Keima makes slow but steady progress courting the critically introverted Shiori Shiomiya. There’s something very surgical about slowly drawing someone out from within themselves. He theorizes that the best way to do so is to engage her in conversation the only way he knows how; by saying and doing things that anger her, forcing her emotions to spill out of her mouth. A form of tough love, really.
This is how Keima compensates for a lack of a visible monologue in the real world. Shiori detests speaking because she’s so bad at it, and wishes humans could communicate telepathically. Little does she know that she’s already communicating a lot to Keima, a student of librarian girl psychology. His little jabs here and there that strike at the core of her beliefs (that physical books are useless and dated; that one can write in them if the information is wrong, etc.), and compel her to respond. This takes the form of single-word insults at first, but Keima eventualy succeeds in getting her to unknowingly flip her inner and outer voice!
That was an awesome moment, and just another example of the very creative interaction going on in this arc. After two episodes where 99.9% of Shiori’s words are internal, it’s extremely satisfying to hear her form complete sentences out loud. Even if it was an accident, it empowers her. Now that a media center is being added to the library, her peaceful fortress is under siege. If Keima’s to have a chance at winning her heart, he’ll have to somehow defend her against the DVD-seeking hordes. Rating: 4
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