Recap: Things are heating up at Sakurasou. Mashiro is beginning to realize her feelings for Sorata. Meanwhile Rita is hot on Ryuunosuke despite returning to England, and Misaki is sending Jin love letters with 8bit marriage music and wedding registrations.

Sorata is having trouble making up his own mind about what he wants and what his feelings are. After having another of his game ideals rejected he takes out his frustration on Mashiro. Later on he agrees to spend Christmas Eve with Nanami. If Sorata doesn’t abandon his beta ways soon someone is going to be hurt, it may already be too late for that.

Denied

Lifesong’s Thoughts: So here I am writing about Sakurasou again. The drama is coming back in for another swing at the cast. Sorata really needs to man up. His insecurities have become a bit painful to watch. The anime is better for the drama that comes with it; however, that said, I kind of want to slap him for yelling at Mashiro the way he did just before the episode end.

It’s really cute seeing Mashiro develop feelings for Sorata. The theme of innocence is a common enough one in anime, but I like the way it’s being spun here. Mashiro is not just a naive schoolgirl, she is an accomplished first class artist. Misaki is the same way. That theme is held up for both of them but in different ways. With Mashiro I always get the feeling that she understands more she is capable of expressing with words. It’s like she can see the world perfectly, but she is only just now learning to interact with it. Cutting her finger while learning to cook helped to paint that metaphor as did her lines during the hilarious dream sequence at the start of the episode: “A person must first feel pain to be able to pilot Nyanpollon.”

Pain is a requirement for growth.

One thing I really appreciate about this anime is the way that everyone has their own story and their own relationships. I am just as curious to see a resolution of Jin and Misaki’s story as I am Mashiro, Sorata and Nanami. I didn’t like Nanami much at first but her character has really developed into something great. It seems obvious to me that she doesn’t stand a chance at winning Sorata’s affection, but she has become a good character none the less. Also, Ryuunosuke and Rita are an amusing pair as well, even if they are just played for laughs in the end.

Next week it seems inevitable that someone is getting hurt by Sorata’s clumsiness. Will Sorata ever overcome his extreme beta personality? I sure hope so. Lets just hope that for everyone’s safety that Mashiro is kept away from the knives when this drama does go down.