Recap

Futaba is confronted with the fear that by falling in love with Kou, she may lose the only friend she has left. Further worrying keeps her stalling on making a decision, but after talking to an old friend, she finally comes to a decision.

Episode 6

I’m glad Futaba is back to being more of a spaz than completely incompetent. Her flustered expressions while dealing with this crisis of conscience are the some best bits of comedy in this show. It reminds me a lot of how we would see Sawako go into her chibified form whenever she got really earnest with her feelings. It’s a cute way of endearing the character to the viewers while also showing their personality.

This episode had some pretty old cliches as far as shoujo go, but I can’t be mad at it for ’em as they really nailed the execution. The mental ultimatum at the end was an oldie, but  it was done perfectly. Shoujo shows are one of the few that can get away with wasting my time, as they usually know how to do it in a way that builds romantic tension and keeps the viewer desperately wanting for it to be released. In the end, of course Kou was going to step out, but like the climax in any story it’s that suspension of disbelief that the ending would still be in question. There’s no story if there weren’t any hints that Kou actually likes her back.

Episode 7

I do wonder at what point this is going to transition into us seeing how Kou is falling for her. We got a little glimpse of it with the shampoo scenes. He already has been wary that she likes him again, for lack of a better word. It seems he’s finally noticing Futaba’s attractiveness too. Despite the fact that he called her out on the physical contact in episode 6, he seems to have no problem initiating it just as much himself. I can’t believe he’s totally forgotten his feelings from middle school either.

I love this conflict. More often than not the friends of main characters usually have their own problems separate from the main duo, but this time it’s actually a conflict with the main romance itself. This show is pulling no punches, and is quick to remind Futaba about how fickle the feelings of teenagers can be. Sure, Yuuri acts sweet on the outside, but we don’t really know what this kind of news will do to her. Especially now after Futaba denied it in episode 6, it’s going to make it that much harder for her to accept it. The next episode seems to be indicating Murao will act as a sort of neutral third party. Either way, I can’t wait for Futaba to finally get on with it and get her feelings out.