Our (currently) ex-student council president is the unwitting star of every story this week.

— Without all the student council responsibilities on his plate, Miyuki finally gets a good night of sleep and it has done wonders for his appearance. He’s even approachable now! It’s funny, though. All this time, I thought he just had resting bitch face. I mean, I suppose being perpetually tired can cause resting bitch face, but Miyuki isn’t supposed to look like this. He’s supposed to be a normal-looking guy. Meanwhile, I always have resting bitch face, tired or not.

— Well, the guy tries to charm Kaguya with his new face, but she’s not a fan. And unfortunately, her opinion is the only one that truly matters.

— Kaguya quickly runs off to Nagisa for her romantic woes. After all, if her attraction goes down simply because Miyuki’s appearance has changed, does this mean she never truly loved him? Nagisa doesn’t really fall anywhere on the spectrum between idealism and realism. She just wants to assuage her friend’s feelings. As a result, we’re gonna need other people to chime in.

— Chika walks up and bluntly states that true love is akin to the romance found in Beauty and the Beast. You shouldn’t let trivial things like your lover’s appearance get in the way!

— In the opposing corner, we have Yu. Being rather cynical himself, he prefers the realistic approach. Maybe a little too realistic. It’s kinda like the altruism argument, I suppose. Some people believe that all altruism contains a hint of selfishness within it. But is selfishness inherently immoral? Therein lies the rub. For Yu, it’s enough that you are true to yourself; acknowledge your selfishness and be authentic. Don’t go spouting lofty ideals that you can’t actually conform to.

— Honestly, you see this problem over and over. Guys will complain about girls cutting their hair short. Girls will complain about guys shaving their beards and no longer looking manly. In truth, everyone needs time to adjust. When something familiar suddenly becomes unfamiliar, it can be a shock to the system. Over time, however, your previous feelings should return… unless, of course, you decide to be a petulant baby about it. This sadly happens from time to time, especially when social stigmas come into play.

— In the end, the problem (over-)corrects itself when Miyuki shows up with eyes that are more fucked up than ever. Nevertheless, this is exactly what Kaguya wants; she might like this look even more than the time he put on cat ears. That girl ain’t right.

— In the second half of the story, Chika discovers that Miyuki can’t sing due to his tone deafness. She proceeds to become a mama bear and coach him out of it. After all, the student council president should at least be able to sing the school’s anthem, right? Pfft, don’t ask me.

— Man, I went to public schools. Did my high school have an anthem? Probably. Were we ever asked to sing it? Never. Do I even know what my high school anthem sounds like? Hah, no. Look, at the time, I wasn’t even aware that we had a student council. I certainly never voted in any goddamn election.

— But it’s different for these kids. They go to very prestigious school, and the students here have lots of pride. Enough pride to waste one morning a week singing some corny ass song.

— I don’t have much else to say about this story. It’s just here for laughs. Miyuki is so bad at singing that it hurts Chika’s soul. But in the end, she somehow pulls through and fixes him all up.

— In the final third of the episode, Miyuki doesn’t make an appearance, but it’s still all about him. Kaguya isn’t just content to write his campaign speech. She’s going to pull every under-handed trick to secure him a victory. She literally does oppo research — oppo research for a high school election!

— So one by one, Kaguya scares off all of the competition… except Miko. The girl is just too steadfast and pure. The reason she has never come close to winning is because she actually sticks to her widely unpopular beliefs. Y’know, if you become an elected official, by definition, you are a politician. Nevertheless, that does not necessarily guarantee that you know how to play the game of politics, and this is precisely Miko’s problem.

— I’m actually reminded of Bernie Sanders’s inability to change things up. To his fans, that’s part of his appeal. He’ll give the same speech over and over because he truly believes in what he’s saying. He doesn’t pretend to adopt a policy simply to win over a voting bloc. And over time, he has managed to build up a massive following thanks to his steadfast approach and the current political climate. If America was doing well, less people would resonate with his socialist slant. In the end, however, Bernie’s greatest strength also became his biggest weakness. Going on live TV and defending socialism in America just isn’t a smart political move (especially when he could’ve just pivoted to social democracy instead of championing democratic socialism). But hey, this isn’t supposed to be a post about American politics, so I’ll just stop here.

— So yeah, Kaguya tries to make Miko an offer that can’t be refused: drop out this year, and Kaguya will guarantee a victory next year. Unfortunately, Miko can’t be swayed! She won’t be bought! In fact, when she wins, she’ll force Miyuki and Kaguya to serve on her student council so that she can drain the swamp! Hilarious. It’s extra funny because we know she won’t win. If anything, she’ll be the one to join Miyuki’s second administration.