***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji
Series Synopsis
Erika Shinohara (voiced by Kanae Ito) is a chronic liar. And her fibs often backfire immediately. One day, she spread tales of her exploits with her nonexistent boyfriend. She manages to keep up the façade for a while, but her stories become far too extravagant.
Unwilling to expose herself, Erika takes a photo of a random guy as proof of her boyfriend’s existence. Unfortunately, the boy is, Kyoya Sata (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai). Someone who happens to attend her school. Plus, he's a huge idol amongst female students.
Determined to keep up the charade, Erika confronts Kyoya. She asks if he would be willing to pose as her boyfriend. To her shock, he agrees. Yet it came at a great cost.
As it turns out, Kyoya’s kind, gentle personality was hiding a much darker, more sadistic nature. He begins blackmailing Erika and treats her as his pet.
Though cold, Kyoya does show a reliable side. This causes Erika to develop true feelings for him. Soon the two start to act more like a couple. Even if it means Erika must put up with Kyoya's perpetual teasing.
Series Positives
There was a lot more good than bad. Except the bad was quite awful. But the good is worth talking about.
The highlight of Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji was its ability to be cute. Or at least when it wanted to be.
The Beginning Episodes
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| Erika |
I want to say the first few episodes along with the final few were what make Ookami Shoujo a stand out series. The end was when the show had some of its best stuff. Too bad there was something that soured the end game.
Luckily, the start set a good enough pace to abate some the BS.
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| Kyoya |
Based on my Synopsis, you'd think Kyoya was a complete butthole to Erika. He was. But to be fair, Erika did open herself up to teasing. The first four episodes road mapped Erika and Kyoya’s relationship. This became the foundation that made them a cute couple.
Erika had enough lovey-dovey energy for them both. Kyoya reined that into more manageable levels. It was a good balance. Even if getting there wasn’t always the smoothest.
Though Erika’s habitual lying went overboard, it was Kyoya who would cross the line. Ookami Shoujo did an okay job at handling the fallout from these moments. Except there was one fumble the series never recovered from.
Still, by the end, Erika and Kyoya were a couple that worked in their own way.
Secondary Characters
I enjoy the relationship between Erika and Kyoya well enough. Yet I was a bit indifferent with Erika and Kyoya themselves. There was nothing about them that was special. They were amusing, fun, and functional, sure. But all in ways that been done before.
Erika wasn't a bad character. Kyoya was a different story, but I wanted to see these two become a good couple. That said, they overshadowed more interesting characters.
The people Erika and Kyoya crossed paths with were much more entertaining. Most other times I'd say the amount of screen time given to these secondary characters was plenty. Yet here they felt underutilized.
The only instance when Ookami Shoujo used a side character to the fullest was during the class trip. This involved Nozomi Kamiya (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) attempting to convert Kyoya to his playboy ways. He wanted Kyoya to abandon the notion of dating a single person.
The way Kyoya handled the situation was beyond satisfying. He allowed Nozomi to keep his way of thinking. But he made it clear that he had no intention of treating Erika in that kind of manner. It was the first sign of how Kyoya had changed.
This was my favorite moment of the series. Funny since it shared a similarity with the lowest moment of the show, Kyoya.
Series Negatives
The biggest thing going against this show was its predictability. Actually, it wasn't that the series was predictable. It was that the series became predictable.
The beginning episodes were so good because they hinted at being different. Then the story stayed pretty straight edge. With only a few standout moments. Like the one, I mentioned earlier.
But then there was a moment that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Kyoya is an Ass
Don’t get me wrong, from his introduction Kyoya was a jerk. He never lost that. Yet he managed to maintain a tolerable level dickishness.
I say it like that because, again, Erika had it coming in some cases. Kyoya toyed with crossing the line throughout. Except for once when he blew pass it. This is the moment I've been hinting at throughout this review. It’s the reason why the ending wasn't as good as it should've been.
Kyoya put Erika in a position where her emotions were completely exposed. By this point, she had made it clear that she did have genuine feelings for Kyoya. Only he had yet to reciprocate them. Finally, at long last, Kyoya admitted that he liked Erika.
Erika was elated. This was what she had been waiting for. Then within the blink of an eye, Kyoya crushed those dreams.
This was so abrupt. It was shocking how mean-spirited it was. And it went over as well as you'd expect.
The scene itself isn't what pisses me off. It was the fact that he never apologized. The show brushed this aside like it was nothing. It was never brought up again.
After this, I couldn’t like Kyoya anymore. Even during the confrontation with Nozomi, all I could think about was how much of a prick he was. From this on, Ookami Shoujo felt unbalanced. It might have been just one scene, but that was all it took.
Final Thoughts
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji was decent, in general.
Erika and Kyoya were a cute couple. The chemistry between them worked. And the cast as a whole was entertaining. There were good moments sprinkled throughout the series.
If not for that one scene, Ookami Shoujo would otherwise be a romance anime worth remembering.
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