Ever since Umi confessed to Maki, he’s been having bad dreams about his parents’ relationship. Something about someone falling out of love — probably the father. As a result, Maki doesn’t think he’s ready to become Umi’s boyfriend… but he’ll make sure to work hard in order to get there one day! It can never be simple, can it? Anime characters always gotta have some deep-seated hang-up. But I honestly don’t know what it means to be a “good fit for Umi.” If she’s already fallen in love with him for being himself… then why not just continue being himself? He’s overcomplicating this. Just do what you’re doing: being the considerate dork who share her tastes in shitty movies and video games.
So there’s a new guy, and like most of the boys at this school, Seki has a crush on Yuu. Since Maki is friends with her, Seki figures Maki might be able to help him out! It’s like getting a job! You gotta make connections! You gotta get referrals! Still, I’ll never understand this mentality. First, Seki has never talked to Maki before, but he’s now begging for help? C’mon, man, at least become friends with the guy first. Unsurprisingly, Maki turns him down. Personally, even if I were friends with someone, I’d never play matchmaker. Other people’s personal business, especially their love lives, is not anything I would ever want to get involved in. Second, Seki just flat out asks Yuu out. Every other chump does this, so he’s just repeating their mistakes. What makes him stand out? Nothing. More importantly, however, has Seki even talked to her before? Does she even know who he is? I dunno, I guess I’ve only ever dated people I’ve become friends with. The only good thing I’ll say about Seki is that he takes both rejections pretty well.
There’s going to be a “combined” Christmas party on Christmas Eve, and it involves several high schools in the area. This is the first time I’ve heard about something like this. I’ve honestly never seen this before in either anime or real life. Not only that, in order to attend said party, you needed to have signed up a long time ago. What…? Why? Yeah, sure, the party organizers — whoever they are — need an accurate headcount for food and drinks, but I’ve never heard of anyone needing a headcount this early.
So why is this Christmas party relevant? Well, Maki invited Umi over to his place on Christmas Eve, but she initially turned him down. She’s attending this party, and she probably figured that he would too. When she finally learns that he isn’t, she starts making excuses to cut her time at the party short so she can swing by his place. But Seki also brings something up: guys have been taking notice of Umi. Apparently, she’s more attractive now that she’s gotten a huge mental burden off of her chest. Uh-huh. Anyway, I’m just wondering if there’s going to be an incident at the Christmas party, since Maki won’t be there. Hmmmm.
Seki’s warning also spurs Maki to pick up the pace. I thought he had a major hangup involving his parents’ fractured relationship, and this is why he can’t properly date Umi… yet. But oh no, other guys might steal her away so forget the hangups! This sort of thing is always funny to me, because it takes two to tango. Obviously, Umi isn’t an object that other people can just grab. If she ends up dating someone else, it would be her choice. I mean, I get it to an extent: if Maki drags his feet for too long, Umi might lose interest. But that’s different than her being stolen away, y’know?
Anyway, even though Umi has confessed her feelings to Maki, she isn’t quite bold enough to admit those same feelings in front of her friends. As a result, she ends up inadvertently inviting Yuu to hang out with her and Maki after the Christmas party because she can’t handle a little teasing. Sounds to me like she isn’t ready to date either. At the same time, however, Yuu isn’t stupid. She knows Umi likes Maki, and he probably reciprocate those feelings. So why is she doing this? As a friend, I would just back off. I wouldn’t accept the invite, regardless of my crush.
Near the end of the episode, Umi takes Maki to go shopping, because he doesn’t have date outfits. Somehow, Yuu is also there. Girl, you’re third-wheeling. Then Maki bumps into his father randomly, so maybe we’ll get some clarity on his parents’ relationship.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— Charming.
— The same, tired indirect kiss trope.
— Bet it’s made out of plastic.
— Yuu keeps turning guys down, telling them that she already has someone she likes. Oh man, I can probably guess who she’s referring to. She must also know that she has no real chance with the person she likes.
— Midway through the episode, Maki has an all-too-brief conversation with his exhausted looking mother. In a lot of these shows, the parents are often missing or just not present. Even when the parents are around, we kinda just take it for granted. We rarely see these characters interact with their parents on a deep, meaningful level. It’s really not a topic that writers and manga authors really want to touch upon. Kinda strange.
