It has been pretty Suzuki/Tani-centric thus far, and for good reason: this is their love story, after all. But this week’s episode finally shares the spotlight with a couple of side characters, specifically the aptly named TairAzuma duo. Suzuki is the one who gives them this moniker, so perhaps this is a harbinger of things to come: a girl who keeps stumbling into bad relationship, and a guy who overthinks his relationships — what a pairing they would be.
Azuma is so shocked to hear that Suzuki is dating Tani of all people. The funny thing is, Azuma even acknowledges that he’s a good guy (even though she throws out the possibility that the relationship might have started under false pretenses). But for now, good guys do nothing for her, so Tani isn’t even on her radar of potential dating candidates. They don’t give her that “oh, my” feeling; she doesn’t get that “yummy vibe.” She prefers bad boys instead. And honestly, I don’t know how much I can blame her for that. Is attraction something that we can control? Can you talk yourself into being attracted to someone? On the flip side, I understand that it hurts to be rejected, especially over something you can’t control like your race or your height. But I dunno, I just can’t get mad at someone for not finding me attractive. No one should feel obligated to find us attractive. What we can control, however, are our actions. And if you know that you currently only like bad boys that eventually make you unhappy, then just don’t date.
You don’t have to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. You really, really don’t. I know the thought of this sounds lonely, but you still have friends and family, especially at that age. Once you get to adulthood, then sure, people start having their own lives and obligations. Friendships start to drift apart, family members start dying, blah blah blah. The loneliness becomes acute, so I can understand why people throw themselves into relationships recklessly. But Azuma’s just a kid, so she can afford to be boyfriend-less for now. Maybe she’ll eventually grow out of her toxic boyfriend stage, maybe she won’t. But it’s better to ride it out than to keep hurting yourself tripping over a bunch of losers.
On the other hand, we have Taira, who tends to be a little negative about everything. If Suzuki thinks she used to read the room too much, then Taira is even guiltier of that same crime. He worries way too much about what other people think, even when it doesn’t involve him! He’s borderline neurotic about it, and you can probably guess why: he’s been hurt before. When people get hurt, they try and grasp for any explanation for their pain — even if it’s the wrong explanation. Taira sitting there, listening in on the girls gushing over bad boys. He then starts spinning up all this nonsense about social hierarchies, how people only pursue partners for shallow reasons, so on and so forth. But when he finally learns that Suzuki is dating Tani, it completely shatters his worldview. Basically, Taira is in a precarious position right now. There are lots of young guys who would react badly to this revelation, turn away from their friends, and indulge themselves on even more toxic but false justifications for why someone like Suzuki would be dating someone like Tani. Or Taira could just talk to her.
Taira walks up to Suzuki and asks her flat out, “Why Tani?” It’s a bit odd, and a bit rude (to Tani). But he’s a kid, so I think we can extend him a bit of grace. He’s young enough where he should be allowed room to learn from his mistakes. The problem is when grown ass men continue to spew their toxic philosophy (and always on their dime a dozen podcasts with nonstop ads for manscaping). But Taira is earnestly seeking to understand, and his friend (Suzuki) has enough patience and empathy to help him understand. After all, they used to be in the same boat: trying too hard to read the room. Someone like Taira is always going to be in his own head more than necessary, but as long as he keeps an open mind and leans on his friends for support, he won’t turn into one of those weirdos. For now, however, we just have to endure as he wallows in his thoughts. He’s working it out in his head, even if he tends to lean a bit too much on the negative side.
But this is still a show about Suzuki and Tani, so in the latter half of the episode, we get to see them continue working on their newborn relationship. It’s cute how Tani tries to pretend that he isn’t bothered to hear his girlfriend talk effusively about bad boys, but as the episode plays out, we find out that, yes, he’s bothered. But this is something that you can only learn from experience. You kinda have to let those natural feelings of jealousy hit you, feel what it’s like, then ultimately (and hopefully) come to the conclusion that you’re getting worked up over nothing. Of course, for someone as stoic as Tani, getting worked up just means stewing in his own thoughts a little harder than usual. Still, it helps that he and Suzuki can openly talk about any insecurity they might have. They’re still feeling each other out, learning what to do and how to act in a relationship. But Suzuki’s right: you can like more than one type of person. Plus, there are different ways to be cool. In her own words, someone like Tani is cool too.
It’s just interesting how Suzuki admires Tani for his bluntless and how he doesn’t care about other people’s opinions, but a large part of this is due to the fact that he’s never had to worry about it before. He’s never had to consider the possibility that hidden meanings might exist. He’s always been literal with his words, and likewise, he’s always taken other people’s words literally. Now that he has a girlfriend, he suddenly worries about how she perceives him, and vice versa. Of course, Tani isn’t going to change himself wholesale nor does he have to. He doesn’t need to start worrying about every single person in the room and what they think of him. He just has to care about his girlfriend’s thoughts and opinions. In other words, he’s starting to read the room a little, even if, for the moment, the room only has her in it. Eventually, as Tani continues to be integrated into her friend group, that room will expand to include them as well. There’s always a happy medium.
Plus, this is why I like this series: the story doesn’t end once the relationship begins — once the primary couple gets together. If anything, you have a brand new story. People don’t just fall in love and live happily ever after. There are always bumps in the road, because no two people fit together seamlessly from the start. The kids are still getting to know each other, and luckily, when one of them runs into a potential misunderstanding, they can just ask the other person to clarify. Every relationship has two (or more) people learning to compromise so that the relationship can continue moving forward. People break up when they find that they have dealbreakers, things that they can’t compromise on, and that’s okay too. For instance, I could never date a smoker. But my point is, learning to navigate the pitfalls of a relationship is a story in itself, and I wish so many romances wouldn’t just end abruptly after the confession.
Stray thoughts & observations:
- Do they really sell energy drinks in schools nowadays? Dunno how I feel about that.
- I’ve literally never had a Red Bull or Monster. I have no clue what they taste like.
- I know we all have ears, and we can’t just shut them off. But I wouldn’t sit there and eavesdrop. Bro, read a book or something. I know reading isn’t that popular nowadays, but I swear it’s really neat! Reading is fun! Speaking of which, I always have my e-reader on me. Even if you’re not in the mood for a mountain of words, you can still use them to read manga or comics.
- Watanabe should just use her own body heat to melt her bottle. It’s probably the fastest way.
- I guess Taira used to be fat and unpopular in middle school.
- Ah, my former cat never slept on my face like this. That might sound like a good thing, but the trade-off is that she wasn’t as cuddly as she could’ve been. She was sadly never a lap cat.
- This is the first time I’ve seen someone name their pet Tempura.
- As an only child, I can’t relate to this.
- Suzuki is almost never without her twin hairbuns, so it’s nice to see her “normal” look for once.
- Azuma keeps asking Suzuki about her brother. Hopefully, the latter never relents. Azuma’s never gonna get herself out of bad relationships if she keeps throwing herself at them. And if your friend tells you it’s a bad match, maybe you should heed that advice.
- Girl, you can spend one afternoon without walking home with your boyfriend.
- Sheesh, talk about revealing your insecurities to the world. But Nishi’s story will have to wait for another day, another episode.
- I once tried this with a former girlfriend, but we read at extremely different paces. It didn’t work out. I’d wait weeks to discuss a chapter with her. Maybe she just wasn’t into the idea.
- I still don’t get the appeal of headpats, but face smushing? Absolutely.
- Taira actually tells Tani about his conversation with Suzuki, because he thinks her answer would make Tani happy. Yamada’s right: Taira’s got a weird way of showing his kindness. But hey, it seems to work.
- Of all the things to be jealous about, Suzuki doesn’t like that other boys can make Tani smile.
- I think the dub script is way superior to the subs.
