We pick up where we left off last week, so Miki confronts Minato directly and asks him what he thinks of Koyuki. At first, he says he pities Koyuki, which is partly true. Miki proceeds to call him “sanctimonious,” so he quickly course corrects and says he’s interested in Koyuki for some other reason. It’s totally not love, though! Hmm. Well, I do agree that the pity thing doesn’t explain the whole story. After all, Koyuki is happy with Miki and Giraffe Guy, so she isn’t alone all the time. If Minato merely pitied her, then he could probably find sadder, more pathetic targets lurking around the school. So why does he insist on knowing whether or not Koyuki is dating Giraffe Guy? Why does he want to personally worm his way in when Koyuki already has friends? Not only that, she has been relatively indifferent to Minato’s attempts to close the distance between them. It’s not love, he says. But he’s being real fishy.
When the pair returns, Koyuki can tell that Miki has been crying. She tries to ask her friend about it later when it’s just the two of them. Of course, Miki doesn’t tell the truth, but I’m glad Koyuki tried. Sometimes, that’s all you can do. The first three episodes have been full of everyone — mostly Koyuki — being stuck in their own heads and misunderstanding every single situation. And since Miki didn’t reveal what really happened between her and Minato, I’m sure those misunderstandings will continue. But I just fine it’s better — both in practice and for our enjoyment of the show — if these characters could just be a little more direct with each other.
After the exams, Minato once again invites himself to a group hangout. Not only is he so intrusive, he’s also just so touchy-feely. No one ever actually extends Minato a personal invitation, so we gotta ask ourselves if anyone actually wants him there? I guess Miki did say she wants to be friends with him on equal levels, but she’s not actively pursuing the friendship. And Giraffe Guy is too chill to kick up a fuss one way or another.
At a diner, Minato starts peppering Koyuki with questions when she’s trying to space out, which Miki immediately notices. Giraffe Guy… does he notice? Does he even care? It’s hard to read the guy when his head’s in the clouds. He seems less than a side character. I’m sure he has his own story, and we’ll eventually see it. But for now, he’s more like a background character. He doesn’t contribute anything meaningful to any of the conversations nor does he take anything from them either. There’s no tit-for-tat with Giraffe Guy. He just shows up, makes small talk, smiles, etc. And this is probably why Koyuki feels so safe with him. She doesn’t have to reveal anything to the guy, because he reveals nothing back. There’s no personal investment in this relationship. Meanwhile, she’s completely closed off to Minato, because he’s so needy. He’s always wanting to know this and that about her, and she doesn’t want to put herself out there to be judged (again).
One afternoon, a guy by the name of Igarashi shows up. He’s from another school, but as Minato has mentioned before, he’s here for a joint practice. There’s some bad history between him, Koyuki, and Miki, and I honestly can’t remember what it is. He was probably in one of the many episode one flashbacks, but I’m watching way too many shows to keep track of every single character’s back story. Luckily, we’re always in Koyuki’s head, so we immediately know what she’s thinking.
Apparently, people at school used to spread rumors about Koyuki and Igarashi. Calling her a “pick me,” implying that she slept with the guy, generally badmouthing her behind her back, etc. And this was middle school? I don’t remember having those conversations in middle school. For once, Minato reads the room and tries to drop the subject. But it’s too late. Just the mere thought that Igarashi might have talked about her is enough to cause Koyuki to spiral. This leads to her lashing out at Minato, but, well, he kinda deserves it. He’s been pushing her boundaries since the start of the series, so even though Koyuki’s mostly mad about Igarashi, this has been a longtime coming. I mean, the episode is bookended by girls yelling at him. Even though things turned out well with Miki — enough for them to joke around immediately afterwards, anyway — he’s just reaping what he’s sown. Unfortunately, a character like Minato won’t mind his own business, because if he did, we wouldn’t have much of a show.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— If you’re wondering about the New Game+ show, I’m just tired of it. I’m relegating it to “Everything else.” This also frees me up from having to write two posts in one day.
— Even so, at least Miki seems to have resolved one issue: feeling as though Minato looks down on her.
— According to Miki, Minato picks up on things and Giraffe Guy doesn’t? Or does Giraffe Guy simply not meddle? It’s clear that something bad happened with the basketball club back in middle school. But just because you notice something doesn’t mean you have to bring it up.
— Closing the distance was fine, but him reaching out and touching her was a bit much.
— Miki believes Minato when he claims it’s boring if they’re just chatting between the three of them and leave Koyuki out. But that’s what introverts like. They just wanna hang back and listen in. If they wanted to speak up, they would.
— This Igarashi guy still sees Miki as a “gorilla girl” even though everyone else finds her radiant. I guess that makes sense for his character. The girls act like he was a jerk, so this inflexibility of his is just lending credence to that.
