Tani’s birthday is coming up, so Suzuki’s fishing for ideas. She probably knows what she wants to do, but it never hurts to hear other people out. Yamada makes a pretty darn good suggestion: a photo album. It’s the sort of sentimental gift that rarely disappoints unless you’re with someone materialistic (in which case, you should probably dump them). But you need good photos for something like that, which Suzuki seems to realize. Taira, on the other hand, gives us the good ol’ “It’s the thought that counts!” Well, at least he isn’t being negative.
Meanwhile, Tani is afraid that his penchant for lowkey reactions might disappoint Suzuki when she pops the surprise on him for his actual birthday. I feel him. I don’t get exuberant about things either. When I got my last promotion, my manager wasn’t sure if I was actually happy or not. Some of simply don’t get effusive about stuff. As for Tani’s concerns, I doubt Suzuki would be bothered. I just think back to that photo booth moment from last week’s episode where Tani barely did anything. He stood there like a complete plank. And guess what? Suzuki was still as happy as can be afterwards. As long as he’s being himself, she’ll take it. What he shouldn’t do is fake it.
The couple end up getting personal cakes to celebrate — cakes from a combini, but I suppose high schoolers wouldn’t have much of a budget for splurging. Besides, this sort of lowkey celebration is perfect. Guys like Tani don’t need the huge parties with everyone yelling and screaming over loud music. Just a small, intimate encounter with their significant other is ideal for someone whose reactions are understated. See, with Suzuki, Tani doesn’t need to be performative; he doesn’t need to cook up an Instagrammable reaction. Just a simple “thank you” is enough to melt Suzuki’s heart (and remaining brain cells).
But with Suzuki, you know she wouldn’t be content with just lighting some candles in a park after school. They also have to go somewhere. The problem is that Tani seems like the kinda guy who has never had to think about his own wants and needs before. He probably saw the first sensible thing that crossed his plate, and he just went with it, i.e. “So-and-so is a respectable career, so I’ll do it.” But things are different now with Suzuki. For the first time ever, he’s had to constantly delve deep into his own mind and reflect on his actual desires. It makes you wonder what he wants to do with his life — like actually wants to do — because I bet you he doesn’t know. Oh, Tani’ll tell you what he intends to pursue as a career when he grows up, but has he really, truly thought about it? Just coming up with a place to go on a date is tough for him. In the end, he settles on a trip to the Natural History Museum.
Afterwards, Tani is a little glum over the fact that nothing went right on their date, but nothing really went wrong either. The museum was initially crowded, but once they got away from the special exhibit, they had a good time. A formal sit-down restaurant is probably a bit much for a couple of high schoolers on a date, but if he wants to be better prepared for next time, just call the place ahead of time to see if they’ll be open. Live and learn, man. Nothing goes perfectly on your first try. Maybe he’s been hanging around Taira too much. At the end of the day, like with the birthday reaction that he was so worried about, he’s overthinking it. It doesn’t really matter what happens so long as they’re together.
To cap off the date (and the official end to the birthday festivities), Suzuki closes her eyes and waits expectedly. When Tani only gives her a hug, she takes action into her own hands. She just pecked him on the cheek, right? Probably. His reaction seems to imply as much. She gave him an opening for something more, but she knew her chances of an actual kiss were low. She is always over the moon to get anything from him.
More TairAzuma crumbs
Speaking of birthdays, Taira starts thinking back to his, which actually wasn’t too long ago. Y’know, the boy acts like he wouldn’t want his friends to surprise him, but it’s probably just a defense mechanism. I bet you anything if his buddies actually gave him a birthday surprise, he’d be secretly smiling on the inside. I know his type. They tend to spin things negatively, so they can set their expectations low. So when nothing happens, they’re happy. And when something does happen, they’re super happy. Sure enough, Azuma was the one to remember that it was his birthday back then. She gave him a sticker, which he still has to this day. See? Secretly smiling on the inside. Back in the present, however, she initially forgot that she gave it to him in the first place.
TairAzuma is so hot right now. After all, Tani and Suzuki are already together. Yamada and Nishi is the slow burn couple. There’s only one role left to fulfill, which is the dreaded “Will they, won’t they?” dance. With Taira’s general negativity and Azuma’s relationship troubles, they seem like the perfect couple for that sort of thing. We’ve already gotten our satisfaction with the other two couples, so it’s fine if Taira and Azuma want to drag things out for, well, possibly perpetuity. The fact that she initially forgot that she gave him the sticker epitomizes their ill-defined relationship. There might be something there since she remembered his birthday and was the only one to do so. Then again, there might not be something there because maybe the moment wasn’t all that meaningful to her to begin with if she couldn’t remember it.
In the end, Azuma spills the beans on Taira’s birthday long after the fact, so we’re back on the “will they” part of the dance. We don’t get to see it, but Taira is smiling. Yup, his whole negativity spiel is definitely just a defense mechanism.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— Suzuki is so eager to celebrate anything and everything. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a gift for Halloween.
— Man, Tani goes to Taira for advice a lot. I guess he probably thinks Taira won’t sugarcoat his answers.
— I can’t imagine being sleepy at just 11pm. I forever fucked up my sleep schedule by getting into a long distance relationship in my youth. As a result, I’ve gotten so used to staying up past midnight, I can’t remember the last time I actually slept before midnight. At best, I’ll go to bed around 3am. At worst? The sun is up.
— Geez, Suzuki is one of those “I must celebrate your birthday on the dot!” kinda people. Chill, girl. You’ve got all 24 hours! Well, this isn’t as bad as the birthday week or month people. I generally don’t want to shit on other people’s fun, but when they expect you to honor them on more than a single day… yeah, no.
— Thanks to Suzuki, Tani’s friends wish him a happy birthday one by one. I guess you can tell who is in the immediate friend circle and who isn’t. Nishi is noticeably missing even though she’s heavily featured in the OP and ED. She’s not quite integrated into the group just yet.
— I’m also more of a strawberry shortcake guy over chocolate. But I’d be happy to have either.
— They could’ve fed each other. Missed opportunity here.
— As a Californian all my life (except for my very first year of existence), I’ve unsurprisingly never owned a scarf. It simply never gets cold enough here to bother. I bet scarf makers hate Californians… like most of the country seem to. I swear, I’ll be watching a video and someone will just randomly drop “I hate California” outta nowhere. Bro, what? Why am I getting strays outta nowhere? I don’t even think of other states. I don’t care what you do in… I dunno, Kentucky or whatever.
— The first kiss is still on Suzuki’s mind, and the audience is also dying for it.
— Tempura sure mews a lot. When I used to pet my cat, it would just purr.
— San Francisco has some awesome museums, and they’re sadly never this crowded. Also, why does it seem like there are only girls here for the special exhibit?
— Oh, there seems to be some sort of exhibit on gallant, prince-type characters. What does that have to do with natural history again?
— Love how Honda just casually glides on past the main characters. She’s living her best life out there, and we don’t get to see it.
— Still no dub yet for this episode, huh? It’s usually out by now.
