This episode was mainly building Erika’s and Kouhei’s relationship, as it turns out to be Erika’s birthday. I do really like that instead of there being a bunch of girls and no focus, there is an actual romantic focus here.
One very strange thing with this anime that I’m coming to accept is just how hit and miss each of the various parts that make up the whole are. One part can be insanely well executed and touching, and the next part can just be dumb clichéd crud that wasn’t funny the first time, and still isn’t funny the thousandth time. Erika’s birthday present, and Kouhei and Erika in the pool? A total hit. The actual swim meet. Miss miss miss.
I’m starting to really feel for Erika as a character. It’s becoming painfully obvious just how badly she wants to be a human girl, yet no matter how hard she imitates being human, there’s a thin line she still can’t cross. I think Erika is having to come to this painful realization, whether she likes it or not. The actual species of vampire in this series aren’t interesting, but Erika and her brother as characters, are.
It’s hard to tell, as this series is so slow paced, but I think with this episode marks the end of the cute romantic fluff. Erika’s vampire urges are starting to become intense, and we only have four episodes left. The question is, will this series deliver a decent ending, or stick with the same sluggish pace we’ve seen since episode 1?
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I agree with your assessment of the swim meet…I think one thing Fortune Arterial does well is the school festival-type stuff, but the swim meet just didn’t hit well.
As for Erika, she really is a character that I think the audience feels for. At the series beginning, she’s as uninteresting and cutter-cookie as any character, but she becomes an interesting focal point as the series moves on.