Ah yes, nothing like a huge dose of drama right before the weekend (I’m countin’ Friday, dammit).

— Koyuki literally hides when she sees a group of boys walking up to chat with Minato. C’mon, it doesn’t kill you to just stand there. Isn’t this a bit much? God, I can’t wait for You and I Are Polar Opposites to come back next season. I’m just tired of this drama. Life isn’t this complicated. I want my political thrillers to have a lot of moving parts. On the other hand, I want my slice-of-life romances to be simple and honest, open and earnest.

— As an aside, I actually think the second half of You and I Are Polar Opposites is a bit of a letdown compared to the first, but let’s see if the adaptation fixes the pacing…

— Minato is relieved that Koyuki isn’t scared of him. On the inside, he literally lets go of the idea of unlocking her heart. The metaphor is a bit on the nose, and I don’t really appreciate the CGI keys. Just draw them. Literally how hard is it to draw keys? But narratively, this is good, I suppose. It’s character development. He never had to weirdly pushy about being friends with her, and he’s acknowledging that to himself. I just think it would be even better if he went the extra mile and apologized for trying to worm his way into everything she did in those early episodes.

— I’m guessing the remainder of this series is going to build up Koyuki and Minato’s friendship, leaving the door open for something romantic in the future if the show ever gets a sequel. We might even address Miki’s complete and utter misunderstanding. And then there’s that Igarashi thing.

— This looks uncomfortable for both of them. I mean, for Miki, it’s not too bad until you have to squat for an extended period of time.

— Ah, Giraffe Guy wusses out. Miki asks him who he likes, so he says her name at first… then starts rattling off everyone in his life except for Minato. Literally seconds ago, I was thinking to myself, “Shouldn’t I just call him Yota by now? It’s not like this gag is even funny.” But nah, I’m gonna keep calling him Giraffe Guy to be petty. I hate this chickenshit move. I hope when the other two return to the classroom, they start talking about Giraffe Guy’s crush on Miki. But instead of that or even noticing Giraffe Guy’s feet sticking out from under the lectern, he gets contemplative instead — contemplative about what a mess it would be if Koyuki falls for Giraffe Guy.

— Oh hey, it’s the Nishi-lookalike. Well, at least Koyuki is making new friends. I wouldn’t mind seeing this girl integrate into the friend group. I kinda want a normal person without any drama… but who am I kidding? If she was a more important character, she’d have drama just like the rest of them.

— Pretty much applies to ever anime character ever.

— The fish tank metaphor isn’t a bad one, but it extends to all stages in life. High school is just another fish tank. So is college albeit bigger. Life opens up so much later in life, so it’s such a pity that anime ever only focuses on these three short years.

— This is the problem with shippers. The most platonic interactions gets blown outta proportion with them. It’s so ridiculous. It’s funny when people point out examples of others downplaying LGBT relationships (“They were just roommates!”). But you don’t need to do the same for hetero relationships.

— Unfortunately, Koyuki has those same shipping goggles on.

— Minato is stunned to learn that Koyuki had dated Igarashi. Maybe even devastated. Does it really matter. I don’t, but I also don’t live for drama!

— When Koyuki bumps into her ex this time, her inner monologue suddenly reveals that she had done him wrong. Turns out she never liked him, never wanted to date him, but she’s always desperately trying to be normal even back then. She thought she could make it work because he liked her, but surprise, surprise, you can’t fake a healthy relationship. So ultimately, she had to coldly reject him after already agreeing to date him. But I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care. It’s in the past. Just learn from it, then move the fuck on. This is too dramatic. You were a middle schooler for Christ’s sakes. Unless you literally murdered someone, just let it go. Not everything needs to be resolved, not everything needs closure. Closure’s never guaranteed anyway. You gotta accept that you might never get it.

— Unfortunately, I don’t think Igarashi is as over it as he lets on. I bet these two will have one final discussion to let bygones be bygones. It’s the dramatic anime thing to do.

— But this reveal does shine a harsher light on Miki’s desire to ship Koyuki with Giraffe Guy. She already alluded to this in an earlier episode — how she shouldn’t get involved with Koyuki’s love life after what happened with Igarashi — but her excitement is getting in her way again. Buuuuuut Koyuki doesn’t even remember Miki influencing her anyway.

— This is cringe.

— Koyuki ends the episode by thinking to herself that she’s too flawed and impure to ever find true love. So. Fucking. Dramatic. Wow, you hurt one guy. Was that shitty of you? Yeah. Should you have apologized a long time ago? Yeah. Does it make you completely irredeemable? Of course not. A normal person would just learn from their mistakes and move on. Koyuki always wonders why she can’t fit in like everyone else, but the real problem is her mentality. She’s that meme with the guy riding the bicycle then ‘causing himself to fall to the ground. You’re your worst enemy. The call is coming from inside the house.

— The drama here isn’t deep or poignant. It’s just much ado about nothing. Remember, tiny fish tank! Are you still going to be dwelling on a middle school relationship when you’re in your 20s or 30s? If the answer is yes, then get help. Ah well, just a few episodes left.