Gugure! Kokkuri-san sees a rather quiet week. No one new is added to the cast and none of the central cast see much development. Kohina and Kokkuri-san’s relationship in particular has taken the back burner, which is kinda a let down.
The run down: Kokkuri-san thinks he’s balding even though he’s probably shedding and freaks out. The result is over-use of hair-grow tonic and a giant puffy mess. Later, Inugami is bored and ultimately realizes no one cares about him. So he runs away for good. (maybe)
The good: Giant, fluffy Kokkuri-san is adorable, the weird happy cat-cameos were amusing, and Inugami running away at least did something for the narrative. (even if he will obviously return in next week’s episode)
This episode also had a strong visual style. Not only were many of the characters exaggerated (giant fluff fox, tanuki in a wig and school girl outfit) the framing and positioning of the characters was more playful, and often aligned to emphasize Kohina’s size in the world. The adults are taller and break out of the frame above her, while the animal forms are close like imaginary friends or stuffed animals. It’s very charming.
My favorite moment is when Kohina reads Inugami’s run away letter, which is an obvious ploy to get the household to come after him, and somehow identifies it as a fake that implies he’s been kidnapped. It’s a cute, if not totally bizarre event. I only wish the episode had done something with it…
The not as good: nothing stood out this week. Worse things can be said about a show but everything leading up to the final line of narration was a rehash of previous stories and themes, gently inflated to be more extreme.
Kokkuri-san’s hair falls out in greater quantity, Kokkuri’s counter measures result in a bigger mess, Kohina ignores everyone to a greater extreme, and Shigaraki’s heart of gold comes through ever so slightly more.
None of these things are exciting and Kokkuri’s balding freak out is only funny at the end when he turns into a puff ball. ho-hum?
The verdict: At its core, GKs is a show about 4 room mates hanging around the house making fun of each other. 2 room mates have one-sided crushes on other room mates, 1 character is a perv with a heart of gold, the oldest character is wracked with stress over aging and losing his beauty, etc. If you strip away the japanese spirit motif painted over it’s surface, GKs just isn’t that original.
So, even though I recommend watching GKs, if you haven’t already started, there are plenty of similar shows that are funnier anime you could look into.