A Condition Called Love – 03 – Unlimited Overtime

A commenter in the ANN forum on this show made a very good point that made me want to reassess the show so far: this show is clearly aware that Hananoi’s more obsessive behaviors are problematic. Fortunately, while he does loom over her at the end of last week’s episode, he ends up collapsing due to his fever from waiting in the cold for Hotaru all morning.

Hotaru calls his grandma and goes home, and feels awful for asking Hananoi to do something that means so much to him, just to see if she’d feel anything. I think she’s being a little harsh on herself, but like Hananoi, that’s something she needs to work on. She’s always thought she was just some NPC, but to him, she’s a princess.

A couple of days pass, and the day their trial run ends arrives. It’s Christmas Eve, and they were supposed to go on a date, but Hotaru assumes it’s not going to happen, either because he’s still ill or because he’s sick of her. She recalls a past instance of unintentionally hurting a friend of hers, but missing the opportunity to properly apologize and drifting apart.

When her little sister’s ice skating costume rips and she needs Hotaru to rush to the skating rink with a sewing kit, Hotaru is resigned to having the same Christmas Eve she always has with her family. But then Hananoi arrives there, having remembered her mentioning her sister’s skating. He still wants to take her out on a date, and Hotaru is surprised by how relieved she feels to see him again.

She may not be aware, but the longing she felt those past two days … well, that’s pretty much love, isn’t it? She felt bad about what went down at his place, but she also missed him. After she presents him to her family (whose jaws drop at the hottie she scored) they go out on a cute, fun, low-key date with food, shopping, light viewing, and skating.

When the lights temporarily go out, Hananoi describes all of the reasons he likes Hotaru, and points out that those things aren’t normal. Not everyone is as kind and curious and generous as she is. She’s special, and he wanted her to have a special day, because he managed to find out that Christmas Eve is also her birthday.

When she slips on her skates, she catches her in a princess carry, and the lights come back on. Hotaru is struck by how many new things she’s started to feel since her trial with Hananoi began, and isn’t ready for it to end. So after he escorts her home, she asks if they can keep the trial going. Naturally, he’s fine with her extending it indefinitely.

Hananoi felt notably less creepy this week, even if he still tries way too hard sometimes at the cost of his own well-being. But I think the more time he spends with Hotaru, the more even-keeled he’ll learn to become, just as the more time she spends with him, the more she’ll learn about what it is to love.

It’s just a shame this was not a particularly nice episode to look at. I fear I’ve been so spoiled by the likes of No-holds-barred powerhouses like Dangers in My Heart that I probably won’t be continuing with this one.

A Condition Called Love – 02 – That Boy Ain’t Right

Hmm … Well. That’s what I get for giving this bizarre pairing the benefit of the doubt, I guess! Something is very very off with Hananoi Saki, and someone as inexperienced and oblivious as Hotaru does not possess the tools to see it. That’s a formula for potential disaster, but like a train wreck, I can’t look away … if only because I’m so worried about Hotaru’s well-being!

Hotaru has caring friends who are happy if she’s happy, and have her side no matter what. But to them, and one of Hananoi’s male classmates who is dating one of her friends, Hananoi is a complete mystery man. All they can say is he must have good taste if he chose Hotaru, but what if it’s not a matter of taste, but timing?

Hananoi only became fixated on Hotaru after she showed him a gesture of kindness after his last breakup. Back then, it looked from the outside like the other girl was being too harsh, but now her exasperation makes a lot more sense. Hotaru is indeed experiencing new things like the thrill of waiting for someone in the cold before dawn and holding hands with a boy. But the cost of experiencing those things may be too much to bear.

Not only is Hananoi clear this week he has no intention of being just friends with Hotaru if this dating trial doesn’t work out, but it’s clear he’s hiding from her just how much he wants to do with (or possibly to) her, and also seems miffed that there are parts of her life that don’t involve him. Just look at that shot of him watching her talking to friends—he’s framed and lit like a villain plotting something awful!

Now, to his credit, the weeks go by with Hananoi otherwise acting like a perfect gentleman—Hotaru observes that his requests in their shared notebook of things to do together are always “gentle.” But the mere fact he’s holding back is extremely problematic. So is the fact he essentially lives alone in a huge apartment with photos of his parents with him apparently cut out (are they actually dead), and, most distressingly, a fucking shrine to Hotaru hidden behind a curtain in his room.

Despite all these red flags furiously flapping in her face, Hotaru remains in a firm see-where-this-goes approach, along with constantly assessing her worth as a partner and whether she’s doing enough to be a proper girlfriend. This means she thinks almost nothing of going home with Hananoi, going into his room, and then asking if he’ll kiss her, to test if she’ll feel anything.

By the end of the episode, he’s pushed her down onto the ground and is looming on top of her, telling her that while trying out a kiss may mean little to her, simply touching her makes his whole body ache. Ack! Forget “odd duck.” I fear Hananoi requires medication and therapy, and is getting neither. He’s a loose cannon, and even he knows that Hotaru is being too trusting.

While this looks and sounds like a shoujo romance, it’s quickly feeling much more like psychological horror. My natural protective instinct compels me to keep watching, out of fear of what might happen to Hotaru, or just so that someone is keeping an eye on this dude. Is this the kind of vibes the writers/creators intended?

A Condition Called Love – 01 (First Impressions) – No Normal Person

All romance series this season will have to compete with the all-timer that was Dangers in My Heart, along with the pretty solid Sign of Affection from Winter. Like Sign, a girl who has never fallen in love has the attention of a hottie. Like Dangers, there’s the visual mismatch in terms of height and looks, only with the sexes reversed.

While Kyoutarou is a lot more emo about it, this show’s lead Hinase Hotaru is similar in that she’s content with a life without romance, because like Kyou deep down, she doesn’t think there’s any chance she’ll ever experience it. It’s less a matter of her thinking she’s deficient, just different. Not made for love.

I’ve heard some rumblings about Hananoi Saki being problematic and more than a little pushy when it comes to pursuing Hotaru. That’s fair; after all, Hotaru politely declines and he begins doing everything he can to make her like him, things she never asked for.

But he does, eventually, apologize say he’ll stop bothering her. At that point, he’s cut his hair for her, bought her a delicious pork bun, nearly caught his death of cold looking for her missing hairpin. While in Hananoi’s orbit, Hotaru can’t deny she’s thinking about him more, and feeling new feelings. Heck, she even yells at him out in the snow, and she is not a yeller!

When Hananoi is ready to walk away, Hotaru grabs his sleeve, and says she never thought she didn’t like him, and asks if it’s possible for “someone like her” to learn what it means to love someone special. Hananoi, clearly the bigger romantic of the two, assures her she will, so she takes him up on his offer to go out with each other.

One could say Hananoi “wore down” Hotaru, but I see it more as him piquing her interest in something she doesn’t know anything about but wants to learn. Similarly, Hananoi has a lot to learn too, like about how far is too far for someone else’s sake. His idea of love and hers are very different, but I think the ideal place for both of them is somewhere in the middle.

While visually not as impressive as Danger or Sign, it gets the job done just fine. The OP is a legit bop, the ED is also a nice vibe, and most importantly, the immortal Hanazawa Kana brings her A-game to the effortlessly charming Hotaru’s voice. Even in this Spring of Restraint (we’re trying to focus on no more than 10-11 shows and more concise writeups) this one has a good chance of staying on my list.