BokuBen 2 – 13 (Fin) – Taking a Helping Hand

After Fumino’s improvised kiss and monologue, the Sleeping Beauty play is salvaged, but neither she nor the thorns know Nariyuki was under the cat costume. Only he knows, but was too embarrassed by the misconception that he shouldn’t have been on stage in the first place overshadowed his curiosity about why Fumino kissed him.

The festival goes on, with Rizu closer to her goal of selling 1,000 bowls but still needing another marketing boost. Rizu idly mentions how the two of them could do well if they owned a restaurant, and then slurp up the same noodle, catching the attention of a passing girl who declares them “sweethearts.”

A light bulb goes off for Nariyuki, and while he and Uruka “pretend” to be a couple, Asumi tells them how any two interested people sharing a bowl will enjoy effects similar to the upcoming fireworks jinx. The crowd is initially dubious when Nariyuki and Uruka are awkward, but quickly convinced of the udon’s power when the two start behaving more like a genuine couple.

With Kirisu’s lecture a big hit despite the lack of the cat costume her colleagues got her (her turn as an idol won many hearts and minds, and allowed them to see her for the competent educator she is), and the 1,000 bowls sold, all that’s left is for Nariyuki to relax, kick back, and enjoy the fireworks.

That is, of course, until the three cohorts representing the three main girls—The Thorns for Fumino, the swim club for Uruka, and Sawako for Rizu—all shove the girls from behind into Nariyuki at the same time. He then proceeds to land on the two people in front of him: Kirisu and Asumi.

While it seemed like everyone would be touching him for the big moment, the first firework is a dud. When the actual fire firework explodes in the sky, he’s holding only one person’s hand, only that person is backlit and he can’t 100% tell who they are.

At his next and final mock interview with Kirisu, Nariyuki knows what is expected of him and doesn’t disappoint, from his posture in the chair to clearly stating why he wishes to become an educator like her: to become “someone who understands the feelings of those who are incapable,” and who can stand beside those who face what they can’t do until they can.

Nariyuki Yuiga may have ended up in all kinds of compromising positions, but none of them were really of his making, only surrounding efforts, circumstances, and luck. The conceit of BokuBen is that he’s Yuiga isn’t looking for a girlfriend; through the tutoring that transitions into friendships, he’s been awakened to his true calling as a teacher.

That being said, while Nariyuki never did anything to enter into the myriad romantic-ish situations in which he’s found himself, he can’t deny that most of those times he felt something, even if other events glossed over deep analysis of those feelings. That might change when the last of those situations calls back to a crucial moment of the festival, and will be the last such moment for a long, long time.

I speak of his farewell to Uruka. Kirisu gives him one last assist when his train breaks down by giving him a white-knuckle ride to the airport in her Honda Fit (which might be a Mugen judging from the acceleration). When he runs to meet the others and say goodbye, he faceplants, but it’s Uruka who reaches out her hand to help him up.

As he looks up at her, she’s backlit, just as the girl was by the first firework. If it was Uruka holding his hand then, and the jinx is reliable, the show closes by hinting that Nariyuki may have finally realized something else besides that he wants to be an educator. As both he and Uruka stare at their hands from the air and ground, respectively, perhaps he realized who he wants to be with—whose hand he wants to take and not let go once she returns home.

BokuBen 2 – 12 – The Show Meowst Go On

The Swim Club’s Full Pure show goes off without a hitch, thanks to some unseen technological wizards who managed to build artificial clones of the club members and program them to dance and sing perfectly! Just kidding; it’s only another case of using CGI to animate their dance number.

The moves are fluid, but too precise and perfect, and while stills of the quartet look fine, in action they look too…mechanical. This is not a problem exclusive to BokuBen, but at least in the ED of Cautious Hero the CGI Rista is meant to be a figurine, not the flesh-and-blood character.

I also had a problem with Nariyuki being able to sew the cosplay outfit of an anime character introduced that morning to Uruka’s exact measurements. When the heck did he do that? The suspension of disbelief if our Mary Sue MC is strong with this episode.

It isn’t long until the Thorns have Nariyuki in their clutches, but due to yet another costume mix-up, he ends up emerging from the changing room as “Meowpoleon”, the character Kirisu’s colleagues meant for her to wear (which redeems them somewhat). The Thorn guards miss him, as do his siblings, while the teachers start chasing him around the school.

Nariyuki ends up crossing paths with a rocked-out Asumi, who came to play with her old light music club juniors. Using the school’s network of ducts, she leads Nariyuki to a shortcut to the gym (where he’s to report for the play), then distracts the teachers looking for him with her Top Maid charm.

Nariyuki ends up emerging from the ducts in the catwalks above the stage. Since he’s under the impression he’s not meant to perform in the play, he stands by while the play becomes completely undone by his absence. When a teacher declares that anyone in the crowd could be the prince who will kiss Fumino (assuming the kiss will just be pretend), chaos reigns as the Thorns fight off boys.

In the fracas, the heavy scenery is damaged and starts to fall on Fumino, but Nariyuki-as-Meowpoleon rescues her in the nick of time. Improvising for herself, and possibly aware of who might be behind those dead Hello Kittyish eyes, Fumino plants a kiss, resulting in a very close-quarters indirect kiss with Nariyuki.

I docked points from last week’s BokuBen for all but tabling the harem romance for a rote two-part school festival episode, presumably in order to run out the clock. Aside from the kiss, Uruka getting a costume hand-made by the guy she likes, and some mild flirting from Asumi, the needle doesn’t move for anyone in this episode either.

Then again, it’s probably counterproductive to think Nariyuki was going to settle on any one girl in these last episodes. With one remaining, that seems even more unlikely. After all, why satisfy or anger the fans of a particular girl if you can string everyone along for a third season?

BokuBen 2 – 11 – Festival Follies

Having helped his tutees take steps closer to their respective futures, Nariyuki starts thinking about his own future path. Then the cultural festival arrives, and all he can do is scramble to help everyone out in the present.

After a couple episodes focusing on individual love interests, this is a true ensemble affair. First, due to Rizu’s father making 1,000 bowls of udon (instead of 100; he read the order wrong), she needs help selling, so Nariyuki volunteers.

Little does he know that Fumino’s class plotted to make her the star in their Sleeping Beauty play, with Nariyuki as the Prince who will wake her up with a kiss. The class is utterly united in this decision, which if implemented will surely undermine the work Fumino had been doing to avoid getting entangled in the Rizu-Nariyuki-Uruka triangle. Unfortunately, that ship has long since sailed – and she’s in it.

Nariyuki’s third entanglement is helping Uruka locate her missing costume for her swim club’s live idol show, which just happened to be the same costume Kirisu-sensei’s male peers decided to provide for her public class lecture. Aside from those guys continuing to be straight-up creeps, Kirisu ends up unable to remove the costume without destroying it, so she takes Uruka’s place on the stage.

As all this was going on, part of me wondered how can Nariyuki actually do all of this at once? Surely, helping Rizu try to sell 1,000 bowls of udon precludes his participation in the Sleeping Beauty play, and that Rizu herself can’t afford to take a break for the idol show, right? It’s as if the episode jacked the difficulty level up to 10 in the beginning, but ratcheted it down to 4-5 by the end.

This is a two-part festival episode, which means we’ll find out about the play, and who ends up in physical contact with Nariyuki when the first firework goes off during the end celebrations. Uruka really wants to be that person, but Sawako is plotting to make it Rizu. Meanwhile, the previews promise Asumi will be joining the fray. In any case, it’ll be another busy episode for Nariyuki. With only two remaining (this season anyway), IF he’s going to choose someone, he’s running out of time.

BokuBen 2 – 10 – Naming A New Star

Nariyuki wakes to find he and Fumino have the house all to themselves. Fumino is by the sink preparing breakfast like an idyllic wive. It turns out she’s terrible at cooking (and cleaning), but Nariyuki doesn’t care, and neither would I. As with her studies, Fumino is working hard at something she’s not great at, and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious.

But while Nariyuki appreciates Fumino’s heartfelt efforts to be a good guest (and quasi-housewife), he’s still worried about the rift between her and her dad. She’s working so hard to pay back his family’s kindness, she comes into the bathroom to wash Nariyuki’s back—and falls asleep on it! When she wakes up, and won’t go back to sleep, Nariyuki suggests they go on a date.

He takes her to a spot with a great view of the stars, and reminds her how inspired he was when he heard her talk profusely about them when they spent that night in the hotel. She may think all hope of reconciling with her father is lost, but he suggests that if she conveys her passion for the stars to her dad the way she did with him, she might reach him.

He also takes her hand (after she almost slips and falls) and, in a kind of quasi-confession, assures her that he’ll always support her with everything he has. It’s definitely one of the more beautiful and touching moments between these two…I just wished it was more explicitly romantic. I mean it looks and sounds romantic, I just don’t know if Nariyuki’s is thinking that way in the moment—that this is the woman for him. That’s a shame, because she so is.

Fumino confronts her father, who opens their conversation with another harsh barb about her lack of resolve, but Nariyuki’s pledge of support keeps Fumino strong and on point. After telling him why she loves astronomy so much and wants to keep at it, he still won’t budge…so she suggests they ask mom.

She produces the laptop, the password to which turned out to be her father’s name, “Reiji.”  There’s no golden thesis on its hard drive, just a single video file of their wife and mother. On it, she apologizes to Reiji for the lack of a thesis, but as it turns out, she was as bad at math when she was young as Fumino is. Her love for Reiji that helped drive her to work hard enough to succeed.

Furthermore, she makes it clear that she wants Fumino to do what she loves, not what she might be naturally good at. Reiji learns the password is his name because Fumino wanted to discover a new star with her mother and name it after someone they both loved more than anyone else: “Reiji.”

Fumino’s mom’s third apology is to her daughter, since she knows due to her ill health she may one day make her very lonely. But the urges Fumino not to despair, for one day someone wonderful will come around who will support and inspire and drive her to excel at her passions, just like she did with Reiji.

For Fumino, we know that person is Nariyuki…obviously. Sure enough, he’s loitering outside her house, too eager to see how things went to wait for her to return to his place. They sit on a bench together, and she tells him everything that went down, and she simply lets herself have a few moments gently leaning against him. He thinks she’s nodded off again, until she says, perfectly, “I’m awake.”

Reiji ends up attending the parent-teacher conference with Fumino, and agrees to her future plan to become an astronomer. We also learn from Nariyuki that Reiji was in contact with Nariyuki’s mom, both to apologize for letting his family business spill out into her home and to ask earnestly how Fumino is doing. He brings up the one and only time he struck her, and felt ashamed and perplexed ever since.

Nariyuki’s mom, a widow herself, basically gives Reiji advice similar to what her son gave Fumino: confront her, and convey to her the truth: that he’s terribly worried about her, and that his objections come from a place of love. Only by knowing each others intentions and emotions behind their words and actions can the two come to a mutual understanding.

Speaking of which, Nariyuki and Fumino sadly remain in denial about the state of their relationship, at least when Reiji directly confronts Nariyuki about it. It’s still the case that Fumino doesn’t want to rock the boat for Rizu or Urara, but she’s proven she not them, could be the best match for Nariyuki. She’s more than earned a little selfishness.

BokuBen “Best Girl” Power Rankings
As of Episode 10

1. Fumino
2. Uruka
3. Rizu
4. Kirisu
5. Asumi
6. Sawako
7. Mizuki

BokuBen 2 – 09 – She Can Go Her Own Way

It’s bad enough that Fumino’s father fails to show up for parent-teacher conferences. It’s quite a bit worse when he does come to her school to court Rizu for her mathematical prowess, since he’s the professor at the open campus.

We learn he’s very much against Fumino’s dream to enter the sciences, calling it “the ignorant fantasy of an incompetent person” and saying she’s free to leave his house if she wants to pursue it. That’s when Nariyuki, already physically in the middle of this family squabble, says he’ll take Fumino into his house for now.

If Uruka was the protagonist last week, Fumi obviously fills that role here. She’s always worked to steer Nariyuki towards the two girls who have the strongest feelings for him (Uruka and Rizu) while undervaluing her own. Now we know why: since her mom died, she’s never felt like she’s measured up.

That’s why I’m so glad to see that circumstances conspired to bring her closer to Nariyuki than anyone else, almost as a challenge to her insistence on putting herself third (or worse) in the running. The two once had to share a hotel room together, which led to one of the more poignant moments of the series.

Now, with the endorsement of his mom (who adores Fumi) and the disapproval of his little sis (who may only ever consider herself worthy of him), Fumi becomes a temporary member of the Nariyuki household. That warmth and familiarity is echoed in a scene where the two are brushing their teeth together, and both note (Fumi in her head, Nariyuki aloud) that it’s like they’re newlyweds.

Despite Uruka being his childhood friend, her feelings are so intense that situations like the ones he shares with Fumi could never be possible without her quickly overheating. Fumino, who always tries to keep Nariyuki at a romantic remove, slips into domestic bliss as easily as Uruka swims a lap.

While studying together as the rest of the family sleeps, Fumino tells Nariyuki that her mother was a famous mathematician whom her father placed on the highest of pedestals. When she suddenly died, his grief was so great that he’d sooner slap Fumi across the face—and stop even looking directly at her—rather than properly deal with the fact his wife was gone.

Instead, Fumi’s face was a constant reminder of what he lost, and her attempts to “do math” in her stead only made him more bitter and angry. Sorry you lost your wife, dude, but that’s no excuse to be a complete and utter SHITHEAD to your precious only daughter!

While hiding (in very close quarters) from her dad after he came home unexpectedly (they were there to pick up *some* of her clothes), Fumino finds her mother’s laptop, which contains her password-encrypted thesis. I’d bet the password is “FUMINO” but because it’s that, her father never managed to unlock it.

But Fumino’s done feeling bad for her father for shit that wasn’t her fault. If she can only pursue her dream by leaving him and her home, so be it. It may not be the safest or most practical route, and all too easily dismissed as impulsive youthful rebelliousness, but…let’s not forget: her dad is a diiiiick.

BokuBen 2 – 08 – Crimson(-Haired) Tide

After the previous episode somewhat flagged, BokuBen comes roaring back with a stirring, dramatic episode that introduces the biggest threat to the status quo/harem stalemate, without omitting its go-to tried-and-true romantic and situational comedy.

It starts simply, with an interesting reversal in which Uruka is chosen to tutor the athletically-feeble Nariyuki in swimming. The only problem is, Uruka is terrible at teaching! She just does what she does because she’s awesome. Enter the reluctant substitute swimming coach, Kurisu.

Kurisu, as good at educating young minds in all matters as she is bad at keeping her apartment clean, has an effective approach: getting Nariyuki to identify, acknowledge, and move past the fear that is causing his body to seize up in the pool. By closing his eyes and holding her hands, he’s able to swim just fine, after which Kurisu hands him off to Uruka as her swim buddies swoon.

 

I consider myself an honorary Uruka Swim Buddy, because I want her more than anyone else to break through her fears keeping her from confessing her feelings, and which caused her to create in him the misunderstanding that she likes someone else.

For some reason I did not expect Kurisu’s past as a highly competitive figure skater to end up providing both kinship and inspiration to Uruka, but in a brilliant example of Fanservice Done Right, while handing Kurisu her shampoo in the showers, Uruka immediately identified her toned body as that of an athlete.

When Uruka opens up about the pressures she faces due to lofty expectations both within and without, Kurisu gives her advice developed from experience: stop trying to keep calm, accept all those things and have fun. Uruka learns that Kurisu isn’t “cold”, as Fumino and Rizu once described her…she’s cool.

Uruka follows Kurisu’s sage advice and ends up winning her 400m Freestyle, by a large margin. Her achievement is celebrated at a school assembly in her honor, and it dawns on Nariyuki how amazing Uruka is. Later, her principal and coach present her with a life-changing opportunity to study abroad at a university in Australia with a top-class swimming program.

Uruka has never felt more like the protagonist of this show than this episode, from when she gets the opportunity to hold Nariyuki’s hand in the pool, and getting a glimpse inside thoughts and insecurities surrounding her swimming exploits (rather than exclusively Nariyuki). She’s not just MC’s Childhood Friend…whatever she chooses is going to have profound reverberations.

Unfortunately, Uruka can’t quite overcome her fears surrounding Nariyuki that she could to win her tournament…not at first. She can’t even tell Fumino outright when they meet at a restaurant; Uruka uses the thin and completely transparent ruse of “my friend” when referring to long distance relationships.

It isn’t until she hides under the table (and has some truly wonderful reactions, both facial and texted) when Nariyuki arrives that Fumino not only assures him Uruka isn’t dating anyone, but gets him to admit that while he’d hope whomever she liked would make her happy, that “he would miss her a bit” all the same.

Fumino realizes that Uruka alone isn’t going to be enough to break the logjam between these two. She tracks Nariyuki down and gives him one more bit of crucial information: the bit about Uruka liking “someone else” is a lie. How Nariyuki comes to interpret this remains to be seen.

As for Uruka, after giving it thought, she’s going to “do everything she can do and then cry”, shouldering any burden to realize her goal of studying abroad. She asks the principal and coach not to tell Nariyuki that goal. Does she truly intend to keep it a secret until it’s time to say goodbye?

There’s a lot to contemplate here. Uruka may be banking on the old adage that “if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be”—that studying abroad needn’t be the end of her future with Nariyuki, but the foundation of a better future with him. I also imagine even if Nariyuki knew Uruka loved him and he loved her back, he’d want her to go and do her utmost best. He’ll wait for her…right?

BokuBen 2 – 07 – Woke Gambler Ogata

Fumino, Uruka and Kirisu-sensei don’t appear at all this week, as both segments are Rizu-centric. Sekijou Sawako and Nariyuki both come up with the idea to accompany Rizu to an open campus at the college she wishes to attend, then spend most of the time trying to bow out so that the other can be alone with her. Rizu notices the two are being unusually “fidgety” but doesn’t know the reason why.

The bottom line is their antics end up leaving Rizu on her own more often than not, so when she accidentally gets drunk off the fumes of college students’ beer, she darts from petulant annoyance (“JERKS!”) to mushy sentimentality, taking their hands in hers and declaring all she wanted was for the three of them to have fun together.

The second segment involves Rizu being recruited as a substitute maid for a gaming tournament. Rizu loves games but is terrible at them, so when she loses over forty games in a row (giving the winners free food that threatens the solvency of the cafe) both Asumi and Nariyuki give her the little nudges she needs to finish up on a confidence-building winning streak. The only problem is that later, she overhears the two talking about how they fixed it so she’d win, evaporating all the confidence she’d built up.

* * * * * *

While Drunk Rizu was fun, I always like Sawako’s energy, and I’m glad Rizu and Nariyuki remember their first kiss (and both regard it as such), this ep still felt a tad slight, and didn’t really move the needle much for Rizu x Nariyuki (or Rizu x Sawako). It would be nice if the show stopped running in circles and took more romantic risks.

BokuBen 2 – 06 – (Public) Bath & Beyond (High School)

When Kirisu’s plans for an end-of-day bath are ruined when her building has no hot water, she’s forced to go to a public bath, and not only runs into Asumi, but Nariyuki and his two youngest siblings Kazuki and Nazuki.

The little ones are the source of a number of issues, like when they steal Kirisu’s underwear, or try to get her to agree to marry their big brother. They act like little kids, and when Kirisu is too stern with them, they cry.

The baths provide a rare opportunity for Kirisu and Asumi to talk, but end up not really talking about anything other than Kirisu’s exquisite skin, and Nariyuki’s kindness and penchant for going the extra mile to help others.

Naturally, since this segment involves people not wearing clothes, Nariyuki inevitably sees Kirisu naked, as Hazuki rips off her towel when she berates her big bro for being shameless when all he did was answer a call for help, a rare case of being allowed to cross the gender lines of the bath.

The next segment is all about mock college interviews, which Rizu in particular is very apprehensive about. Those concerns only intensify when the kind teacher who was going to interview her and Fumino calls out sick, and Kirisu is her substitute.

Needless to say, she’s about as hard on the two as an interviewer can be, leaving them steaming and deformed. Kurisu forces Nariyuki to have a surprise interview, and he’s so tired he hallucinates her wearing a school swimsuit and maid outfit, among other costumes.

The turning point is when Nariyuki respectfully gets up and leaves, because he isn’t confident he can give Kirisu the answers she wants, but he’ll strive to find out how to provide them in the future. That, Kirisu tells him, is the stength she asked him to describe: the one that faces his own limitations (and those of others) and works out the best way to overcome them.

That doggedness has rubbed off on his tutees, as Fumino and Rizu are found in the library, determined to be better prepared in their next mock interviews. In this way, Kirisu gave them a tough-love kick in the pants they needed to put their best selves forward when the real ones come around.

BokuBen 2 – 05 – Magic Fingers

Recycling will help save the Earth…but does that also apply to stories? BokuBen 2 tests the validity of that claim by essentially rehashing not one but two of its first season segments. The result, while familiar, is effective, if a bit…foregone.

The first story repeats the “wrong bag” scenario of Episode 2, only instead of Uruka accidentally giftng Nariyuki her wet swimsuit, Nariyuki gives Fumino his little sister’s bra instead of a left-handed pen. Fumino goes with it, even wearing it the next day.

The misunderstanding continues as the two walk to school, with Nariyuki asking if the gift is “comfortable”; in reality, Fumino has to use a lot of padding to fill the bra out (that it’s meant for his little sister adds insult to injury), but she isn’t about to share that info with him.

When Rizu and Uruka ask what Nariyuki got, he starts to sa “a b-” but is cut off by quick strikes from Fumino. They eventually have a timeout in the hall and get on the same page, and Nariyuki gives her the proper gift later, after which he’s forced to come up with the right response to “all guys love big boobs,” and frankly makes the best choice he can (saying “it depends”…which it does!)

The second half of the episode revisits the first season’s ninth episode, in which various circumstances conspire to put Nariyuki in the position of helping the women in his life pick out lingerie. The same owner of that store opened a massage parlor, and when Nariyuki’s mom can’t fill in, he steps in, thinking he’ll just be handing out pamphlets.

Not soon after taking the job, he’s pressed into service (no pun intended) as a masseur, and his first client is Miss Kirisu, who is very particular about how her lower back is worked on. Turns out Nariyuki is a massage virtuoso, having practiced on his parents for years. Even in the mascot gloves, his magical hands make Kirisu scream in ecstasy.

Nariyuki also works on Rizu’s shoulders (stiff from carrying her large bust), Fumino’s shoulders (because she felt the need to compete with Rizu), and Asumi’s feet (she covers her mouth as he works on them, making him think he’s not rubbing hard enough). Uruka and her swim friends also show up because why not? and pull back the curtain to find him being seemingly sadistic to Asumi, when he was really just getting a bit carried away; he didn’t even realize she’d removed his head!

Uruka is none to happy Nariyuki has had his hands all over the others, and so gets some personal treatment from him at the end. By the time night rolls around and Nariyuki is home, he relies on his sister to massage his back…something she’s all to happy to do for her big brother. I guess massage skills run in the family!

BokuBen 2 – 04 – Lost in Translation

The minute Rizu enters a salon for the first time, the bored owner is suddenly inspired to give her a full makeover for the price of a cut and blow dry (much to her assistant’s dismay). The resulting Rizu almost looks like a different person, aside from the fact she’s the same size and speaks with the same voice.

Still, in the BokuBen universe, the makeover is extreme enough that Nariyuki doesn’t recognize her, but instead believes a very gorgeous girl is hitting on him, something he should be used to by now but in this case isn’t. He even texts Rizu, but doesn’t notice when her phone buzzes.

The misunderstanding could have been cleared up sooner had Rizu done what she often does and refer to Nariyuki by name, but at no point during the study session does she ever do so, which seems a bit convenient to the comedy, but fine.

When this pretty girl starts following Nariyuki home, then comes right out and asks if he wants to go to her place, he decides to take her up on her offer…so he can talk to her father about how fast she is! Only then does he learn that she is actually Rizu…but can still scarcely believe it.

In part two, Rizu and Fumino interrupt what looks like a behind-the-school confession session between Uruka and Nariyuki, as they’re just standing there staring at each other. But in fact, the two have agreed to help her practice casual conversation by speaking in nothing but English for the whole day.

What follows is one of the best uses of the language barrier I’ve seen in an episode of anime in some time; certainly the first I can remember which explores the ways two people for whom English is not quite a true second language can get tripped up. The two make English sound just as challenging as it must be for those who didn’t grow up speaking it.

Obviously, that includes Nariyuki complimenting Uruka’s “language skills” but Uruka thinking he said “lingerie” and becoming suitably mortified. Or how Uruka initially thinks “give up” is Japanese when it’s actually a English loan phrase. Or when two Americans ask Uruka for directions; a true test of her skills!

She manages to steer them in the right direction using her English, but then they ask if she wants to attend a barbecue with them, and she gets all flustered. That’s when Nariyuki emerges from the convenience store and they ask him what his relationship with her is.

He tries to say she’s his “precious study partner” but ends up sounding like “precious steady”, which both the Americans and Uruka construe as a steady girlfriend. Uruka is so beet-red embarrassed/happy that she has to flee from Nariyuki at once (but she stretches first, like the athlete she is!), while he’s left wondering what he said to make her react so strongly.

Then there’s the downright bizarre, self-effacing post-credits sequence where the puppy who was hanging out with Uruka tells its mother about all the errors the humans made in their English—while speaking in much better English. Great stuff!

BokuBen 2 – 03 – Lifesaving Bangs

Rizu, feeling like her bangs are getting a bit long, aims to trim them…a bit, but thanks to her dad surprising her, she cuts off a bit more than a bit. Fumino and Uruka’s mixed reaction doesn’t help matters, but it’s around Nariyuki whom Rizu feels most self-conscious, and so takes great pains to hide her face so he won’t notice.

When Fumino sees that Nariyuki is taking Rizu’s face-hiding as a sign she hates him, she removes her ridiculous mask, only for Nariyuki not to notice any change whatsoever. Rizu hates the contradiction of being upset that he didn’t, but he’s determined to figure out what the change is, and eventually redeems himself.

In addition to keeping his promise to call her by her given name, he tells her how her facial expressions have changed since they first started studying together. While she once looked sullen and detached, now her face is more bright animated, even joyful. Not even caring about her bangs anymore, Rizu deems him correct…just not in the way she expected.

We stay with Rizu as the episode’s focus, but the POV shifts to her self-appointed rival (and not-so-secret admirer), Sekijo Sawako. Earlier, their soulmate status was confirmed when they changed hairstyles on the same day (even though Rizu’s was an accident), and when Sawako notices Rizu’s pen case getting a little tatty, she offers to take her shopping for a new one.

The next day, after obsessive minute-to-minute preparation and anticipation that kept her up all night, requiring at least nine cans of coffee, the two meet up for their long-awaited date. But after plying Rizu with at least 2,000 calories in snacks, Sawako spots Nariyuki, and determines she needs to put “Rizu’s happiness first” by cutting their date short and letting Rizu go with Nariyuki.

Both Rizu and Nariyuki are confused by this move, and Sawako ends up sulking at a claw machine, remembering her middle school days when her high test scores would annoy her less brainy classmates.

It wasn’t until she took an exam beside her that Sawako met Rizu and became absolutely enthralled and inspired by her “cool beauty” attitude, calmly calling out the dumb boys. From that point on Sawako gained more confidence in herself and started to care less and less about what they thought…all thanks to Rizu.

Sawako explains all this to Nariyuki when he comes looking for her, and that she believes Rizu “saved her life” with her inspirational attitude. Rizu, who was also looking for Sawako, hears the tail end of this, but rather than being insulted, she’s actually glad that something she considered a weakness—not being great at reading people’s feelings—was seen as a strength and inspiration by Sawako.

Sawako’s tsundere antics can be tiresome, and I’m not sure we needed her to fall on Rizu, grabbing her boob and exposing her own underwear in the process, but I was glad to get her backstory and motivations for why she treats Rizu as both a rival and kind of soul mate and lodestar. I also appreciate that like Fumino she’s aware of the potential of a Rizu x Nariyuki, even if those two remain as clueless as ever.

BokuBen 2 – 02 – At Their Service

After focusing on the main tutee trio last week, we shift to the lives of Kominami Asumi and Kirisu Mafuyu, both of whom end up in Nariyuki’s debt; the lad is nothing if not useful and industrious. When her fellow cafe maids conscript him to accompany her on her new maid cooking and cleaning side-gig, the clients they encounter are one coincidence after another.

First, there’s Kirisu, who refuses to let Asumi in until Nariyuki has already cleaned her place within an inch of its life. Then Uruka’s sick mom hires them, unbeknownst to Uruka, who is so frazzled to have Nariyuki in her home she cleans and cooks a sumptuous meal for the three of them without thinking—such is the power of her natural domestic skills.

The final straw for Asumi comes when the third client is a hungry Fumino, who made a mess attempting to cook but didn’t expect people she knew to come to clean, so she calls Rizu, who arrives with enough noodles for the four of everyone.

With Asumi’s pride as a maid well and truly devastated, she ends up cooking and cleaning at Nariyuki’s house, impressing his younger siblings, who wonder when he’ll marry her. Asumi contents herself with having Nariyuki’s head in her lap as she cleans his ears, a “special service” she’s all too happy to perform for him on the house.

On to Kirisu-sensei, who gets furious at Fumino falling asleep in class, but after pulling an all-nighter preparing quizzes, ends up having trouble staying awake in class the next day. She convinces herself that no one notices the first time she nods off, but Nariyuki saw her and is pretty sure what’s up.

During an unplanned, lengthy, and extremely boring school address, Kirisu is again on the verge of appearing hypocritical and bringing shame to her fellow faculty, but Nariyuki again notices and fakes a loud sneezing fit to keep her awake. She suspects he’s helping her on purpose, but again chalks it up to overthinking.

When she arrives at her front door ready to pass the f out, to her dismay she’s misplaced the key. She runs into Nariyuki, and the two spend the rest of the afternoon into the evening searching everywhere for it, before Nariyuki suggests she double-check the substantial contents of her bag.

Sure enough, her sleep-deprived past self placed the key in her pouch of USB drives. But immediately upon opening her door, she passes out in the entryway. Being a scholar and a gentleman, Nariyuki can’t leave her in such a state, and so gently carries her to bed, noting how slender and light his teacher is and then apologizing to no one in particular for thinking about weird stuff.

Fumino, Rizu, and Uruka form the heart of BokuBen, but this week reinforces the notion that they don’t have to always be in the spotlight. Asumi and Kirisu-sensei bring their own energy and dynamics with Nariyuki, resulting in a thoroughly amusing and energetic outing.

BokuBen 2 – 01 – Chests and Tests

First thing to understand is that this is a continuation of a Spring 2019 series, so before diving into this I’d advise watching the first season, my mostly-glowing reviews for which you can find here.

For those who are all caught up, BokuBen 2 offers more of the same vibrant brand of ecchi-related misunderstandings between various girls and their well-meaning male tutor and friend which inherently get in the way of the tutoring, hence the English title We Never Learn!

This week, Yuiga Nariyuki spends the most one-on-one time with Ogata Rizu, in which the first such misunderstanding is a mix-up between test scores and cup sizes. Since the worst test score is an E and Rizu is well beyond E in cup size, the wording of Nariyuki’s earnest attempts to encourage her (“There’s room for growth!” “I know how you feel!” “Let’s both grasp what we want!”) only serve to reinforce Kominami Asumi’s claim that Nariyuki is a “secret horndog.”

Nonetheless, Rizu believes she’s the one being immature about this, and that there’s nothing wrong with a boy she likes admiring her chest. Nariyuki is a half-beat too late in their conversation to clear things up, as Rizu finally offers to let him touch them “for only a second” just as her beastly father arrives at their booth.

The next segment involves Nariyuki in a group study session at a cram camp called “the Getting Inn” (not suggestive at all!) with his three tutees plus Asumi, when Fumino accidentally slips up and calls him by his given name, like she did when they had to get a hotel room together and pretended to be siblings.

Rather than reprimand Fumino (or think a little longer about why she called him Nariyuki), Takemoto Uruka wants in, and won’t respond to Nariyuki until he calls her Uruka. She also insists Rizu start calling her Uruka. As with Fumino going back to Yuiga before slipping up here, who knows if the given name-calling will continue, but the fact it’s not an unthinkable concept shows growth among the friends.

Things get a lot more intimate between Nariyuki when his three primary tutees when they head into the hot spring bath early, just before the men and women signs are changed. When Nariyuki heads in, he believes, correctly, that he’s in the men’s bath when he encounters a nude Fumino washing her hair.

Once the three realize they’re in the wrong, they prepare to skink away, but are blocked by the arrival of three more boys who most certainly are horndogs. Thankfully, they’re sufficiently distracted by their own attempts to widen the bamboo in order see into the women’s bath that the girls are able to escape into the steam, while Asumi on the other side jabs her fingers into one of the peeping tom’s eyes.

Once everyone is dressed, the girls thank Nariyuki for being a gentleman about things, but he must torpedo the goodwill by presenting Fumino with the bra she left in the changing area. The implication is that he knew it was hers due to the cup size, expressed through a very unexpected but appreciated parody of the touching ending shot of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.