For once, Nishi stands her ground and tells her parents what she wants to do with her life. Instead of business or economics, the girl wants to study literature. Unfortunately, her mother doesn’t have the best response to this news. She kinda just shuts down and leaves the room. If it were me, I’d just shrug. That sounds something she needs to sort out on her own. But Nishi isn’t me, so she still wants her mother’s support. That’s the only part I can’t relate to.

I have literally been in Nishi’s position before. The only difference is that my mom wouldn’t even consider economics or business as viable career paths. For her, like with a lot of Asian parents, it was doctor or nothing. And when I stood my ground like Nishi, I got the same passive-aggressive response, too. “Fine, I’ll shuuuuuut up. Fine, I won’t saaaaaay anything. My bad for worrying about yooooou.” Whatever. Just ignore her. Your parents will get over it. It’s your future; it’s your life. Only you can decide what will make you happy. Even back then, I sure as hell knew that I would’ve been a terrible doctor.

Everyone’s studying so hard, they barely have time for their relationships. To make up for this, Nishi and Yamada spend the afternoon together in his room. Things, however, got a little too steamy without adult supervision. Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t make a mistake right before college! Luckily, Nishi was able to ask him a very important question: “If I say yes, will you like me more?” Obviously, Yamada needs her consent and vice versa. But him asking her if she was “okay” to proceed doesn’t go far enough. He also needs to let her know that nothing would change between them even if she says no. Sure, Yamada isn’t actively pressuring Nishi to have sex. The problem, however, is that people will often agree to something they’re not really ready for just to keep the peace. And this actually ties into Nishi’s dilemma with her mother.

In the past, the girl would’ve done whatever her mother had told her to do. She didn’t want to stir up trouble. Nowadays, she’s a little better about expressing her wants and desires, but it’s not like Nishi has completely changed or anything. Her question wasn’t like, “Rawr, listen to my needs!” In reality, she was still letting her boyfriend decide how things played out. But there was just enough there to clue Yamada in on what was bothering her. I thus can’t help but wonder if the old Nishi — if she had dated a worse guy — would’ve even asked that question at all. A different Nishi — a weaker Nishi — probably would’ve just nodded and done whatever her boyfriend wanted. As for Yamada, he isn’t… well, offended exactly, but he does ask, “Do you think I’ll lose interest if you don’t let me do things?” But you never know. That’s why you gotta talk about these things. You can’t just assume them.

Speaking of not communicating enough, Suzuki runs into the same problem with Tani. She spies a study guide for a really far away university on her boyfriend’s shelf, but he tells her he’s still aiming for a nearby school. Suzuki is right in thinking that it doesn’t quite add up; he’s not telling her everything. Well, they’re kids, right? So he’s dumb and inexperienced about relationships. Hell, this is his first (and hopefully last) relationship. Still, it’s really dumb that he wouldn’t talk to his girlfriend about any of this. The last thing Suzuki wants is for Tani to hold himself back for her sake. What kind of partner would she be if she prioritized her own happiness over his? As a result, she brings up the idea of them taking a break. That’s the last thing Tani wants, but well, he brought this on himself by not communicating his feelings to her. I’m a little amused that our super (almost unrealistically) happy couple finally run into an issue. They’ll be fine in the long run, though. They just gotta talk more.

Stray thoughts & observations:

— Damn, I never would’ve known this girl was Nishi if her mom hadn’t called her by her (given) name.

— So what exactly is Yamada going to do? What are his plans for the future?

— In a different show, we would’ve been hit with the credits as soon as Suzuki asked for space. Hell, I’m pretty sure The Rampart of Ice would’ve started playing its ED before she could even ask her question. Luckily, the kids here talk it out real quick.

— Man, we didn’t get a single second of Tairazuma this episode. Well, last week was all about them…