Ready for another overly dramatic episode about high school life? Boy, I can’t wait!

— Koyuki wants Minato to read the book for the movie he just saw, and of course, he’s more than happy to. She’s happy he’s interested. He’s happy she even remembers their conversation. Not exactly the same thing, but it’s okay if they’re not completely aligned. Gotta plant the seeds somewhere. But don’t you find it odd? For the first few episodes, it felt like she was hanging with Giraffe Guy all the time. As soon as he confessed that he likes Miki, he’s suddenly conveniently out of the picture. I’m not suggesting that they’re avoiding each other or anything. In fact, they had that gyoza dinner together an episode ago. But I find it funny that the author has dramatically reduced his screentime. He has more or less been shelved.

— Unfortunately, Koyuki is full of baggage from her past, and she hasn’t resolved any of them. She still thinks she’s unlovable due to how she treated her first boyfriend. She’s still wary of Akine. She has too many issues to start dating.

— Whoa, is this the first time we’ve seen one of her parents in person? And of course, she’s too busy with work to even have a decent conversation with her daughter.

— Kinda looks like a genderbent Taira from You and I Are Polar Opposites.

— All of a sudden, Momoka takes an interest in Koyuki, but it feels like Akine’s sister part two but with a friendlier shell. I mean, c’mon, she didn’t even bother to greet Koyuki the first time she saw her. This is obviously a shameless tactic to get closer to Minato. Funny how it’s called The Ramparts of Ice, but Koyuki is currently defenseless. All the positive experiences with Minato and Giraffe Guy have left her way too trusting.

— Another Koyuki x Minato moment? Shippers must be over the moon.

— C’mon, he has no problem uttering this cheesy crap, so why doesn’t he just ask her out?

— Later that day, she discusses the two boys with Miki, but the latter misinterprets everything. See, this is how shipper brains work. They latch onto any crumb they get and ignore anything that doesn’t align with their fantasies. The thing is, these two are best freaking friends. Why doesn’t Miki simply flat out ask Koyuki how she really feels about Giraffe Guy? Fine, she tried to pair Koyuki up with Igarashi in the past, and that ended badly. But these aren’t even the same circumstances, and I really think you should be able to talk to your best friend. This is two lifelong friends strangely not communicating in order to continue this misunderstanding subplot. It’s unnatural.

— Because Koyuki turned them down, it’s just Miki and Giraffe Guy hanging out the next day. But she’s so far into the Koyuki x Giraffe Guy hole that even if he did confess, she’d probably turn him down. She’d probably worry that she’s hurting Koyuki. But most of all, Miki can’t even think of Giraffe Guy as a potential boyfriend. She doesn’t have feelings for him. You can’t simply flip that switch. Still, you gotta start somewhere and as painful as it might be, for Giraffe Guy, rejection might actually be the first step towards dating, ironically enough.

— Oof. Imagine if he heard this.

— C’mon, did they really say that?

— Koyuki hangs out with Momoka some more. Ah man, she’s being played so hard.

— Momoka comes right out and says she’s down to date Minato. What is she trying to do? Gauge Koyuki’s reaction to see if Koyuki has any feelings for Minato? Draw a line in the sand and declare her intentions? Either way, I think Momoka is actually working against herself. Koyuki doesn’t really think about these things, after all. She just hangs out with the guys. Yeah, she thinks Minato’s cute, but that’s it. By forcing this conversation onto her, Momoka is planting the seeds; she’s making Koyuki reframe how she thinks of and talks to Minato. See, being a dishonest snake never really pays off. Again, the irony…

— Wait, why do we automatically think snakes are dishonest? I know there’s the Adam and Eve thing, but it’s not like we’re all Christians…

— Funny how the Nishi-clone is the only one who notices Minato’s blatant crush.

— And now Koyuki can’t look Minato in the eye, which he misinterprets. Christ, this is why I hate overly dramatic shows.

— At least Koyuki isn’t in denial. But like I said up top, she doesn’t think she’s ready to date or that she deserves to date. So lemme guess, she’s going to avoid Minato, which leads him to feel as though they’re back to square one — y’know, from earlier in the series when he came on too strong and she lashed out at him. So to avoid another crash-out, he might become more receptive to Momoka’s advances perhaps? Bah, these shows are too predictable.

— Did Momoka take a selfie only to break the ice with Minato? As outlandish as that sounds, I can’t rule it out.

— And now she’s playing up Minato’s fears: “Imagine finding out someone who you thought was a friend actually liked you as something more? I’d feel a bit disgusted. Wouldn’t you agree?” Is Momoka actually this clever? Does she actually know what she’s doing? Either way, the damage is done. Minato now thinks Koyuki is disgusted with him. Ah man…

— Elsewhere, Akine tells Koyuki to root for Momoka. Uh, okay. But why is Akine rooting for Momoka anyway? She outright says Momoka used to hang with her, but has completely shifted gears over a guy. Why would you want to be friends with such a person? And is this going to fly completely over Koyuki’s head? Is she not going to realize that Momoka is using her? Like I implied in the post’s title, Koyuki has suddenly forgotten to be cynical. It’s not good to be cynical all the time, but a healthy dose never hurts when some random girl suddenly wants to hang out with you all the time.

— Is this show popular? Is it going to get a second season? I dunno, but if it is, I’m already dreading it. I’m pretty sure I know where we’re headed: Momoka is going to ask Minato out and he’ll probably accept if only to show Koyuki that he’s safe — that he won’t cross the line with her. But because his heart is not in it, this resulting relationship is going to be an absolute disaster.

— And you know how Momoka will react? By lashing out at Koyuki. It’s gonna be exactly like with Akine’s sister.

— Ultimately, we’ll probably get our happy ending. We’ll probably eventually see Koyuki and Miki dating the right boy for them. But how long is it going to take for us to get there? Probably forever. Two seasons? That might be tolerable. But three or four? Bruh, I ain’t got time for that.