Urusei Yatsura – 29 – Kotatsu Sleds and Cow Bites

That title up above really gets to the immense variety inherent in Urusei Yatsura. Part of the joy of watching is having no idea what’s coming. The giant cat hasn’t had a focus segment for a while, but gets one this week as he buys a suspiciously cheap but well-made kotatsu that refuses to be covered with a blanket, ruining Lum’s 121st Othello win over Ataru.

When they see the Mendou family crest carved into the side, Ataru summons Shuutarou with an insult, and he tells them that because the table is made from the wood of the only cedar tree in the South Pole, it hates heat of any kind. That said if a kotatsu connoisseur like Neko can’t tame it, nobody can.

For several days and nights their cat-and-table chase disrupts the Moroboshi household. Finally, the two shake on a truce, and rather than use the kotatsu in the normal way, he uses it to pull a sled instead. It gets to stretch its legs, and Neko and Lum have a blast riding the sled. Everybody wins!

If a feral kotatsu that hates blankets isn’t random enough for you, how a bout a cow at the local pet store? This cow has a tendency to glomp hands; it glomps Ataru’s hand, then Lum’s hand. She shocks the cow, but is left with a wound on her hand that she goes up into her orbiting spaceship to treat.

After kicking back with some trashy space TV with Ten, including a program about a Dracula that turns an alien into a human girl (which is terrifying to said aliens), Lum has a nightmare about being transformed into a cow. When she gets up to brush her teeth, she notices her horns are a lot bigger, and very cow-like in shape.

Lum takes the next few days off, such that when a morose Ten shows up at school, Ataru and Shuutarou are eager to know what’s become of her. Then she shows up with a new hairdo hiding the larger horns, and Sakura can’t do much for her, since she has no knowledge of Oni anatomy. Ataru isn’t his usual selfish self here; he seems genuinely concerned for Lum and her somber mood.

He follows her out onto the beautifully rendered city streets in the rain (all the 70s and 80s-era cars driving by are a nice touch), and she starts saying weird stuff about if she should go missing and a cow show up at his door, she wants him to name it Lum and take good care of it. With that, she says goodbye and prepares to fly off, but in a very nifty bit of 3D animation, he catches her, and undoes her buns to reveal her horns.

She tells him she’s turning into a cow, but he tenderly takes her horns into his hands and pleads with her not to go anywhere, saying “I’m gonna take good care of you.” Sure, he means it in the context of the expectation she’ll turn into a full-on cow, but setting that aside, its one of his more romantic gestures in the whole run of the show, and the two end up crying in each others’ arms. It’s a very moooo-ving scene (I’m so sorry…)

It’s one of those times you realize why Lum loves Ataru so much. Most episodes he’s chasing some other girl who has no interest in him, but every once in a while he shows he cares … and in this case, starts building a cow pen in the backyard when Lum learns via Ten that her horns growing are a natural Oni function when one gets an infection, and they’ll eventually return to normal. So, there will be no LumCow! Got it? Good!

The Dangers in My Heart – 12.5 (Special) – The Little Things

This compilation of web shorts cleverly titled “Bonus Dangers” serves as an delightful sampler of amuse-bouches that delivers a rapid-fire assault of romantic adorableness.

Ichikawa manages to finally say “Good Morning” to Yamada; we learn Yamada has AB blood while he and Kana have B; he has his mom buy him an oversized gym uniform in case Yamada needs to borrow it; Yamada asks if he’d be able to kill her if she turned into a zombie (yes, but he’d kill himself right afterwards!)

There are little captured moments of their evening texting; Yamada ensures she and Ichikawa order different buns so they can each try both, resulting in indirect kisses; after cleaning duty, Yamada whisks him away hand-in-hand; we learn that Yamada wouldn’t be able to kill Ichikawa even if he became a zombie.

Finally, while he’s unable to say “bye-bye”, he does manage a “see you later” that makes Yamada beam like crazy. After the credits there’s a Christmas-themed bit, as they try to see if Yamada’s red stocking will fit on her foot.

It hasn’t been long since I caught up on Dangers, but this lovely collection of heartwarming little moments only further heightens my excitement for the upcoming second season.

I’m in Love with the Villainess – 12 (Fin) – Tipping the Scales

Rae is certain that she’s lost Claire, and there’s nothing she can do to get her back. But then Manaria grabs her in the hall and asks why she’s giving up and running away so easily. Rae thinks that’s pretty rich coming from the girl who stole Claire from her, but in her thoughts she can’t deny that Manaria is absolutely right about her: she is running away, putting up a “noble front” to avoid the pain of rejection.

Manaria tells her that kind of feelings that “seek nothing in return” end up “warped”. She knows from experience, having bottled up her love for a palace maid, then one day make a terrible mistake, forcing herself on her. The maid eventually disappeared, and Manaria hasn’t loved anyone quite like that ever since. The rumors were true: she sought the clarity of money for sex, but it never satisfied.

Despite her appetites, I’ve been pretty sure since she showed up that Manaria is playing the villain on purpose to bring Rae and Claire closer. While it’s had the opposite effect so far, she knows how to get Claire to make a U-turn: by threatening to make Claire her plaything. That does the trick: the two will make their offerings to the scales of Amour. If Rae loses, not only does Manaria get Claire, but Rae as well.

Manaria later informs Claire of the contest she and Rae are undertaking, and Claire’s first instinct is to resent being used as a prize for their competition. Manaria tells her she’s not blameless, for she refuses to tell her or Rae how she really feels. In fact, the scales may not be measuring her or Rae’s feelings, but Claire’s.

She leans close to Claire to whisper something, and that leads Claire to search everywhere for Rae, only to learn she’s out performing all of the Knights missions on the bulletin board, then admires the necklace Rae gave her in the mirror. Rae’s not fighting through the night to level up, but to acquire an exceedingly rare (0.5%) drop, knowing Manaria will most likely bring a Flower of Flora to the ceremony.

When the day of the ceremony arrives, Claire is standing with Misha, who asks her straight up to say honestly who she hopes will win: Manaria or Rae. Claire says the whole enterprise is insulting (she’s no prize), but Misha hopes it will be Rae. When Claire accuses her of favoring her friend, Misha asks how she feels about Rae.

Claire goes over all of the silly and embarrassing things Rae has said and did, but ultimately looks upon those times with fondness, stating Rae is “far too cheeky for a commoner.” When asked if she’d take Rae back as her maid, Claire says it would be impossible for someone of the nobility to bow to a commoner.

Nevertheless, Misha hopes for a miracle, both for Claire and for Rae. And at first it looks like those hopes are futile, for only Manaria shows up, with the Flower of Flora (of course), and with no opponent on the other side of the scales, she declares victory, takes a knee, and dedicates herself to Claire with the same words she used years ago when Claire thought she was a boy.

Manaria leans in for a deal-sealing kiss when a filthy, tattered Rae appears and shouts “STOP!” Rae makes clear in no uncertain terms that she won’t let Manaria “have” Claire; this makes Claire blush. But Manaria declares victory, saying nothing beats a Flower of Flora for an Amour offering. Rae presents her offering: a little twig with one leaf and a couple of tiny buds.

The offering is met with laughter, but Rae isn’t joking around. Not anymore. After she places the twig on the scales, nothing happens for a dramatically appropriate amount of time, during which Claire realizes her own faith in Rae may be the key. Then a giant goddamn tree grows from the twig, weighing the scales down in Rae’s favor.

The first question everyone has is what the heck is with this tree, Rae explains it’s a Tree of Eternal Love, dropped only very rarely from a particularly nasty tree monster. It’s a secret item that would only be known to a player of the game, since getting it gives you access to an exclusive event CG. Rae vowed not to rely on something like this as it felt like cheating, but against a foe like Manaria and Claire’s freedom on the line, she realized she had no choice.

After accomplishing something no one else had done before in history (i.e. trump the Flora flower) Rae is finally able to be real with Claire. “I’m not capable of the love you see in stories,” she says. “I can’t even say what really matters without turning it into a joke.” But no matter who she loses to or has to kneel to, she will always love Claire. But before Claire can take her hand as a sign that she’s picking up what she’s putting down, Manaria gathers Rae into a hug, earnestly proclaiming that Rae was the one she’s been after from the start!

All the times she made Rae jealous by hitting on Claire? That was to get all of those adorable reactions out of Rae. But before she can kiss Rae, Claire puts a stop to it, grabbing Rae and pushing her behind her, declaring that “Rae belongs to me! You can’t take my things from me!” In response to this, Rae hugs Claire in appreciation.

Shortly after all of this hullabaloo, Manaria is called back to her kingdom, where the first prince has died and she’s now a contender for the throne. It’s around this time that Rae finally gets around to realizing that Manaria may have been playing the bad guy on purpose all this time to get her and Claire closer.

Misha, Claire’s flunkies, and the three princes all support Claire and Rae, acknowledging that love takes many forms. This irks Claire, but she can no longer deny that she cares for Rae. After all, she fought for her!

Before she departs for home, Manaria meets with Rae in private to ask her one question: “Just who are you?” Rae probably predicted that finding a secret offering that surpassed the Flower of Flora might elicit some suspicion from certain characters. All she’ll tell Manaria is that she swears on Claire that she isn’t a spy of the Empire, which is all Manaria needs.

We also learn that at some point in the game, Claire, the villainess, is executed, so Rae’s goal going forward is to prevent what for her would be the Worst Ending. Until then, she continues to openly flirt with Claire in class, and not only does Claire not hate it, but everyone around is on board.

Will we ever get a continuation of this nascent romance? Who’s to say? All I know is we end things on a high point, with Rae not settling for unrequited love. Claire, who is classically so easily made to be lonely, need not worry about being alone ever again. Manaria provided the kick in the butt Rae needed to fight not just for Claire’s happiness, but her own. If this story ever continues in the future, you can be sure I’ll be watching.

I’m in Love with the Villainess – 11 – Jolene Complex

You’ve probably heard Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, or her apprentice Miley Cyrus’ cover of same. It’s a gorgeous, song full of pain and longing, and reminded me of Rae’s situation here. She cannot hope to compete with Princess Manaria’s beauty, charm, ability, or even confidence.

Manaria could be with anyone, man or woman, but she is taking Claire from Rae “just because she can”. She’s all over Claire to the point Rae doesn’t get any time with her. She complains to Misha, who tells her that if she can’t take it anymore, the only thing for it is to fight her.

Now, it is abundantly clear that a fight is exactly what Manaria wants. But I don’t think she quite wants it for the reasons Rae thinks. While poor Dolly had to beg Jolene not to take her true love away, this feels to me like tough love: like Manaria is forcing Rae to get off the sidelines and act for what she wants.

The thing is, Rae is so sure she has zero romantic shot at Claire, she’s settling for being happy that she’s happy. She recalls from the game that Manaria helped the Heroine (i.e. her). I think she still is, but Rae can’t see it. And then the flunkies ask Rae to protect Claire from Manaria, whom they’ve learned has a “reputation” among the ladies of the night in her kingdom

The prospect of Manaria hurting Claire has Rae on edge, so when Manaria is just outside Claire’s door after Rae bids her good night, she accepts her invitation for a chat. Manaria doesn’t mince words: she has been provoking Rae on purpose. Rae declares that she doesn’t mind if Claire won’t look her way, while also insisting her love for her trumps everyone else’s.

Manaria calls her out on this, saying wishing for her happiness without bothering to consider if she’d make her happiest is nothing but running away and giving up. Manaria even says she feels bad for both Rae and Claire. At the tea party, she says “love is blind” when Claire, who is clearly thinking about Rae a lot, voices her concern with her odd behavior.

Manaria manages to get Rae to agree to a duel, even though they both know Rae can’t beat her. The next day, that’s borne out, as Rae doesn’t mess around and launches her most powerful attacks, which don’t even put a scratch on the quad-caster. Rae fights valiantly and hard, and then Manaria brings the hammer down: Domination. For once, the magical battle animation not only looks good, but packs a genuine punch.

The vicious attack leaves Rae bloodied and unconscious, and who is the first to rush to her aide? Claire, just as Manaria knew she would. Rae isn’t the only one running away from their feelings. No one has known Manaria longer than Claire, so when Manaria continually states that Rae means something to Claire, I believe her, even when Claire denied or deflected.

One need look no further than the faces Claire makes after Manaria yeets Rae: intense concern for her welfare, anger at Manaria for going too far (though Manaria does heal her), and unbridled joy and relieve when Rae opens her eyes. But Rae is so caught up in losing Claire, she doesn’t bask in the rare gifts Claire is so earnestly presenting to her.

Rae believes her loss to Manaria means Claire is now hers, and she no longer has any right to stand beside her. But if my theory about Manaria is correct, she succeeded in getting Claire to be more honest about how she feels about Rae. When the three are assigned to a team and Claire runs ahead, Manaria tells Claire to let her be; she’s fine on her own, but it’s Claire who isn’t fine with Rae on her own.

Claire isn’t acting by the game’s script anymore; she is who she is in large part due to the time she’s spent with Claire all this time. Now that Rae is acting completely different, she wants to know why. She doesn’t like how Rae’s not being herself. Then Rae tells her: she and Manaria dueled over her.

Claire, channeling Princess Jasmine and says she’s “no prize to be won”, which is true, but this is the same Claire who’s fine with her kingdom’s legend of a bunch of guys fighting for a woman’s hand via the Scales of Amour.

Then Rae, now no longer having any fun playing the real-life version of the only thing that made her happy in her past life, continues her steady retreat from Claire’s side, and does something she’d never, ever do before all this Manaria business: she’s mean to Claire. She tells her to go off with Manaria, who was her prince and first love anyway. When Claire tells her she’s not fit to be her maid right now, Rae quits.

This wounds Claire worst of all, and you know it because while she maintains her aristocratic composure in officially accepting Rae’s resignation—she even calls her “Miss Taylor”—she also tears up in the process. Rae knows she’s fucked up badly, and wants so badly to unsay what she’s just said, but also believes she can’t take it back, so she walks away.

As she does, Claire doesn’t stop smiling her sad, sad smile, for even the Commoner has left her, even though she promised she never, ever would no matter what. Rae has gone and made herself a liar in the eyes of the one she loves. It will not be easy to recover from this, but I think I know one person who will do all she can to help both her and Claire make up, just because she can: Manaria “Jolene” Sousse.

The Apothecary Diaries – 09 – Sweet and Salty

One evening at a drinking party, a clearly sloshed older man doesn’t even finish one jar of booze before letting it shatter to the ground and asking for more. Someone whose full face is obscured offers him a new jar after adding something to it.

Gaoshun eventually gets Gyokuyou to “stop laughing uncontrollably” long enough to explain that Maomao didn’t sleep with Lihaku, she merely set him up with a star courtesan. While surely relieved, Jinshi remains in an unproductive childish mood and his work piles up.

This only adds fuel to one of my working theories that he may be an actual prince—perhaps the emperor’s brother?—and may not even be a eunuch. There’s plenty of show left to confirm or debunk this theory, so we shall see.

In the meantime, when Jinshi meets with Maomao by way of Gyokuyou, Maomao assumes an open-shut case of the older Sir Kounen simply drinking himself to death, as alcohol is a poison when abused. She can’t muster much sympathy for someone she never met who apparently did himself in, but she also notices Jinshi isn’t his usual “excessively shiny” self.

Upon sampling the booze at the party (something she’s very excited about) she finds it has a distinct taste: sweet, but also very salty. Examination of the broken jar reveals considerable salt buildup. When Maomao learns that a change in tastes from spicy foods to sweet eventually led to Sir Kounen losing his ability to taste salt.

Perhaps someone who wanted to play a prank started adding more and more salt to his drink, and the salt is what killed him. But unlike your Holmeses or Poirots, Maomao is weary of pointing the finger at a specific culprit, loath as she is to be responsible for their execution. She may call herself a coward, but no decent person would want that burden.

Kounen became a different man after his wife and child were lost in an epidemic. His resulting unbalanced diet, stress, and alcoholism led to his loss of salt. When Maomao also learns that Kounen played a key role in Jinshi’s upbringing, Jinshi’s dour demeanor makes more sense.

Maomao is delighted to receive the reward of a bottle of booze for her investigation, but when Jinshi teases her about it, she tells him to get back to work. When he tells her that work involves a bill setting the legal drinking age at 20, complete with peace sign and return of his shiny smile, Maomao freaks out.

She grabs his cloak and pleads with him not to pass such a bill, and he watches her squirm in his lack of response. Call it revenge for her getting one over on him with Lihaku, but we see later that evening that Jinshi’s mood has improved considerably. Maomao didn’t need to make a medicine for him; she just had to be herself.

The second half is considerably more dour, as guards retrieve the corpse of a tall servant woman with bound feet (the first time that unpleasant custom is mentioned in this show) from the moat. When the doctor is summoned with Maomao, he is terrified of the corpse, while Maomao notes the cold weather slowed the decomp considerably.

We learn that Maomao’s dad forbade her from handling corpses, as her innate curiosity might well eventually lead her to use “human ingredients” for her apothecary work, leading to grave-robbing. That she heeds this rule even in her dad’s absence speaks to how well Maomao knows full well who she is and what she’s capable of.

But more than any previous victim, Maomao internalizes this woman’s death, even thinking about how cold the water must’ve been. While the guards believe the woman climbed the wall and threw herself in to off herself, Maomao notes the difficulty (though not impossibility) of someone with her bound feet scaling the wall. The possibility exists she was thrown in by someone.

The victim’s red and bloodied hands also suggest she clawed at the wall trying to get out after falling in, either because she had been thrown in against her will, or threw herself in and immediately regretted it. In this case, Maomao can’t say for certain whether it was murder or suicide.

But as she admires a fruiting plant in Jinshi’s office, she thinks about how impossible she would find it to try to kill herself. She likes living, because it means she gets to test poisons and make medicines. She’d never take that away willingly.

At the same time, as the faces and bodies of all the people who have ended up dead around the palace, she thinks about how delicate and cheap her commoner’s life is. Death can come for her at any time, even for making a mistake, so it would come down to how she’d meet her end.

Assuming Jinshi would be the one to make the call, she considers what poison she’d use to die, and asks that he use that potion if he ever had to execute her. Needless to say, all this morbid talk upsets Jinshi, who’d never considered the possibility he’d have to kill her.

But even as he tells her he would never do such a thing, he tells him it’s more of a can or can not issue. If the emperor told him she had to die, could he a.) do it, and b.) do it the way she preferred?

Maomao is probably being realistic and pragmatic with this kind of thinking, as despite her current high station as lady-in-waiting to the emperor’s favorite concubine, this society still assigns a low enough value on her life to at least consider the details.

Meanwhile, Jinshi is looking more and more like someone of such high birth his true identity is being concealed. That said, part of me still believes Maomao is of far less “common” blood than she’s been led to believe her whole life.

As all of that simmers in my mind, we learn the drowned woman was present at the garden party where the poisoning took place, while Gaoshun has finally found someone with burns on her arms, as instructed by Jinshi. That person is none other than the head lady-in-waiting for Concubine Ah-Duo, whom we have yet to formally meet, and who has purplish hair and eyes reminiscent of Jinshi’s. Coincidence?

The Dangers in My Heart – 12 (Fin) – Showing It All

Ichikawa thought he was pretty clever, booking his first shrine visit with Yamada a half-hour after his family’s. Master planner, this guy! Except he forgot that Yamada is always super early for everything where he’s concerned. His mom is the first to spot her, and then Kana gets a look at her, looking like a girl waiting for someone she likes. Oh, she is.

There’s no way for him to weasel out of this: his family and Yamada shrine visits are now merged. Also, Kana is totally and inescapably crushing on Yamada right from the get-go, and I not only can I not blame her, I salute her. She is a gal of refined taste. That said, Kana is plenty cute herself! I love how closely her outfit resembles her brother’s here. Oh, and he’s gone full Mikasa with that scarf.

After polite introductions —I love Ichikawa’s nearly-invisible pops asking “who is this?”—Yamada hangs back to give Ichikawa a playful shove, calling him out for the double-book. Thankfully, the other Ichikawas give the couple some space to pray. When Ichikawa can’t put his hands together, she puts her hand on his and they pray together. So damn cute.

When Ichikawa’s folks head off for lunch, Kana decides to stay with her bro and track down Yamada, wanting to make better first impression. Instead, she gets a new impression of Yamada, as she’s already stuffing her face with fried food. I love this. First she got the stunning model side, then her messy glutton side. Both sides rule.

Kana is no idiot, and when she heard Yamada say (with her mouth full) that she got some food for Ichikawa, and also saw her looking in her mirror, checking her makeup and smile, it clicks for her: her brother is not on a romantic suicide mission. He’s really got a chance!

Kana invites Yamada to their house, but as soon as Yamada takes off her coat he sees she tied the dog keychain to her belt loop. To keep Kana from seeing it, he ends up making a gesture that looks like he’s slapping her hip, embarrassing everyone.

Kana serves Yamada some leftover new years soup which she loves. Ichikawa thinks how cute she looks, and then Kana vocalizes it. She also gets a hit of Yamada’s endearingly guileless ego when she says a lot of people call her cute, and Yamada is just like “Yup, they do!”

When talk turns to how Kana should address Yamada, thinking last names seem too distant, puts Ichikawa on the spot. Both she and Kana want to hear him squirm, but Yamada also really wants to hear her first name in his mouth. When he gets it out, she flashes a warm, appreciative smile.

Kana then breaks out the albums, showing Yamada a even tinier, cuter versions of her and her bro. Ichikawa thinks he looks the same in his grade school pic, but Yamada thinks he’s completely different. I tend to agree. Then Yamada accidentally treads on a sore subject when asking about the class excursion, which Ichikawa never went on.

Reading the room, Kana elegantly excuses herself, but before she leaves, she earnestly thanks Yamada in the entryway. She can tell her brother is happier, and she knows why. She’s happy for him is all.

I’m not surprised Yamada asks if she can call her onee-san, because she’s an awesome onee-san! Kana even leaves her keychain behind for her brother, having spotted the matching one on Yamada. Now he and Yamada match, and Yamada’s never gonna be mad about that.

Yamada is eager to learn more about Ichikawa, and ends up following him to his room. She finds another photo of him in the yearbook, noting that he friend Chii went to his school, “not like she was looking for him in her yearbook (she was)”.

While he’s worried about any lingering evidence of jackin’ it, she insists on sitting as close beside him on the bed as possible. When she sees what look like Ichikawa’s two friends in that photo, he says they drifted away when they went to private school.

Yamada gets up an admires various trophies won in what he calls his “glory days”, and then Yamada finds his armor: the book about murders he carries to keep others away. For a beat, he waits for her to react, but of course she reacts how you’d expect: excited, a little impressed, and eager to learn more.

Heck, she even jokes about having a double life as a murderer; how would he know? As she does so, she lies back on his bed, making herself comfortable, and spots the corner of a girly mag under his sheet. Ichikawa panics and gos for the mag, but ends up right on top of Yamada. Every second they linger in this position, the tension rises, until Yamada slowly gets back up and off the bed. Too soon for … for That!

Ichikawa is scandalized, and feels like her spotting his mag turned her off him completely, but that’s not the reason for her haste. Whatever her goals were today, she achieved them, and doesn’t want too go too far too fast. Ichikawa feels the same way.

No, after snapping his yearbook pics and heading down the stairs, she tells him she looks forward to showing him her yearbooks next time. Ichikawa takes that for what it is: a enthusiastic future invitation to her house.

The morning of his first day back after winter break, Ichikawa wakes up from unpleasant dreams of his past loneliness and isolation, and finds a shirtless Cool Ichikawa standing in his room. He’s shirtless because he represents Ichikawa’s heart, which he wants to bear. Ichikawa wants to show everything he is to Yamada.

Due to his arm injury, Ichikawa’s mom drives him to school, and Kana tags along to wish his little bro well—and probably to catch a glimpse of Yamada. She gets that wish as Yamada leaps out from behind a car to greet him, then says good morning to his mom and sister.

Yamada inspects him and notices he’s missing his dog keychain. When he produces it, she attaches it to his button. The bell is about to ring and everyone else is inside, so Ichikawa deems it the perfect time to show more of himself to Yamada.

He tells her how he used to hate middle school, but that’s changed, thanks to her. While clearly very happy to hear this, Yamada tells him he should be thanking himself first and foremost. He kept coming to school, even when it was painful, and that led to him eventually talking to her.

Yamada hands him back his books, with the murder one that he used to keep people away at the top of the pile. He says “thank you,” but it’s more than just thanking her for helping with the books. It’s the words he’s wanted to tell her all along, more than “I like you.” Those words aren’t necessary here, because his feelings are clear. Yamada lets the books fall to their feet again, gathers him into a warm hug, and pats his head.

Ichikawa pulls Yamada closer and thanks her again, and they stay like that for a few more precious seconds before heading to class. On the way, Sekine greets them, and they pull away from each other so quickly, she assumes they’re bashful after having “done it.” They most certainly haven’t, but they did do a lot during the winter break to clarify both who they are and what they mean to each other.

Before joining Sekine in the classroom, Yamada hands Ichikawa a bag of shrimp crackers—an empty bag, like she did in one of their first close interactions many moons ago. Then she says “just joking”, takes the bag back, and produces a candy for him. As always, the strongest sign that Yamada Anna likes you is that she’ll share her precious snacks with you without hesitation.

I know episode 11 me wanted an actual confession in words from someone, but the series subverted my expectations to the point I still walked away satisfied with where we leave Yamada and Ichikawa. They remain on that road together, walking hand-in-hand more often than not, and far more locked in to each other’s emotions.

From family and “dark past” to his murder book and nudie mag, Yamada has seen a lot more of who Ichikawa is in very short order, and it has only endeared him to her more. It is Thanksgiving day as I write this, so I am mindful of what I am grateful for, and it’s anime like this!

I’m anticipating the second season more than any other Spring 2023 show, as while Ichikawa is the lead and POV character of the show, hopefully it will also delve deeper into who this girl Yamada Anna is, beyond what we’ve seen and heard. Also including their first kiss couldn’t hurt … just sayin’!

The Dangers in My Heart – 11 – Remote Control

Ichikawa and Yamada’s date went so well and they made such big strides in their budding relationship, but what fresh villainy is this? Ichikawa in an arm sling, between Sekine and Loverboy and with Loverboy’s groupie across from them? In hindsight, I loved how random and vicious this stinger is, but in the moment I was anxious as fuck.

It’s a classic “How’d I end up like this?” story, which coninues by rewinding to the start of Ichikawa’s family trip to Akita. His frustration over having to share a room with Kana dissolves when he remembers his promise to photograph the snow for Yamada. But in the process of doing so he slips and falls off a damn cliff and at the very least sprains his arm.

He sends a selfie to Yamada as a gag, but she almost immediately video calls him, genuinely concerned about his arm, and relieved that he’s okay. I know that concern is genuine because a.) it’s been established she’s crazy about this little guy and b.) she called him so fast she forgot she was in Casual Evening Mode with her sports bra and glasses.

When she learns he’s returning home early, her thoughts turn to hanging out with him as soon as he’s back, but the two lovebirds are interrupted when they notice Kana, whom Ichikawa thought was dead to the world, is awake, and catches a glimpse of Yamada. She says she’s cute, and he says she’s “just” a friend from school. Kana is amazed she wasn’t some streaming thing.

Yamada wants to know what Ichikawa told Kana, and he’s honest: “that we’re friends … he guesses … for now.” The for now part is enough to cause Yamada’s heart to overflow, granting us one of her cutest faces to date. She then asks if they can talk more, and Ichikawa goes into the hall.

Yamada proceeds to ask Ichikawa to do things while she does them, from taking a drink to looking out the window to admiring the moonlight. It’s a tried-and-true method for feeling closer to someone you adore. Even if you’re far apart, the part of them in your heart feels closer than ever. She also has the shoujo manga in her lap, turned to the page where the boy says “I want to be with you. I wouldn’t be otherwise.”

Before heading back, Ichikawa decides to buy an Akita dog keychain for Yamada. Kana tries to let Ichikawa down gently by telling him girls are more than just their looks, and Ichikawa assumes she’s telling him not to get his hopes up with a girl out of his league.

For all their differences, Ichikawa recognizes in Kana the same tendency to try giving up on what she really wants before it hurts that he has. But now that he has something, someone he wants, he’s not willing to let it go. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever!

The next day Ichikawa heads out to meet up with Yamada, both to return the red scarf he borrowed and to give her the dog keychain. Instead, he ends up startled by a dog, who is attached to a leash, which is being held by Yamada in full-on Adorable Athleisure Mode.

Even after they made plans, she suddenly worried about his arm and decided to head his way instead. She decided this so quickly and with such a strong desire to see him as soon as possible, she neglected to consider the possibility they might’ve missed each other. But it’s all good; luck was on their side, and they were able to cross paths.

They head to the park with her Corgi, Wantaro, and Ichikawa suddenly gets cold feet about giving Ichikawa a non-food gift. Does this kid not remember that extended sequence bathed in blue light where he and Yamada were holding hands like old soul mates?

No matter; he is punished for his lack of faith by being given a bottle of green tea that’s already open by Yamada. My first thought was that she already took a swig, making it an indirect kiss. And while Ichikawa felt a bit like Yamada was remote controlling him over the phone the other night, she ends up following the commands he meant for Wantaro, including, most importantly, “paw.”

Yamada sits close beside Ichikawa without letting go of his hand, then reaches over him to retrieve the red scarf. Ichikawa put it in a bag so it would stay clean. Yamada blushes, tightens her grip on his hand, and admits that she actually wanted him to keep it, but then thought he wouldn’t want it.

His eyes opened by her honesty, Ichikawa exhibits his own, accepts the scarf, and offers her the dog keychain after all. She is so goddamned happy to get a gift from Yamada that she jumps up and does a little frolick. Before parting ways, she asks him about his first shrine visit of the year. He says he’s going, but doesn’t say it’s with his family, so she assumes the two of them will go, and will message him the time and place later.

From then on, Ichikawa and Yamada message each other every day. He may feel like it’s getting to his head that he can’t stop reading and re-reading her messages, the fact is she’s doing the exact same thing. If he’s a big embarrassing dork, so is she! And that’s perfectly fine!

What isn’t fine is Ichikawa heading into a FamilyMart to buy a drink, only to be ambushed by Loverboy, his groupie, and Sekine. It’s awkward as hell, especially since Sekine pretends not to know “Ichihara.” When Loverboy realizes it’s the boy who was with Yamada, he presses him for her LINE.

In an extremely telling moment, Loverboy orders the groupie to grab him a coffee, and the groupie blushes and obeys without hesitation. It feels so different, and so wrong, compared to when Ichikawa and Yamada were obeying each other on the phone call and in the park. Loverboy doesn’t seem to respect or even care about the groupie. He’s just using her because he can.

Sekine also excuses herself, leaving Ichikawa and Loverboy alone, but remains in earshot behind a wall. This is a test, and Ichikawa best not fail it. Loverboy drops the nice guy act, and things get transactional. “Ichihara” will give him Yamada’s LINE, and in exchange, he won’t tell anyone he got it from him. Ichikawa says he won’t tell him, and Loverboy asks why.

Ichikawa could tell him way, but Loverboy doesn’t deserve that much, and it isn’t really his business at all. So Ichikawa tells him he’s not telling him because he simply doesn’t want to. Before Loverboy can say another word, Sekine interrupts and asks Ichikawa to walk her home. When Loverboy offers to go with her, Sekine says she’s good … because she and Ichikawa are friends.

Sekine is clearly impressed with Ichikawa’s resolve. He passed the test and protected Yamada. But she says he should be straight with Loverboy next time about why. When Ichikawa protests, Sekine takes his hand in hers, and he recoils from her, and says, out loud, that he likes Yamada … he “thinks”.

For dramatic and comedic effect, Sekine takes a beat, then walks away and yells with a fake echo “I know…know…know,” then remarking that it’s “absolutely super obvious.” When they reach her door, he thanks her, and she teases him by asking if he wants to pop in. This Sekine girl man … she’s alright.

Having just been thoroughly messed with by another girl, but also given the validation he needed (note at no point did Sekine say he shouldn’t pursue Yamada, as it’s likely just as clear to her that Yamada is crazy about him), Ichikawa wants to hear Yamada’s voice, so he calls her. I loved her little nervous reaction before picking up (I love all her reactions, really).

He wishes her Happy New Year before she can tell him, but hastily hangs up when Yamada says Sekine has arrived (Yamada unknowingly walked her right to where Yamada and the others were having a sleepover). Bathed in moonlight, Ichikawa vows to someday tell Yamada that he likes her.

What a glorious slow burn this has been, with incremental progress from episode to episode providing a steady stream of good vibes. What began with a chuuni dork with delusions of edginess outraged an invasion by the class idol has now come to point where that dweeb is on the cusp of confessing to that idol … whom he’s learned is also a dork.

Ichikawa has done so much for Yamada thus far. First out of decency and kindness, then out of his growing affection for her. Now there’s one more thing to do: the most important thing, the thing that will end their beginning and begin their story together in earnest.

That’s asking a lot. It means putting himself out there after so much time as the safe but lonely hedgehog. But he doesn’t have to fear. He’s got this! He can, should, and must confess to her. The only question is will he, and before the season ends? Or will she be the one to confess first?

The Dangers in My Heart – 10 – The Real Thing

Ichikawa is in his emo finest when he arrives thirty minutes early for his meetup with Yamada, only to find she’s just as early as him, and for the same claimed reason (making sure they “got the place right”…you know, Hachiko, the most famous meeting place in Japan).

But whatever Ichikawa was expecting, handing over the new manga was only a pretense. Yamada wants to try out a pancake place, but despite there being a line their relationship doesn’t fall apart due to awkwardness—like she says is the reason not to go to amusement parks for a first date.

Her being early and bringing up first dates should clue Ichikawa in that what he and Yamada are in fact on is their first date—and on Christmas Eve no less—but for much of the day he wrongly assumes he’s just a hanger-on.

When he sees the prices, he pretends not to like sweet things (untrue), even eschewing sugar for his coffee. When Yamada’s gorgeous pancakes arrive, she has him sake photos and he suggests taking a video, which he assumes is all for her socials. He thinks about all of the people who will see this video, and it makes him a little lonely.

Imagine his surprise, then, when Yamada makes clear she doesn’t intend to upload them anywhere, she’s just taking them to send to him and him alone. These are for him. When his gaze lingers on his phone too long, she leans over, lifts his chin, and tells him not to forget to “watch the real thing.” She may be a model and appear on TV and eventually a movie, but here and now, he’s the only one she wants watching her.

As he considers just how much this meetup resembles a date, Ichikawa at least shows he knows what he’s doing wrong when he lists all of his mistakes thus far, from calling his mom cute to mansplaining fashion. The thing is, none of those things seem to be sapping Yamada’s enjoyment of their time together.

When she goes clothes shopping, she makes a distinction between what she likes and what he thinks of two dresses she’s holding up. But not five minutes after he mentioned going shopping with his sister sometimes, Kana enters the store with her friends. Yamada wants to go over to meet her, but Ichikawa say’s “not now.”

Sensing Ichikawa doesn’t want Kana to see him or her, she pulls him into the changing room. In this restricted space, every smell, every breath, and every bead of sweat is amplified. Yamada asks when she can meet Kana, and when he says another time, she’s relieved. She wants to know him better, and that means knowing his fam.

She admits she’s sweated through the dress she was only trying on, but Yamada suggest she buys it, as she looks good in it. Good boy. You gotta give a person compliments when they’re clearly trying things on for you! Alas, Yamada forgets she’s not quite zipped up in the back, and Ichikawa isn’t ready for the glimpse of her back and the hooks of her bra. Fortunately, Kana passes by without suspecting a thing!

Before he knows it, it’s gotten dark out; the day went by far faster than he expected. She apologizes for the day, thinking he must be exhausted being “dragged around.” He realizes he’s been in his own head so much he hadn’t been properly thinking about how she feels.

That’s when he decides to open up and tell her a little about himself. He’s not a people person, not afraid of turning down invitations, and will say so if he wants to tell someone to buzz off or if something sucks. So he deduces that since he didn’t do any of those things today, he had fun today…”probably.”

Yamada can tell, because he is talking about himself to her. He wraps him in a red scarf, which she claims she was wearing earlier. But looking back we never saw her in it, so she may well have bought it for him (she’s got plenty of cash with her modeling).

They eventually walk into a Christmas garden lined with dazzling lights all around, really heightening their cozy closeness. Ichikawa may have seen these kinds of lights before, but since he’s seeing them with Yamada, they just seem much prettier.

When they board a train packed to the brim with passengers, for one horrible beat I feared Ichikawa got on and Yamada didn’t. But then we hear the sound of a hand—her hand—grasping his. It’s sweaty, just as Ichikawa noticed when he took the bag of manga from her.

When her hand slips out of his, he tenderly re-takes it and holds it tight. Whatever mistakes he made throughout their day together, this gesture makes up for all of it. Even if he has yet to reckon with his specific motives or realize how she truly feels, taking her hand back makes clear to her that he doesn’t want to part with her just yet.

Clearly, the feeling is mutual, and sweat aside, the feeling of holding hands is so nice, neither of them want to let go. So they don’t! They hold hands for the duration of the train ride, when they get off the train, when they exit the station, and when they stroll slowly down the streets, which take on a soft, blue glow, like they’ve strayed into a dream together. Only it’s not a dream: its two people who found each other, and like what they’ve found.

Yamada only lets go of Ichikawa’s hand when they arrive at her house. Ichikawa starts to wish her a Happy New Year, but she shushes him. There are still quite a few days until then, so she doesn’t want him to say that quite yet. If he does, it suggests they won’t see each other again until the new year. She doesn’t want that.

After hiding behind a pole and then breaking out an adorkable “Santa Yamada” act that makes him laugh, the two finally part ways, no doubt not wanting to at all. And after they part, Ichikawa finally lets himself start thinking seriously about his feelings getting across to her; that she might know he likes her.

That night, while going over their time together and thinking about all the things he should and shouldn’t have said and done, Nigorikawa, the boy from the manga he’s reading, appears before him, saying he’s Ichikawa and Ichikawa is him. This “cooler” Ichikawa serves as a sounding board for his thoughts about having a chance with Yamada.

It also results in the most bizarre scene of the entire series thus far, as after receiving a photo of Yamada in a Santa suit, Ichikawa jacks off in bed with his new alter ego reclined beside him. Very odd stylistic choice, even if what Ichikawa himself is doing isn’t out of the ordinary for a hormonal teen. But suffice it to say, I’m glad he’s at least keeping an open mind about Yamada possibly liking him as he likes her. Because, duh, she does.

The Dangers in My Heart – 09 – Everything On the LINE

Sometimes Ichikawa is so dense it hurts. Yes, Yamada asks him for his LINE ID in a bit of a roundabout way, but seriously dude, just exchange LINE IDs with her, damnit! But no, everything has to be done the excruciatingly hard way.

Winter break approaches and Sekine wants a boyfriend, so she just casts her LINE out to everyone, starting with Ichikawa. Her more aggressive approach works, and we not only learn that Ichikawa’s avatar is Rem (whose right eye is also obscured by bangs), but Sekine knows who that is and is more of a Ram fan. Oh, and Yamada feels cheated.

It isn’t until Sekine sends Yamada to the class track star (who lives in the same apartment building as her) for his LINE ID that Ichikawa realizes what a tactical blunder he made in the library. Thankfully, when he suddenly blurts out an “AH!”, that’s all Yamada needs to say never mind to the guy.

He’s determined to tell her tomorrow that he does indeed use LINE, but descends into doubt and indecision as he reads three more pages of the shoujo manga she lent him. He seems to think she wants a guy like the boy in the manga, starts seeing parallels between their story and their own scenario, and warns himself against such trains of thought. He still feels like having any kind of hope is folly.

The next day, a casanova stops by  to very aggressively asks Yamada to come to his house and “go at it” (in “video games”). He’s flanked by another girl he’s either dated, dating, or stringing along as proof of his virility. Thankfully, Chihiro is right there as Yamada’s Iron Defense.

But when the guy says Chihiro is welcome to join them as well, that Iron Defense suddenly crumbles. This doesn’t bode well for Ichikawa, but it distresses Yamada even more. Yamada and Ichikawa realize the same thing: that dude is using Chihiro to get to her.

But Yamada would never say that; she insists she’s not going. Chihiro says fine, she’ll go with Sekine, but Yamada says “forget it, but I warned you”. As spacy as she can presents, she’s always exhibited the emotional intelligence to cut to the meat of things.

Yamada was just looking out for Chihiro, and that they ended up at odds leads Yamada to cry in the library. She hides her tears when Yamada comes in, and starts talking about all the video game systems her dad has, no doubt working towards inviting him to her place.

But then two older girls who know loverboy come in to size up and even pick on Yamada a little. They conclude that she must already have a boyfriend, but she insists she doesn’t and then emphatically repeats it while looking directly at Ichikawa. The girls think they know what’s going on and leave.

Just as Ichikawa is telling Yamada she shouldn’t hang around him when other people are around, one of the girls returns with the loverboy. Rather that separate herself from him, Yamada draws him even closer until they’re in position to kiss. From the interlopers’ view, that’s what they look like they’re doing, and they leave.

Later in class, Sekine breaks it to Chihiro that loverboy was just using her so Yamada would come. Realizing this, she decides not to go after all, and after class tries to flag down Yamada. When she tries to ignore her, Chihiro calls her a “big stupid she-giant”, and Yamada chases her down the hall.

The chase ends with Chihiro in Yamada’s arms, and Ichikawa overhears as they make up. But even as peace returns to the girl group, one withering look from loverboy gets all the wrong gears spinning in Ichikawa’s head.

What if, all this time, Yamada was just using him to shake off a guy she didn’t like? I tell ya, my heart sank all the way down to my feet when he took a sudden, unadvised detour off the new road he and Yamada had been walking. Me no like regression! Stop thinking wrong!

The next day, my nightmare scenario unfolds, as Yamada brightly greets him only to be stonewalled. He completely ignores and avoids her, even avoiding the library. Yamada stands at a distance like a stunned puppy. When he starts heading home without a word to her, she follows him.

Out the door of the class room, down the hall, down the stairs. He quickens the pace, but there’s no way he can outrun those determined legs. Finally, she manages to grab his wrist and wall slams him, her eyes raw and primed for tears. She asks him, with pain in her voice, if he’s mad at her, and why.

When they hear voices, she jumps away from him, asking if he’s mad because she’s always so close. Ichikawa, still in spiteful victim mode, brushes her off and says he’s “got places to be,” not caring if she’s upset the guy she’s using hates her.

But when he hears her begin to sob, the tune in his head thankfully changes. Like a radio caught between stations, the static gives way to clarity: Yamada isn’t the kind of girl who would use him, and he doesn’t hate her. He was just looking for an excuse to hate her. Now he’s hurting her when he doesn’t want to, but he has the power to stop that hurt right now.

He turns back to her as she drops her tissue—from one of the packs he left for her in the library ages ago—and corrects course, hopping back on the road. He clarifies that he just has some stuff to do during lunch break, and isn’t mad. A Yamada relieved beyond belief pulls him into a dramatic hug.

She apologizes for this make-up hug, as she assumes he doesn’t like being close, but Ichikawa takes her wrist in his hand, looks up at her, and says “I never said that,” which is exactly what the heroine in the manga says to the guy. After they check to see if anyone is around, they remain in a protracted hug, then agree to walk home together. This scene made me cry tears of joy. I legit needed a tissue!

Just like that, all is well, and my heart is back where it belongs: within my rib cage! The gorgeous colors of the setting sun mimic the similarly vivid warm feelings emanating from Yamada and Ichikawa as they chat on the way home. Ichikawa lets her go on about natto, and she asks him what he’s doing for Winter Break.

When he returns the manga to her, she asks for his impressions, and they learn they even have the same favorite part. Yamada, who had just earlier looked at December 24th on her calendar, tells Ichikawa she’ll bring the next volume for him on Monday.

But Monday comes, and she “forgot” the volume. By “forgot”, I mean she hatched a brilliant and foolproof scheme to not only get Ichikawa’s LINE ID, but arrange to hang out together before he heads off with his family for the break.

She insists that the cliffhanger at the end of volume 3 demands that he read the next one ASAP, so they have no choice but to meet up somewhere. She then asks him for his LINE ID. Youmiya Hina’s voice brooked no dissent, and Ichikawa wisely agrees.

From there, the floodgates open. The two start messaging and don’t stop until the morning. Yamada proposes meeting up at 2PM tomorrow by Hachiko in Shibuya, and Ichikawa confirms, while noting it’s already tomorrow. After the first half of the episode plunged us into the depths of despair, this felt like suddenly rising and breaking through the surface of the water with a dazzling splash.

The pure excitement of this development is sold so well by the editing, Yamada’s expressions, and composer Ushio Kensuke, who has really been giving the endings the extra dramatic oomph and flourish they deserve. I couldn’t help but think to the times when I first started clicking with a girl I liked, and the rush of adrenaline and dopamine that comes with that sudden flow of communication.

What an emotional roller coaster this was. I’m exhausted in the best way. When a show makes you feel so much in such a short time, you know it’s something special. We’re now officially back on the road again, and just kicked into high gear with a full tank of gas. Avanti!

RABUJOI WORLD HERITAGE LIST

The Dangers in My Heart – 08 – Walking New Roads

With Chihiro out with the flu, Yamada has to sit on Sekine, who puts her hands on Yamada’s chest and pays the price. A discussion ensues and eventually a diagram is drawn on the board indicating which parts of Yamada can be touched and which ones spell instant death. Ichikawa makes sure to study this diagram closely … just in case.

When Chihiro returns she’s worried about upcoming exams, so Yamada invites her to the library where Ichikawa helps her with some problems. Chihiro notes that Ichikawa is talking more naturally to girls now, and also mentions that Yamada talks about him a lot lately. She also shares an adorable antidote about Yamada trying to remove whipped cream from her face with more whipped cream, and Ichikawa can’t help but smile.

Neither can I, because Chihiro is gradually getting used to the fact that Ichikawa is becoming a persistent presence in Yamada’s life now, and it’s good to see them getting along. A lesser anime might have drummed up some kind of rivalry.

When parent-teacher meetings arrive, Ichikawa spots his mom sitting with Yamada and her mom. Yamada’s mom is continually correcting her daughter’s legs and posture, and Ichikawa’s mom finds herself also correcting hers. When she introduces herself as “Kyo-chan’s” mom, Yamada lights up, and in telling her how she talks with him a lot, she bashfully uses his first name, Kyoutarou.

Ichikawa’s mom and Yamada even swap candies. As mother and daughter-in-law, they’d surely be BFFs. After the meetings, Ichikawa’s mom asks him about the stunning girl she met who’s in his class, and he says without hesitation “Yamada.” Little did they know she was walking right behind them! Hearing Ichikawa identify her from “stunning” turns her beet red, and she has to beat a hasty retreat.

The next day, Ichikawa notices Yamada is closer than usual … yeah, he’s gonna have to get used to that! Inspired by him helping Chihiro out, she asks him if he’ll tutor her, and he wisely accepts. When she takes out her notebook that’s half history and half science, she says Chihiro playfully called it “a history of how dumb I am”, inducing another smile and chuckle.

When the librarian appears, disaster almost strikes, as the throat drop Ichikawa’s mom gave Yamada is right there on the desk. Remembering the diagram, Ichikawa taps her on the shoulder. But when he draws close to whisper in her ear to hide the drop, she gets flushed and leaps up, unprepared for such close contact, but also not hating it. She merely revises the diagram later.

On another rainy day, Ichikawa forgets his raincoat, and it rains more than he predicted. He crosses paths with Yamada, who shields him with her umbrella, admires his exposed right eye again, tenderly touches his face, then tries to fashion a rain hat for him with her shopping bag.

When that doesn’t work, Yamada hops on his bike for another ride, but they’re going in different directions: her to work, him home. So they part ways in the cold rain, both of them a little disappointed they couldn’t stay together a bit longer. You can really feel the yearning emanating from both of them in this scene.

It isn’t until Ichikawa gets all the way home that he realizes Yamada left her bag in his basket. When he sees that among the snacks is a box of what he thinks must be tampons, he races to the train station with all due speed, hoping to track her down.

Luck is on his side, but Yamada leans in to his ear this time, whispering that she bought the box for her mom and they’re “not the ones for periods.” Ichikawa bikes home, and when he’s in bed, he looks up Yamada on social media, but it’s clear all that riding in the rain took its toll.

After a bizarre fever dream in which he is confronted by both a mini-Yamada and a kaiju Yamada, Ichikawa wakes up with a temperature, and stays home from school for the first time in a long while. This sets up one of the best home visit scenes I’ve ever seen, as there’s a ring at the doorbell, and it’s a concerned Yamada.

He answers the door to greet her, and she’s come bearing extra serving of strawberry Bavarian cream for him, in part because she feels partially responsible for him getting sick. The two part ways, and there’s that same sinking feeling as when they parted in the rain … but then Ichikawa invites her in for a cup of tea.

He can’t believe Yamada is in his house, on his couch, about to drink tea with him, and he gets sloppy. There’s also the matter of him still running a prestigious fever, so his focus is in and out. He suddenly realizes he’s in his PJs and heads upstairs to change into something “more stylish”, but when he doesn’t return Yamada finds him passed out and shirtless in his room.

Yamada carefully carries him to the bed and helps him get his arms into a shirt, but his strength fails again and his head comes to a rest right between Yamada’s breasts. And even though this area was clearly marked as restricted on her diagram, Yamada lets him linger there, and even puts her hands on his bare back and draws him closer to her. It’s an astonishingly heartwarming, beautifully storyboarded and animated sequence that took my breath away.

When Ichikawa comes to again later that night, he calls Yamada’s name, but it’s Kana instead. She has the strawberry cream Yamada brought, as well as a hastily written note wishing for him to “cheer up” (rather than “get well”) soon. Kana assumes a friend stopped by, but if she only knew what kind of friend!

The next day Ichikawa’s mom tells him she found Yamada outside the house, and we thankfully get to see what transpired. Yamada is such a bashful, adorable mess around his mom, and when she learns his fever broke and he’ll be back to school tomorrow, tears well up in her eyes. She turns about and leaves in such a hurry she bangs into an electrical pole.

Yamada can’t wait to see Ichikawa at school the next day, so surprises him well before he gets there to say good morning with a sore voice that indicates she caught his cold. He admits he doesn’t remember much from when he had his fever, and had some weird dreams.

She wants to hear about them, as she can apparently interpret dreams, but they’re interrupted by Chihiro, who reveals that Yamada didn’t eat her strawberry dessert. In fact, she only ever had one, and she gave it to Ichikawa. If you need incontrovertible proof that she’s down bad for this boy, look no further than that gesture!

During their small talk outside his house before inviting her in for tea, Ichikawa infers that she must have walked a long way from school. But in one of her more poignant lines, Yamada says “it’s fun walking new roads.” Well, she and Ichikawa are certainly walking new roads together! I daresay there’s no turning back, and they are absolutely mesmerizing to watch.

Horimiya: Piece – 08 – There’s Something About Yanagi

Last week contained the most significant Yanagi Akane screen time since the first season, and he was never the most present of the nine principal characters. That changes this week as it’s all Yanagi, all the time. In the cold open, Tooru finds his lost contact on the floor.

Remi and Kyouko put on a whole song and dance as cover for the fact they simply don’t want Yanagi to wait for a late bus alone in the cold. While Ryouko has Izumi, Remi has Sengoku, etc., Yanagi seems to be the one whom everyone likes, and belongs to everyone. So everyone wants to go out of their way to be kind to him.

When his teacher warns Yanagi’s class that future tardiness will be punished, he gets anxious, because he is simply rubbish at getting up in the morning. When he tries to go to bed earlier he just wakes up at odd hours. He has two alarm clocks, but one always seems to be broken.

Sengoku, Izumi, Ryouko and Tooru hear his story, put their heads together, and come up with an ironclad solution to get him up on time: Izumi and Tooru will call him, and Sengoku will text him (though that bit is just because everyone thinks Sengoku’s texts are unintentionally hilarious).

The next morning, Yanagi’s alarm goes off, but he holds it upside town and thinks it’s only 1:30 rather than 7:00. When Izumi calls, Yanagi refuses to wake up, but after Tooru calls and Sengoku texts, he can’t help but get up. He thanks them for their help, but assures them he can get up on his own tomorrow. Alas, his one remaining alarm clock is busted!

The final segment of this episode of Piece involves Sengoku being self-conscious about Yanagi speaking to him so formally, and as Yanagi explains it, he only speaks casually to people he wants to be good friends with. Sengoku takes this to believe Yanagi doesn’t want to be good friends.

Tooru assures him that’s not the case; Yanagi is initially formal with everyone, including him, so Sengoku shouldn’t despair. Sure enough, when their vending machine mixup is reversed, Yanagi buys Sengoku a drink more to his taste, and is a little more casual with him this time.

Still, Sengoku is a little envious of some of his friends being closer with Yanagi than him. Call it a bro-crush if you must! He notes that Shuu and Yuki, the biggest “airheads” of the group, seem to be the ones Yanagi gets along with best, but doubts he could ever bump into a wall, apologize to that wall and glare at it.

Tooru tries to show him how to simply be spontaneous by walking up to Yanagi and tickling him, but when Sengoku practices with Tooru as Yanagi, it doesn’t go well. To Tooru it felt like being molested. Izumi overhears this and confuses the issue further.

That’s when Yanagi defends Sengoku’s honor and says he’d never molest anyone. In the end, Sengoku doesn’t have to worry about how close he is to Yanagi, because from Yanagi’s perspective they’re plenty close already.

P.S. I never skip the Horimiya: Piece ED. It’s one of the best of the summer and it’s genuinely moving every time. It’s a sweet mélange of moments of young love, friendship, and bittersweet yearning that perfectly captures the gentle kindness of the cast.

Horimiya: Piece – 07 – Weird Is Wonderful

This episode once again reinforces how deep a bench of lovable wierdos Horimiya has at its disposal. We get more Sakura, which is never a bad thing, and she loves to unwind from studying with a manga, and is specifically addicted to Skull Ninja Konoha.

She’s so excited for the next issue that she can’t help but sing a little Konoha song on her way to the bookstore, only to be crestfallen when it’s already sold out. Fortunately, Yanagi Akane is there, having bought the last copy, and like an angel (or Kaoru-san from the manga) is willing to give it to her.

While Tooru is her primary crush throughout the first season, it can be said that Yanagi is pretty much everyone’s secondary crush. He’s a friend to all, and extremely popular due to his delicate good looks, to the point that girls Yanagi and Sakura pass by think they look like a couple.

When Sakura increases the gap between them, Yanagi is hurt and asks why. Sakura says it’s because he’s big with the ladies since he’s so cool…but Yanagi recalls all the times Sakura has supported her friends and tells her, with brutal honesty, that he’s sure she’s way cooler.

When Yuki is reading a popular Your Name. style LN about body swapping, she imagines pairs of her friends swapping personalities, which makes for some fun little moments and opportunities for the voice actors to have fun as well.

Later, while alone in the library (or at least she thought she was), Yuki slams her hands on a desk, startling Yanagi and making him drop his books. As she helps him pick them up, the backs of their hands touch and she notices how cold her hands are.

She decides to check out Tooru’s hands too, and finds that while they’re also initially cold, once he’s with her, they warm up like hers. It’s just one more sign that she and Tooru have such an effortless rapport and closeness with one another—and Yuki both does and doesn’t want to get closer still.

Kyouko only has a couple of lines this week, but what Izumi we do get is him being both a good protective senpai and someone who understands what his kohai is going through. Two of Sawada Honoka’s classmates through her scarf out the window, he asks her if she’s being bullied, and she nonverbally confirms it. This leads Izumi to glare up at the two girls and mouth “Die, uggos”

Contrary to what Sawada thinks of Izumi, he does know what it’s like to not have friends and feel alone. And he didn’t go around begging his friends to be his friends; it happened naturally over time as he met Kyouko and found things to talk about and laugh about with the others. He believes she’ll be fine too. The friends will come, or they’ll be missing out.

Sawada gets further support from Remi and Yuki, who admit that Sawada is a little weird, but as Remi puts it, “weird is wonderful”, and both she and Yuki say in unison that the other is weirder than Sawada. Sawada also simply has a better rapport with third-years than her own year, but that changes when she overhears the art club members not getting enough recruits.

Sawada takes it upon herself to move the poster to a more visible and high-traffic area. Turns out her classmates were mistaken about this bulletin board being just for third years, as President Sengoku even gives her a ride on his shoulders so she can move it. The art club girls hear from another classmate what Sawada did, and they thank her for it. Thus, a conversation is started, and Sawada finally forms a connection with her classmates.

It’s all very warm and cozy and sweet, and the episode is given the perfect capper: the ED for the anime adaptation of the in-universe manga Skull Ninja Konoha. Even better, the catchy ending theme is sung by none other than Sakura and Yanagi’s seiyuu, Kondou Reina and Fukuyama Jun! That’s a really nice touch.

Horimiya: Piece – 06 – Material Things

Our first Piece this week is, as the kids say, a little mid. The big news is that Sengoku invites Izumi, Shuu, and Tooru over for a sleepover. Unfortunately, Sengoku’s room is a little too small for all of them. Call it Dude Tetris. My favorite part of this segment is Sengoku’s awesome loft bed with bookcase steps.

As for Shuu getting all weird about the prospect of Sengoku trying to make a move on Izumi…meh. Sengoku has realized he’s never seen Izumi without a shirt on, even in situations where that would be normal. But since the StuCo president knowing Izumi had tattoos would be problematic, Shuu and Tooru do their utmost to run interference.

The second and third Pieces are much sweeter and more affecting, as Remi figures heavily into both and Remi is an angel anyone would protect with their life. She’s also pretty upfront about when she wants to be spoiled with affection from her boyfriend.

Since this is an anime, that means holding hands in the cold weather and walking together. When they get to her place, Remi wants a hug. When Sengoku calls her, she runs to him and wraps her arms around him, but then he does the same to her and it’s all warm and fuzzy and dawwww.

Finally, Remi is key in the final segment because Kyouko, Yuki, Tooru and Shuu all watch Sengoku slink off with Sakura and then go to a restaurant together. Is he cheating? Duh, of course not.

There’s a reason they’re together and being secretive: Sakura told Remi she’d buy her some fancy premium cookies if she scored a 60 on her next math test; Remi insisted “material things” don’t motivate her.

When she gets a 58 instead and Sakura still brings the cookies (no doubt purchased with Sengoku’s help), it’s not officially a reward for her score, but that hardly matters. Sakura’s reward is getting to see Remi’s face while she eats the cookies with gratitude.