Recap: Koko spends some friend time with her friendliest best friend Banri friend.

Well, as stupid as the idea sounded when I first heard of it, I actually really warmed up to this supernatural aspect to the show. We’ve already gotten a glimpse of the idea of Banri “dying” in that accident, and a new one taking its place, so this is almost a logical conclusion of that thought. There is still a Tada Banri that remembers his childhood memories, whether spiritually or mentally locked within his amnesia. I can’t imagine being able to just follow someone around who inhabits my body but is wholly unlike me. His relationship with Linda also makes for a great complication, as we know that if he ever goes back to his old self, his current feelings for Koko would become horribly conflicted.

I know the Friendzone is mostly an artifical construct when it comes to nerd culture, but never has the idea ever been more present in my mind than when I watched this episode. I think the emphasis Koko makes on how much she’s not ready to give up on Mitsuo really is meant to make you empathize with Banri. The dude took a lot of guts to confess and to have his feelings so brusquely flattened was really hard to watch. Despite how much I’m rooting for Banri at this point, it was the only way things could have gone. Koko still has some issues to sort out and Banri really does need to be there for her as a friend before a romantic interest before she can move on.

I wonder how long this show will keep us in the dark about the true extent of Banri’s relationship with Linda. I’m hoping due to the timing of the ghost’s words it will be soon, but now that this has been brought to light its hard not to dwell on why she would act like this. Does she want to respect the post-trauma Banri’s wishes of not being tied to his past? Why would she think that is preferable to telling him the truth? Obviously from either his family or physical evidence he would find out eventually, so what’s the point of hiding it anyway? While Koko is obviously the main love interest I can’t wait to see how this focus on Linda will play out in the future.