Engaged to the Unidentified

Summary: >

Kobeni just turned 16 and starts thinking more about what adult life will be like in the future. Marriage seems like a far off thing, until she learns a boy from the countryside will be living with her family. Hakuya is also her fiancé, due to an arrangement made by her grandfather. He's joined by his young sister, who will also stay with the family.

The whole situation is weird. Arranged to a marry, with everyone going along with it. Hakuya himself is a total space case and a whole other category of weird. His younger sister shouldn't be old enough to attend high school yet. Something strange is going on...

Thoughts: >

I wasn't sure what to make of Engaged to the Unidentified at first, but I made assumptions which colored my opinion on it in a bad way. The premise description of "school girl finds out she's engaged", along with... something (not sure what) about the opening sequence didn't sit well with me. I assumed Engaged to the Unidentified would be another lame fluff brained show. Then it grew on me. As I went back and watched the beginning episodes, I enjoyed them a lot more. This is a title that deserves a chance, but it requires an open mind because it gives no indication it will be any better than the usual junk common on the anime scene.

Some characters didn't sit well with me at first. Hakuya's younger sister is childish, and can get annoying that way. The big problem lies with Kobeni's older sister, who has an obsessive sister complex. You may or may not find this material funny, but it's like the same joke over and over. That wore me down. Other characters are "just there", and it wasn't clear to me if this anime was going anywhere. But things look up after a few episodes.

When the story goes into Kobeni's memories lost in her childhood, it looks like the show really has a heart. Anime has plenty of oddball characters, so it's not clear Hakuya is indeed a very strange guy. Then Kobeni starts to realize she's fallen in love with Hakuya. That's when I noticed I really liked Engaged to the Unidentified. Kobeni is such a sweetheart. It's refreshing a girl isn't just "busty" (with realistic size), but also gets the rest of the "full figure" along with it, and is self concious about that. Hakuya is essentially a big quiet dog: simplistic, easy to read, and really dense. The romance between these two is a cute idea.

[+] Life lesson: The right answer

For an anime with a dash of the supernatural, it's unusually slow paced, but doesn't quite fall into slice of life territory either. You'll need patience, as little is accomplished in any given episode. I'm not sure why I like this one so much, but it's just... cute. Even Kobeni scolding Hakuya in the last episode is totally adorable. Things are wrapped up enough to feel like the season is done, but the story has yet to explain many things. Since it's in no rush to push a bigger plot, there's no pressure to reach completion as in most titles. Engaged to the Unidentified isn't anything great, but won me over due to a hard to explain likability factor. Worth giving a chance due to the nice sentiment.

Screen Caps: >