Ah, the obligatory Christmas episode. Every romance series demands certain kinds of episodes, and the Christmas episode is one of them. I remember my first anime Christmas episode; it was with Love Hina’s Christmas Special. Being a middle schooler at the time, the episode strangely entranced me: I rooted for Keitaro to make it to Naru. Ah, how reminiscing about the olden days can bring back such fond memories…

Now then, I’m back to reality, where I’m supposed to be. (That reminds me, I’ve got to watch Inception one of these days…) Everything about this episode seems cliche: the set-up of the date, the anticipation, the date plan, and the total failure of the aforementioned plan. Of course, as the show always does, B Gata H Kei loves to put its own flavorful spin on these cliches to make them refreshing and, admittedly, manages to succeed to a certain extend. Yamada forces herself into the date and, as expected, only wants to date Kosuda for a certain body part. Moreover, some jokes gave me an occasional chuckle–most notably, the charms of Yamada’s sister and the misinterpretation of Kosuda’s gift. (The Santa dress-up is an added bonus for those who desire Yamada eye-candy.)

I like it when they're forceful.

What really makes this episode shine, however, is the post-date events–namely, the Wonderful World of Love Parks. (What can I say, it’s a world of pure imagination–well, maybe it’s more than just “imagination.”) After having a simple, nearly-disastrous smooch from the boy who will [allegedly] become her first sexual partner, she immediately goes for the gold: making sweet romance in a Love Park, infamous for the naughty fraternization of certain adventurous couples. Ironically, the various “obstacles” that occlude their path towards sex in the park are the very aspects that most couples go to love parks, such as (though certainly not limited to) the park milieu and the mix of publicity and privacy offered by the park.

Such an outcome, of course, is nothing but expected. Yamada and Kosuda have barely kissed, yet Yamada already wants to go the whole nine yards. For two young children who have never gone past second base (let alone dating), such a daring step seems improbable and impossible. Moreover, these children know little to nothing about sex; they only know about such experiences from tabloids, television, and gossip from their friends. By rushing into a relationship and forcing herself to have sex, Yamada only reinforces her naivete.

In exhibit 4, we see that Love Parks emanate beauty in its quintessential form.

On another note: Myssa Rei was right when she said that Yamada’s sister was awesome. Who knew that the younger sister could seduce such guys? And who knew that such an “innocent” little girl would take pleasure in witnessing her older sister’s [failed] attempts at losing her virginity?

I rest my case.

Shin would approve.