Recap: Hachiman once again espouses the virtues of being a lone wolf… despite the fact he actually is starting to form a social circle. The irony is not lost on Yui, but she doesn’t seem to mind. After bringing an effeminate tennis player to the club to help him out, the gang gets in a heated game of tennis that clearly does not care for quality action shots or actually abiding by the rules.

I’m really getting into the groove of this show. It’s clear they see the tropes they have to work with and are doing a pretty good job taking them apart little by little. Two little scenes was all it took to make me enjoy this episode, but sometimes that’s really all you need. I absolutely loved when Hachiman was decrying the sort of memes that get generated in close circles, only to have Yui point out he already has that kind of repartee with Yukino. This episode’s problem of the week is obviously just another example of him expanding his boundaries and letting new people into his life, even if he doesn’t realize he’s done it himself.

It really is a good thing I started warming up to this show’s story, as the animation took a divebomb into just plain horribleness. Off model characters, thick black outlines, lazy animation, it was almost enough to take you out of the show completely. The most egregious part is definitely during the tennis match, where I’m pretty sure they cut so many frames that sometimes you can’t even see the ball touching the ground as it moves. The old trick of after-imaging the ball was also pretty bad looking. It’s such a shame too, I honestly think this could turn into something good, but it’s clear Brains Base is taking this season off financially to fund something else in the works.

My other favorite part of this episode was really short, but it just spoke volumes as to Yukino’s character. From the last few episodes, it’s easy to see she is mostly just shielding herself from being hurt by others, but this is the first episode where we see her act vulnerably. Having Yui call her a friend is starting to change how she acts to people. With her problems established, we have all the information we need to see when any character starts breaking out of their shells and accepting themselves.

Coming out of the third episode, I think it’s a pretty solid bet I will be staying with SNAFU for the long haul. This show seemed to be branding itself as something that would buck trends, and I finally believe they can actually do it. As long as the story can stay this fresh and enjoyable I’ll love it, and when the bad animation hits, i suppose i can at least be glad it’s not rotoscoped.