Right off the bat, the opening hits us with bits and pieces of the relationship drama surrounding Koyuki and that Igarashi kid (dunno if we’ve been given his first name). Miki thinks she might be at fault for the whole mess, but eh… one, there was no real need for Koyuki to take Miki’s words so seriously. Two, it happened in middle school. Just move on. Put it aside, stop thinking about it, and move on with the rest of your life. It literally doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. By the time you’re in college, you probably won’t even remember any of this stuff. I know adults sound dismissive when they say this sort of thing to kids, but ugh… some things deserve to be dismissed. Trying to parse a middle school breakup from years ago is one of those things.
Elsewhere, Minato’s friends are fed up with him always being neutral after break-ups, but it’s just banter. No one is seriously mad at anyone. They hope he falls in love with someone who doesn’t care about him. Well, it’s already happening… kinda. He’s already developed feelings for Koyuki. I’m pretty confident she and Minato will eventually become a couple in the future, so sadly, she’ll learn to like him back. My opinion of Minato hasn’t changed. Just because she forgives him doesn’t mean anything to me.
We then get a flashback to explain — not justify — Minato’s distaste for displaying strong emotions. Basically, he thinks doing so will allow others to weaponize his emotions against him. Sure, if the only people you know are jerks. But while Minato may not wear his heart on his sleeve, a lot of his actions are still dictated by his emotions. I mean, why was he so frustrated when Koyuki told him off? Why was he (and still is) so annoyed with the possibility that she and Giraffe Guy might be dating? Plus, there’s a difference between stoicism and being emotionally constipated. Don’t be emotional when it doesn’t help you, but do be emotional when it does. That’s just learning how to live your life, man.
After the great burger tryst, Koyuki and Giraffe Guy both update their profile pictures to burgers. In actuality, all they did was visit the place where Miki works. It wasn’t a date whatsoever. Nevertheless, not only does Minato regret turning down the invite, he’s feeling… emotions. No, no, no, not that! Please spare me! I don’t wanna be vulnerable! But seriously, trying to determine two people’s relationship status from their profile pictures is like reading the tea leaves: it’s all in your head. More importantly, Minato is right back where he started at the beginning of the series: obsessing over whether or not Koyuki and Giraffe Guy are dating. Seriously, this again?
Koyuki wishes she could be less in her own head about things. She wishes she could be more like Giraffe Guy, who can seemingly space out and stare off into the sky for moments and moments on end. Well, we don’t actually know if he truly has no thoughts. He could just be lying. We can’t read his mind, after all. Rather, Giraffe Guy feels more like who Minato wishes he could be. Maybe there are turbulent emotions beneath that facade, but he certainly never shows it. Basically, we should just stop making assumptions about people. The truth is that Koyuki doesn’t really know or understand Giraffe Guy all that well. She’s not even that interested in him as a friend. He simply makes her feel calm, which is why she’s drawn to his presence.
Minato continues to spy them from a distance and jump to conclusions. What? Can two friends not hang out? This is literally what friends do. Plus, even when she and Giraffe Guy have any sort of physical contact, it just makes her feel like a little kid with their dad. That doesn’t strike me as romantic. This ain’t Usagi Drop (I hope). Point is, I just think Minato and Miki’s brains are tainted. Still, he tries to play it off as genuine concern. He truly believes it would end up badly for Koyuki if she does end up falling in love with Giraffe Guy. But of course, Minato never explains why he thinks this. He just keeps thinking this. This sort of storytelling is kinda obnoxious. “It’ll be reeeeeeeal bad!” Okay, why? “It’s going to be really, really, reeeeeeeeeeally bad!” Fuck, just spit it out already.
Right before the credits roll, Koyuki and Giraffe Guy bump into his mom on the streets, but we quickly learn that he and the woman are not blood-related. His real mother died when he was in elementary school. Somehow, this makes Koyuki pause in her tracks. So dramatic.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— Miki’s coworker (boss?) thinks Koyuki and Giraffe Guy look good together just because there’s a huge height disparity. Really? That’s it? That’s so shallow. But this somehow sets Miki off, because she ships them already. Ugh, don’t ship your friends. That’s weird. I don’t like shipping in general, because people get oddly aggressive about it sometimes. But it’s even more messed up when you involve people you actually know.
— This mangaka sure does like having their characters eat burgers. At the very least, we’re two for two.
— Seriously? Shipping them just because they’re enjoying burgers? You people need some fucking standards. Maybe this is why your relationships keep failing, because you just base everything off of vibes.
— Or Minato could have just asked what they were doing.
— We’re also two for two on main characters working in the library. The other girl even kinda looks like Nishi… hell, she’s also into the arts. It’s painting rather than photography, but same deal.
