This week, the story introduces yet another character, and judging from Kuroe’s own words, Rairi is the most popular girl in school. Immediately, she starts to worry that her new classmate might target her. This obviously means they’ll become great friends. Anime plot developments are often straightforward and obvious like that. Look, look, Rairi might Kuroe in the spine every so often, but this is simply an act of kindness! She’s trying to fix Kuroe’s posture! Yeeeeeeah, don’t go doing that to people. Honestly, I don’t even think chiropractors are safe. Still, making more friends isn’t a bad thing. Funny how this all worked out, though. Most popular guy in school? In love with Kuroe. Most popular girl in school? Fast friends. I don’t know what you would call Manatsu. Maybe she’s the richest or something. Point is, she’s a friend too. The only people who suck are everyone else in the middle.

Without even asking for permission, Rairi applies lipstick (among other things) onto Kuroe. Arata approves of the color, so this motivates Kuroe to continue speaking to Rairi. And since our girl is clueless about makeup, Rairi is about to usher Kuroe into a whole new world. I’m actually surprised her mother hadn’t taught her about make-up first. After all, Rinko seems like a gyaru or former gyaru. Surprisingly, she actually doesn’t approve of her little girl wearing make-up. On the other hand, it’s a sign that Kuroe is growing up, and maybe Rinko isn’t ready for that.

Rairi wants to know why Kuroe is suddenly interested in make-up, so the latter opens up about her insecurities. Rairi can relate. Sadly, it feels like everyone has image problems. Women have always been judged for their looks. Not only have we failed to solve this issue, men now have image problems too. Alright, soapbox time. I’ve seen so many people in their twenties butcher their face in some misguided pursuit of beauty. I can’t believe this sort of thing is even legal. What’s the number one rule that every doctor should follow? Do no harm? In that case, I’m not sure if every single plastic surgeon can proudly call themselves a doctor. People who fix up burn victims with skin grafts? Sure, totally doctors. People who will tell you that your nose is fucked up and needs to be sliced apart? Eh… at the very least, I feel like elective surgery for the sake of “beauty” should come with a psych consult at the minimum. Buuuuut I’m getting super off-topic, so let’s get back to the anime.

Rairi gets water on her face, which reveals what she looks like beneath all that make-up. Somehow, this also changes her voice. It’s now her turn to open up to Kuroe. I’m not sure how I feel about this development. It sounds like make-up gave Rairi confidence, and confidence is always attractive. But the story also focuses a lot on how she apparently looks like a gorilla without said make-up. I can’t help but wonder how much is being exaggerated for the sake of the story. But again, new friend so hopefully she and Kuroe can keep supporting each other.

Stray thoughts & observations:

— When we last left off, Arata had asked Kuroe to go out with him, which she agreed to. I dunno, does this make them an official couple? Or is it just dating. Either way, even remembering this moment causes the girl to fully transform. Man, this isn’t sustainable, but obviously, I’m no kaiju expert. I can’t even imagine what Kuroe could possibly do to prevent herself from having to go through this every single time. Obviously, she can’t control her own thoughts, so any solution would have to involve her physiological changes. But what would that solution even look like?

— Rinko is getting the classic experience of raising a stroppy teen. She has her concerns, but Kuroe tells her nothing. The girl always quickly runs off and hides in her room. Just your average moody teenager, really.

— Kuroe realizes that Arata will want to go public about their relationship. Yeah, can she handle that? At first, she wasn’t going to tell him about her concerns either. She starts running away from him without any warning. He has to chase her before she spills the beans. Why make it difficult, though? Why do these anime characters always bottle everything up? Is it just to drag the story out with annoying misunderstandings? That’s probably it, huh? Well, after hearing her out, Arata tries to agree to a compromise where they pretend to just be friends. But thanks to gossipy folks, the secret’s out anyway.

— Somehow, Arata’s own lil’ sister walks up to Kuroe and asks her to deliver his lunch to him. What a coincidence.

— I can’t imagine caring this much about who dates whom. Maybe Arata could tell them off. Something like… “Mind your damn business, because if you have a problem with Kuroe, then you have a problem with me.” But Kuroe might not want attention called to her. And it might not even work; the bullies could bully her even harder. I’ve never had to deal with this sort of thing growing up.

— If Manatsu is supposed to be Mothra, then I guess we have the kaiju triumvirate at least.