Koi Kaze - 1: First Flower

Koushiro (27), depressed about his recent breakup, is on the train bound for his job at a dating/marriage service when a young high school girl catches his eye briefly. She drops her ID as she tries to squeeze out of the train, and he gets off the train to return it to her. After spending the day at work (including dealing with a co-worker desperate to legally date a high school girl), he returns home to find it filled with boxes. He learns from his dad that his 15-year old, 1st-year high school sister Nanoka will be living with him on the following day to cut down her commute time to school. Nanoka lives with their mom, and Koushiro apparently doesn't remember what she looks like.

The next day at work, Koushiro's ex-girlfriend came by to pick up her spare keys from him. She seems surprised that he's taking things so easily, so much so that she wonders what she truly meant to him. As he and his female boss leave work, the high school girl he helped the day before is there waiting. His boss teases him about being into high school girls. He gives her the free passes to the amusement park that had been given to him by his boss from their client. She accepts the tickets, but invites him to kill time with her at the park while she waits for her father.

After doing several rides, he buys the girl an ice cream cone. They talk and she mentions recently having broken up with a boyfriend. They take the ferris wheel where she continues to discuss the boy that she liked from junior high school. She has a button from his uniform, but not the one that indicates his feelings for her. She wants to toss the button from the ferris wheel, but since they are in an enclosed car, she can. He advises her not to get rid of the button and goes to discuss his own failed relationship, which leads him to tears.

After their time at the park, Koushiro is about to leave when the girl's father arrives. The shocking thing is that it is Koushiro's father, meaning he's just spent and afternoon with his sister and didn't know it.

AstroNerdBoy: 5 Dec 2006

Hmmmm...not sure I buy this whole bit about him not remembering his sister. Yeah, there's a 12-year age difference, but I just find it impossible to believe that one could not remember their own little sister. I mean, he sees their dad, and surely their dad has current photo's of his daughter as well as his son. So the way this is done is get them together without knowing they are related is such a huge stretch, but sometimes the Japanese just ask you to accept such a whacked intro to get to the bigger story they are trying to tell.

There's some humor in episode 1 with Nanoka and Koushiro's time spent at the amusement park. Everytime she said, "Daijoubu desu ka?", I just couldn't help but laugh. The humor didn't last long, mind you.

Beyond that, not much to say so I'll wait for the next episode.