never get.


While Rin and Asa go shopping and make innuendos, Sia, unsurpisingly, also comes across the two on their date-o.


Funnily enough, rather than being sad about seeing Rin with Someone Else, she's rather happy just to come across him. She spends a few moments with a very cute fangirl smile, just watching them, before an image of Mirror-Sia shows up, and shocks her out of it. She stops smiling, and leaves. Not even going to approach them, Sia? The situation must be getting bad...


Sia heads straight for Her Depressing Room, while God-chan makes one of his increasingly rare appearance by whining about being hungry. Clearly Sia has been holding up the household, and as of late, with her mood, it's been grinding to a stop. Even Sia's chair-smashing (on God's head) duties have been interrupted.


Ever wonder about why Sia stares in the mirror? Now you know. Mirror Sia is a real entity - at least in Sia's mind - and she means business, chewing out Sia in an epic conflict. She knows that Sia wants Rin, yet Sia does not do anything about it.


Mirror-Sia (her actual name is Kikyou, by the way, explaining the title) is a lot more proactive than normal Sia. Kikyou's the 'ends justify the means' type, that wants Sia to get Rin at all costs, even by force (stealing him from Asa, at this point) because that's what she wants, right? Right?


Sia disagrees, playing the If My Beloved Is Happy card, and generally considering Rin's own feelings. Normally I hate that point of view in anime, but I think that Sia really manages to make it work, showing how much she's matured since before, where she was really clingy to Rin. Now she, like a lot of the harem, considers both points of view. Sia awesome points ++.


Kikyou's having none of it though, and she plans to "take care of things herself". Is Sia going Nanaya? (if you don't get that, just nod and agree) It seems that way, as the next day, her eyes are smaller and her resolve is through the roof - along with her flirtiness factor.


This is shown as Kikyou-Sia shocks the harem by dragging Rin off on a whirlwind date - even ditching school - while everybody else just stands there and looks shocked. I don't think anyone else knows of Kikyou's existence like they did with Lico, and so I see some more trauma coming up for Kaede.

But, the real strange thing is that, Rin's falling for it rather easily, and isn't very complaining about going out with a Sia that's much different than usual. Maybe this is Rin's type of girl, eheheh? He certainly does seem predisposed towards the genki, hyperactive type, after all...

Remember though, this is Spartaaaaaaaaaaaaa Shuffle! Don't count anybody out until the end. Except for Rimu. Go away, lolicon freaks.

-CCY