Minato wants to get along with everybody. Let’s assume he has good intentions, because I’d hate to think that a kid has anything nefarious in mind (even though this is not entirely out of the question). Does his need to befriend everyone actually help, well, anyone? Twisting and turning his personality inside out just so he can become buddy buddy with anyone he meets, then dropping them once he’s accomplished this feat — does this actually make anyone but himself happy? The perpetually lonely might welcome the company at first, but introverts aren’t necessarily lonely.
Additionally, you would have to lie in order to get along with literally anyone, and eventually, someone’s going to catch onto the fact that you’re being inauthentic. For example, he and Koyuki have nothing to talk about. Anyone can feel that. Anyone can tell that he’s straining to keep the conversation going. It’s as simple as giving people what they want, and Koyuki has never, ever wanted Minato’s friendship. She has never outright rejected it either, but, well, she certainly has now. I get the feeling, however, that the show will try to make us sorry for him. I’m going to be real annoyed if she ends up having to apologize to him for being too harsh when he basically asked for it.
Unfortunately, it’s already starting. The next time we see Koyuki, she is asking the nurse on how to control her temper. First, this has been a long time coming. It’s not like she blew up on him in the first episode. It took a long ass time before Koyuki finally confronted Minato. Second, she deserved to get mad! Minato has been bugging her for episodes, and now he’s getting into her personal business. That’s not how a friendship starts! Speaking of which, Giraffe Guy saw the exchange from a distance. He’s just so chill all the time. Until he shows that he has more than placid congeniality, I’m going to keep calling him Giraffe Guy. So sure enough, Giraffe Guy shows up to the nurse’s office with snacks to pave things over and defend Minato.
Giraffe Guy reveals that they — as in he and Minato — have known about Koyuki for quite some time — all the way back to their middle school years, in fact. Miki had opened up to them about Koyuki being bullied. Eh, I dunno. On the one hand, I understand leaning on your friends for their support. Maybe she felt like she had no one else to talk to. On the other hand, sharing Koyuki’s personal business is kinda… iffy. At the very least, I wish she would’ve done it with a trusted adult and not a pair of middle school boys with no real power to do anything about the situation. Why are there never any useful adults in anime? The school nurse is friendly enough, but that’s about it. Why do anime characters never have an adult they can trust?
Well, Giraffe Guy is now trying to reframe Minato’s pushiness as genuine concern. What a load of shit. The middle school stuff was (obviously) years ago. Is she being bullied now? Is she begging for friends now? Even if she was, she clearly has them in Miki and Giraffe Guy. Again, if Koyuki being bullied in the past was truly Minato’s concern, then why does he keep asking shit like whether or not she and Giraffe Guy are dating? So yeah, I call bullshit. But I get it, they want everyone to get along. I’m just counting down the seconds until Koyuki inevitably apologizes to Minato for rightfully telling him off.
Elsewhere, Minato tries to reflect on the failed encounter. Is he trying to say that Koyuki is sanctimonious as well? Man, I don’t like this guy. I don’t like pushy people. You don’t deserve to be friends with everyone. It’s okay if people just don’t vibe with you. Seriously, what the hell is his problem?
Either way, this leads to Minato giving Koyuki the cold shoulder afterwards. I’m getting more and more ticked off as this episode plays out. Koyuki thinks to herself that she hasn’t given him a “fair chance,” but I don’t even know what that means. Someone butts into all your hangouts and all your conversations, but you still exchange pleasantries with them. That’s fair enough to me! Nevertheless, Koyuki runs after him to make things right. This mangaka sure loves having her heroines do this. I mean, it’s only happened twice, but it’s still kinda funny when you think about it.
Koyuki tries to get the words out, but her emotions are getting the better of her. As a result, she starts sobbing in front of Minato. These two are going to end up together, aren’t they? I don’t know when and I don’t know how long it’ll take, but these two are meant to be a couple, aren’t they? Bleh. So they predictably make up.
At lunch, Minato thinks back to his conversation with Igarashi, who claims he doesn’t know a Hikawa (Koyuki). Bro, bro, bro… I know you’re confused, but let sleeping dogs lie. It’s not your business, not your problem. If for whatever reason Koyuki wants to open up to him about what happened in the past, sure, you can start sleuthing. But nobody is asking you to mend this broken relationship, so stop thinking about it!
I can’t help but feel like these characters have nothing going on with their lives, because Minato is just constantly thinking about Koyuki, how might Koyuki react the next time they see each other, blah blah blah. I think back to high school, and I had a ton of homework due to honors and AP classes, I had band practice, there might have been a season premiere for a show I want to watch, I wanted to game with my friends, study for the SATs, applying for part-time jobs, etc. Maybe I thought about my crush once a day. But this guy is just all Koyuki all the time.
In the after credits scene, Miki and Koyuki are meeting up with friends they haven’t seen in a while. When the girls ask if Koyuki is dating anyone, images of Igarashi flash through her mind. Miki then blames herself for Koyuki and Igarashi apparently dating in the first place. Ugh, their past is going to be a whole ass arc, isn’t it? Nothing in high school truly matters, and middle school matters even less. Shit, I can hardly remember any bit of drama from middle school.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— Whoa it’s that other show from the same mangaka!!@!!
— I honestly don’t mind soggy noodles. Obviously, if they’ve completely fallen apart, it sucks. But I’ve never been bothered if my noodles sat for an extra minute or two because I was busy with something.
— Oh damn, a cameo. Also, what an ostentatious looking cafe.
— Hah, Koyuki still thinks Miki likes Minato. Girl, just talk to your friend. It’s your best friend, even.
