Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun 2nd Stage – 09 – Process and Outcome

Bless you, Mizusawa, for promptly and firmly calling Tomozaki out on his “masochistic crap”, i.e. his tendency to believe no one would ever choose him. He claims not to care whether or not Mizusawa continues his self-deprecating ways, but when he does it, he upsets people who like him … like Mimimi. Tomozaki can even recall times when Mimimi said basically the same thing Mizusawa is here: he should cut that crap out.

Hearing this harsh assessment of his unconscious defense mechanism, Tomozaki accepts that Mimimi likes him, and therefore he is worthy of being liked. It’s a big step that our boy Ichikawa in Dangers has also taken, and an important step to entering into a romance.

Hinami is glad Tomozaki has chosen two girls to pursue in Mimimi and Fuuka, and gives him what he deems to be difficult mini-goals because she knows he can pull them off if he tries. She also concedes that as his philosophy of balancing process and outcome (i.e. means and ends) has made him the top player as nanashi, he’s free to try the same method IRL.

Then Mimimi and Tomozaki meet for the first time since her confession-in-all-but-name, and they’re awkward and extremely sus, both to Hinami and Mizusawa. The latter told Tomozaki there was a possibility he could carry on with Mimimi like nothing was said, but that’s not looking so likely right now.

Mimimi really put herself out there, and if we’re honest, the ball is in Tomozaki’s court. He gets some leeway because he’s new to this romance stuff, but at some point he owes her an answer to the feelings she honestly and bravely expressed to him that afternoon.

Fuuka may be far less “aggressive” as Mimimi, but like jazz, it’s all about the things she’s not saying or doing, or the things she feels she has to qualify. Tomozaki gets the ball rolling on talking about what dating means to her, and it’s not surprising she gets her guidance from her favorite author.

A story about two people who are the only ones for one another, for whom no one else will do: it’s what she believes dating to be, and she probably sees Tomozaki that way, but like him is too scared to let herself believe she’s worthy of that scenario.

When Tomozaki and Mimimi meet again at lunch, it’s awkward again. Mimimi tries to tell him to forget about what she said in the interests of going “back to the way things were,” but she stops short of that, saying she’d rather he didn’t forget.

When they’re joined by Mizusawa and Hinami, those two are almost egging them on by talking about the rumors swirling about the two of them being a couple, while Tama is her usual lovably blunt self, giving Mimimi a couple of confused looks and declaring she’s being “weird.”

Maybe she is being weird, and maybe Tomozaki is being weird right back. But this initial discomfort and awkwardness is a crucial obstacle to overcome. As I said, Mimimi has been pretty clear to Tomozaki about how she feels, and he owes her some kind of response.

This new dynamic is so compelling, I have to admit I was a little disappointed that so much of the latter quarter of the episode was given over to Tomozaki narrating the gist of Fuuka’s story. That said, I like how there are many parallels: If the dragon is Fuuka’s story, delicate and precious, then she’s Kris, who tends to the dragon, while the princess Alusia is Mimimi and Tomozaki is Libra.

Fuuka is having the same problem as Tomozaki with whom to choose as Libra’s romantic partner, not wanting to ruin the nice vibes she’s created with the three of them. However, in adapting her short story for the stage, a bit of the magic that made the characters feel real was lost in an effort to make the parts easier to play.

Tomozaki recommends that Fuuka bring back the short story versions of the characters. It will be harder to perform them, but they’ll be that much more interesting both to the performers and the audience. Fuuka accepts his advice, accepting the higher difficulty is the key to unlocking the best version of her story.

At the same time, Tomozaki needs to do some serious thinking about what dating someone means to him, and ultimately who he’s going to choose. He’s perfectly justified in finding it hard to do so, as Mimimi and Fuuka are both incredibly kind and lovely girls. Rejecting either of them would be tough, even for a higher-tier character.

The Dangers in My Heart – 20 – Birthday Wishes

We begin with a White Day misunderstanding, as under his gyaru mom’s orders, Adachi tosses thank you cookies into Moeko’s shoe locker a little too nonchalantly, and they fall out. Just as Yamada and Moeko are rounding the corner, they see Ichikawa putting the cookies … into Yamada’s shoe locker by mistake.

Adachi manages to actually make Moeko look somewhat serious bless him, but when he leaves she still thinks they’re for Yamada from Ichikawa. When Yamada reads the lovey-dovey note, her face goes beet-red and her eyes do that tight-spiraly thing.

As the day the classes change nears, Chihiro tries some reverse psychology on the teacher, urging him not to put her in a class with Yamada, Moeko, and Serina. Unfortunately she just might get her wish! Ichikawa stays behind, feeling nostalgic about the classroom, when he gets a text from Yamada.

She’s still there too, and invites him to the gym for a one-on-one basketball game. While she’s got the length, she’s go to touch to her shot, and ends up scoring on a rebound from Ichikawa’s jumper. Ichikawa was going to ask her out if his shot went in, but instead Yamada claims the win and asks if it’s okay to call him “Kyou”.

Thing is, he didn’t need to make a shot to ask her out, he could just do it and she’d say yes. Oh well! At least when his birthday rolls around and he’s resigned to a quiet evening with fam, she sends him a photo of her fresh off a shoot looking super-cute by the sakura trees.

They meet up at the station, and on their way home, he notices she’s still calling him “Ichikawa.” Like him, she’s still very nervous about it. Then he senses someone following them, and he shields Yamada like her gallant knight. Turns out it’s just his dad!

When Pops tells Yamada it’s Ichikawa’s birthday, she’s invited to join the family for dinner, which Kana is super-hyped about, such that she gets all dolled up. When she learns Yamada is an honest-to-God pro model she feels silly and embarrassed, but she shouldn’t; her style rocks!

After a dinner of sukiyaki where Yamada only has a few bites (her saying she’s a “light eater” may just be the biggest lie she’s ever told), Ichikawa’s mom turns out the lights and brings the cake, humming the wedding march, definitely a subconscious slip-up with her son’s pretty friend present.

Yamada starts singing “Happy Birthday” and everyone joins in. After he blows out the candles, Yamada quietly whispers “Happy Birthday, Kyou” in his ear, leaving no room to mistake about whether she said “today.” Girl wants to call him by his first name. He’d do well to reciprocate!

Kana urges Yamada to spend the night, and she gets permission from her mom because she’s staying at a girl’s house. Yamada leaves out the fact it’s also Ichikawa’s house! Yamada has a bath first, and Kana gives Ichikawa some girl’s clothes and undies for Yamada to wear, then falls asleep.

Clearly Kana always intended to give Ichikawa and Yamada a chance to have a sleepover, once again demonstrating what a superb big sis she is. When Ichikawa pops into the laundry room to leave Yamada her clothes, the two are very aware that they’re talking while she’s naked in the bath, separated by a thin door.

When Ichikawa prepares to leave her rubber band by that door, Yamada opens it to make the exchange directly. The resulting postcard memory is so pretty it looks like a Renaissance painting.

Yamada is set up on the sectional in the living room, and when Ichikawa comes down “to get a drink of water” he sees her reading a script for a film she’s in that shoots in two days. She admits she’s having trouble being the rebellious girl because she never had a rebellion.

Ichikawa admits he did, but it wasn’t because he didn’t like his clearly very nice parents. Instead, he was mad about not letting himself be himself, and worried about not being a good kid. When Yamada hears this, she takes him by the shoulder and draws him into her chest, to wordlessly say “it’s alright” and “you are a good kid.”

The two remain seated together at the foot the couch all night, or at least until Yamada nods off. Ichikawa draws ever so close to her ear, perhaps planning to either kiss her goodnight or say her first name, but he draws back, tucks her in, and bids her goodnight before returning to his room.

Yamada, who was actually awake the whole time, opens her eyes, blushes, and smiles ever so softly as that trademark heart-soaring, often tear-inducing piano and strings plays them off. I daresay she wanted a kiss and to be called Anna. Hopefully Ichikawa, or should I say Kyou, musters the courage soon.

The episode ends with a gag, as Ichikawa realizes that since Kana’s undies are still in the laundry room and Yamada’s are still in the wash, Yamada is and has been going commando since her bath. Encouragement from the black-winged manifestation of his libido aside, he’d better not do anything with this information!

The Dangers in My Heart – 19 – Gotta Be Brave

He may not realize it, but Kana is right: her brother’s cool-as-hell speech from the heart may well make him more popular, such that he doesn’t have to creep around when the basketball clubs (boys and girls) invite Yamada to karaoke. Three third-years spot him and invite him in, but all it takes is a “What are you doing here” from Chihiro for him to immediately flee.

However, there’s no true escape for him, because Yamada already saw him. She joins him in the otherwise empty booth next door, and admits even she feels a little out of place with the others because she quit the club. She then has Ichikawa confirm he heard her say she likes someone, and tells him she’s been acting weird because she’s been so worked up.

That gives Ichikawa the courage to say he followed her to karaoke because he got worked up. Anna starts playfully poking at his back just when the third-year girls spot them alone together, and ultimately bring them back to the party where Ichikawa not only sings, but sings the dang theme song to the show!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: Ichikawa and Yamada like each other, but they’re not officially going out. They’re both shocked to hear that’s also the case with Hara and Kanzaki, when they invite the two of them out for a double date. Because they’re all new to double dates, Ichikawa and Hara end up meeting on the same train by chance.

Because it’s White Day and Ichikawa doesn’t have a gift, Hara helps shop for something appropriate. Just when she tries on a hat and he says “that would look cute” (as in, on Yamada), Yamada and Kanzaki appear. Both are clearly jealous, and not that subtle about it, though Yamada is more subtle by dint of not being surrounded by miasma.

It’s an imbalance and unforced error that could have been avoided if Hara and Kanzaki, not to mention Ichikawa and Yamada, met up with each other first. As usual, an sumptuous buffet lunch repairs Yamada’s mood, but introduces another complication: Kanzaki wants Hara to eat her fill.

We know Hara is trying to diet, and that she’s not doing it for Kanzaki, but for herself, to challenge and change herself. It’s her business! Yes, Kanzaki’s a good guy who doesn’t care whether she’s fat or skinny, but he’d probably prefer her as plump as possible, so he’s not an impartial party here! It’s Ichikawa who checks Kanzaki, telling him not to force his opinion on Hara, and Kanzaki acknowledges this.

When Ichikawa learns that like him and Hara, Kanzaki and Yamada ended up meeting by chance and did a little shopping (she helped him pick out the cutlery he gave Hara as a White Day gift), a surge of jealousy overcomes Ichikawa. He even goes so far as to declare “Yamada is mine!” which Yamada overhears, and her face instantly turns radioactive.

While Ichikawa decries him and Yamada as “hilarious”, Kanzaki tells him he might actually be a good fit for her. Hara and Yamada then set things up so Yamada “gets lost” and they have to “split up” to find her. Naturally Kanzaki goes with Hara, while Ichikawa goes off on his own, and is quickly scooped up by Yamada.

Yamada comes out and says that just because they hang out alone all the time with someone doesn’t mean they don’t want to keep doing it. She qualifies it by saying she’s talking about Hara and Kanzaki, but she’s fooling precisely no one. Then she asks what they should do next, Ichikawa retreats and says they should just go home.

He’s stuck in the feedback loop of constantly comparing himself unfavorably to others like Kanzaki. But while they’re initially separated on the crowded train home from Harajuku, when there’s a bump in the track Yamada finds her way to him, observing that it looks like he’s protecting something in his backpack.

Ichikawa asks if she has time once they’re off the train, and they go to the park as the sun starts to set, sitting at the same bench where Yamada gave him a homemade chocolate muffin for Valentine’s. He remembers how brave Yamada had to be, and sees all his comparing and jealousy for what it is: layers of protection against being hurt.

He decides then and there to stop thinking about all that, and think about Yamada instead. He gives her a muffin, also homemade, and she’s so happy she starts scarfing it down right there. He asks her to slow down, and she finds a little plastic pouch with something inside: a delicate chain bracelet with a bone (no doubt a nod to their matching dog keychains).

Suddenly worried that giving her jewelry was “weird’ somehow and starting to run off, Yamada easily catches up to him (longer legs), and asks him to  put it on for her. He does, and as her face lights up with joy she asks him how she looks, and he tells the truth: she’s so cute he could die.

This causes Yamada to tear up, but they’re not the same tears as when she talked about her past troubles with committing to things. Bully for him for recognizing the difference, and offering her a comforting arm. Just like he said in his ad-libbed speech, he has seen the light—and it is glorious.

There are only six episodes left. It doesn’t feel like enough. I want a third season, one in which these two are an established couple.

The Dangers in My Heart – 18 – Up to This

Just like that it’s the end of a term, and the teacher is asking Ichikawa to deliver a graduation speech for the departing students. Buoyed by Yamada’s approving looks he agrees to do a rehearsal, but he’s so nervous he speaks in a voice so small no one can hear. Now that he’s seen Yamada working hard with her modeling work, she wants to see him working hard.

He can do this, and she’ll support him all the way; she takes voice lessons, after all. Their moment is spoiled by the pickup artist walking into the gym and rejecting the confession of Mita, the girl he’s been stringing along. He tells her there’s someone else he really likes, and Mita knows he’s talking about Yamada.

Ichikawa decides right then and there that he’s going to stand proud and let Yamada see him make that speech in front of the whole school. He practices in front of his mom, and tries to recall his “old self” who was so confident (and arrogant) on the stage. He even gets a slick new haircut, though its full effect wears off after just one day without product added.

The day of graduation, Serina borrows gel from another boy and tries out some styles on Ichikawa, showing off her passion for hairstyling. I liked the bike gang look, personally!

While the other girls are focused on Ichikawa, Chihiro stares off into the distance, realizing that they may get split up in Year 3. Yamada sees the panic in Ichikawa’s eyes and leans over him, but he tells her they’ll be fine. He doesn’t know how yet, but it doesn’t hurt to believe.

Unfortunately, at some point during his morning routine Ichikawa switched out his speech script with his hair salon notes. He calls Kana, who is on the case. Even when she gets lost, she happens to encounter her co-worker who knows the way (and now I ship these two!)

Ichikawa doesn’t tell Yamada that he doesn’t have his speech, and doesn’t want to hear that he can do this, but that’s not what she softly, gently says into his ear. Instead, she simply says “It’ll be alright.” She then hands him her dog keychain for good luck.

As zero hour arrives and Kana still isn’t there, Ichikawa dreads going up on stage and suddenly acting like a chuunibyou with an arm outside his control. When his tearful teacher spots him, he shuffles him onto the stage early.

That’s when Cooltarou appears before him, assuring him Yamada and his teacher wouldn’t cheer him on if he wasn’t up to this. Not only that, but the person who trusts and likes him most of all isn’t his teacher, or his sister, or even Yamada, it’s him. This is to say, Ichikawa Kyoutarou likes himself. He just had to be reminded of that.

He proceeds to speak loudly, clearly, and confidently on the stage, as Yamada, Kana, Hara, Moeko and Serina watch in rapt awe and pride. Even when he runs out of the speech he memorized, he gives Yamada a nod and he keeps going, drawing from his extensive manga consumption to deliver one hell of an inspirational capper to the speech.

He tells those who are graduating that they must take those scary steps forward themselves, not run away, for they’ve already seen the light in their friends, family, and teachers. He tells them to try new things, learn to love themselves, and treasure all they have come to know. As Moeko says, it sounds as much like he’s graduating as the third years.

The energy he exerts also results in him passing out bakstage shortly after completing the speech, which gets thunderous applause. He comes to in the nurse’s office where Yamada is by his side. They’re interrupted by the pickup artist, who asks to talk to Yamada. Ichikawa tosses her back her dog keychain (which worked for him) and says he’s going to sleep some.

The pickup artist is fine just saying what he needs to say right there. As Mita and Moeko listen in from the hall, he says he likes Yamada. He prefaces this confession with some legitimate explanations that go beyond just thinking she’s cute; clearly he’s been watching her and knows more about her than most.

He’s happy she noticed he still likes soccer, and also happy to see her working so hard and finding success. But most importantly, he likes her, and wants her to have his graduation button. Obviously, she can’t accept it. As her eyes fill with tears, she declares she likes someone else, and clutching the keychain, says her “hands are full”, and she “can’t hold anything else.” A line from her acting job, or words from the heart?

Regardless, when Ichikawa hears Yamada say these words, he remembers other moments with her and comes to the realization that she likes him, leading to the reveal of the episode’s title, “Yamada Likes Me.” Firmly rejected, the pickup artist tries telling her that Ichikawa gave him her contact info, but Yamada doesn’t buy the last ditch chaos tactic for a second.

Not ten seconds after pickup artist fucks off to lick his wounds, Ichikawa and Yamada also leave, mere seconds apart, and walk away…in opposite directions. Ichikawa is blushing heavily, while Yamada’s face is a strawberry with spiraled eyes. Clearly they need to process What Just Happened!

But what’s been said can’t be un-said, and now Ichikawa and Yamada find themselves in new territory. Things are about to heat up, so here’s hoping they can stay in the kitchen. They just need to remember their own advice: It will be alright.

RABUJOI WORLD HERITAGE LIST

Spy x Family – 36 – Chefs! Chefs! Chefs!

While sometimes Becky Blackbell seems precocious to the point of acting like she’s six going on twenty-six, at the end of the day, she is every bit six, which means she considers the soap operas on TV to be what real courtship and romance is like. Determined to win the heart of her “Precious Loid”, she invites herself over to Anya’s with a full head of steam that turns into so much blushing and tripping over words.

It only takes an easy smile from Loid for Becky to imagine becoming Anya’s stepmother, complete with new family portrait. Poor Anya is an audience to Becky’s over-the-top delusions, and decides to kick Yor aside and root for Becky to become her new Mama for one primary reason: meals prepared by world-class chefs. Alas, once Yor returns home and Becky tries removing her scrunchies and whips her hair about, she gets zero reaction from Loid.

If Anya had normal adults as a mother and father, one of them would probably be able to see a childish crush when they see it. Instead, Becky and her hair is twisting in the proverbial wind, and all Anya can do is twist along with her.

When Becky decides to go full bore and “collapse” into Loid from being too “drunk”, Yor takes her deadly seriously, picks her up, and rushes to the nearest hospital. Before a car hits her (the car loses), Yor tosses Becky into the air, only to catch her perfectly after absorbing the impact of the accident with nothing but a bloody nose.

It’s after this act of selfless and completely unnecessary bodily sacrifice that Becky finally comes clean: she was only lying because she wanted to court her precious Loid. To her surprise, Yor isn’t upset, but happy that Loid is so loved. Becky, moved by her massive heart, asks her how she won Loid over, and Yor recalls him saying she’s strong.

Becky tries to demonstrate that she’s strong too by trying her hand at the bell-and-hammer game in he park, but the weight of the hammer bowls her over backwards. Yor, believing Becky wants the top prize to give to Loid, picks up the hammer with one hand and obliterates the entire device.

Becky, who is after all the heiress to an arms empire, is suddenly smitten with Yor as well. She now realizes she’s simply not strong enough to steal Loid from her, so she’ll become her apprentice instead. When her maid arrives to pick her up, Yor is giving her some martial arts pointers.

Another woman who loves Loid deeply but knows she isn’t strong enough to defeat Yor is Fiona Frost AKA Nightfall. During Loid’s cruise vacation, she not only completes all of her missions, but all of Twilight’s as well, overworking herself despite Sylvia telling her not to. She even trains herself in the mountains by pulling grizzly bears, riding goats and standing atop alligators.

Fiona doesn’t become a blushing, blubbering mess when she’s in Loid’s presence like Becky; in addition to being an adult, she’s also a spy, and very good at concealing her true feelings. She has almost no reaction to Loid presenting her with a souvenir from his trip, but once she’s alone in the hall she’s skipping along like she’s on cloud nine more in “wuv” with him than ever.

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent – S2 03 – Ballin’ Out

Sei is unexpectedly summoned to the Royal Palace for not one but two official events: her official debut as the Kingdom’s Saint, and the royal ball later that night. It is reiterated that Sei can be rather insecure and unconfident about such things, as she lacks the self esteem she should have.

However, whenever Al takes her hands in his, as he does when he offers to be her escort, Sei feels a lot better. The morning after she spends the night in the palace, the maids don’t hide their excitement at the prospect of dressing her up not once, but twice.

Sei is less enthusiastic, especially when she considers herself unworthy of the intricate white robes of the Holy Saint. But once again, as His Majesty introduces her to his assembled court at the debut ceremony, Sei finds that Al is in attendance, offering her a smile of support, and her spirits are buoyed.

That’s also the case when Liz stops by to see Sei in her Holy Saint vestments. She brings along a friend, Rayne, the second prince of Salutania. He was eager to meet her, and also to apologize on his behalf of his brother. Seeing Liz and Rayne so happy to see her, Sei stops regretting going through with the ceremony.

When they encounter one another other in their ballroom duds, both Al and Sei play a back-and-forth game of who can make the most Shoujo Manga Face. It hurts a bit when Sei tells Al not to say she’s beautiful when she clearly is, and also when she’s not able to tell him how beautful he is. The two simply end up embarrassed when the royal herald and maids loitering in the hallway tell them it’s time to line up for the ball.

If I had a complaint, it’s that Sei and Al don’t actually get to dance for very long. I feel like Bell and Ais got more time. Nevertheless, the pair oozes chemistry and grace, and both Sei’s butter yellow dress and Al’s blue suit reminded me of Belle and the Beast in the Disney film.

Etiquette dictates that Sei not dance with the same partner twice, so with a lot of ball left to go, she is protected by Al and Johan from randos who might want to curry favor or even propose to her. Johan dances with her first, followed by Yuri and Erhart.

While having tea with Liz and Aira the next day, Sei mentions how she had no idea men lead in different ways, since her only partner for a while had been her dance teacher. When Liz asks her who her favorite was, Sei hesitates. She says she’s not sure, but c’mon. It was Al. I know that, you know that, and Liz sure as hell knows that!

The tension builds after the credits as Johan tells Sei that she must have received a number of fresh invitations from members of the court and nobility, but the palace likely politely declined them on her behalf. The herald once again summons her to the palace for an important matter, suggesting perhaps the subject of her future husband will be broached.

Insomniacs After School – 11 – Invincible Peas in a Pod

An episode full of bliss begins with the worst morning of Ganta’s life, when he wakes up to find his mother has suddenly gone without a word. That feeling of abandonment must have been hard to shake for years, but the hole his mother left in his heart has gradually become filled by Isaki.

This is a little masterpiece of an episode, which never cuts away from anyone other than Ganta and Isaki, highlighting just how well they coexist together; how happy and at peace they are together; how well matched they are. When Ganta’s natural inclination to worry or eschew kicks in, Isaki is there to give him a little nudge. When he stumbles, she’s there to catch him.

I made note of two finally being able to play house after Isaki’s sister skedaddled, but I wasn’t prepared for just how beautifully Ganta and Isaki settle into a little slice of life together, whether it’s going on their little daily adventures, nightly photography sessions, or things like laundry, shopping, and cooking. It’s all presented so sweetly—so idyllically.

In the rare moments they’re alone, Ganta and Isaki are both thinking of one another, and the situation they’re in, and how far they can or should take it. Isaki is proactive in setting a “mutual boundary line” past which neither of them can cross in the night, but when the two start exchanging funny texts and hearing each other laughing through the walls, Isaki cracks the sliding door, thus bridging their artificial gap.

Having survived a night without giving in too recklessly to their steadily simmering feelings, Ganta and Isaki get right back to it the next day, having a blast photographing all of the gorgeous spots they visit. That night they break out the watermelon and spend some time in silent bliss. Ganta wishes it could stay this way forever; Isaki concurs.

Having heard Isaki’s secret about her tenuous medical past, which he knows from her sister she doesn’t just tell anyone, Ganta decides the time is right to open up about his primary source of insomnia: a crushing fear of a tomorrow that is far worse than the day before. This is the fear instilled in him since his mother left.

In bringing up such a delicate and painful topic, Ganta breaks down into tears, but in the midst of drying them, Isaki leans in close and kisses him. She then draws back and notes that her first kiss “tasted salty”, due to Ganta’s tears. Ganta is so shocked—and happy—he doesn’t know quite what to do, so he runs outside and falls into the sea.

Of course, Isaki is there to pull him out, and in ensuring he’s not hurt, the two make eye contact for the first time since their kiss…and start laughing at the fact that the eye contact feels different. The kiss was a physical affirmation of the feelings the two clearly have and have had for each other since shortly after meeting. But it also opens a door that can’t be easily closed.

Isaki says they should “leave things how they are” until they reach the finish line of their trip. This isn’t a retraction of the feelings expressed in the kiss, merely a practical suggestion. And Ganta intends to honor it. But once they do reach that finish line—the Mawaki Site—he fully intends to confess to her. To that, all I can say is Attaboy!

Rarely has a couple spending time alone together for an extended time felt so real and so immersive, and their understated yet momentous first kiss will go down in my anime watching history as one of the very best. Hopefully Ganta can seal the deal by making his feelings for Isaki plain, and Isaki can accept and return them. The times they’ve enjoyed don’t need to be a fleeting dream; they can be their reality.

Insomniacs After School – 10 – Feeling the Spark

Ganta finds himself in Isaki’s house when he and Kurashiki-sensei come to inform the parents of the training camp. That’s how he meets Haya, Isaki’s big sister. Haya immediately sets a tone by introducing herself with a ridiculous fake name and claiming that Isaki is a clone of her. But what’s not a joke is that she’s joining them on their trip as a chaperone.

Isaki and Haya’s sibling chemistry is wonderfully complex (I’m a middle child, so it’s also relatable) and beautifully performed by the voice actors. So too his Ganta’s soft-spoken father, who reveals that his wife simply walked out in the middle of the night. He also mentions a time Ganta wore shoes that were too small because he didn’t want to trouble him.

Kurashiki’s face upon learning these things is worth a thousand words. Shiromaru’s face is a lot simpler when seeing him off. It could be she’s just naturally shy and averse to eye contact, but she could also have a little crush on her “little protégé”, who she admits has quickly improved his photography skills. Her advice to Ganta is not to get too hung up on taking the perfect photo of a starry sky, but simply listen to his heart.

If and when he feels a spark, that’s when he should hit the shutter, and when he’ll create truly great photos. As he and Isaki go shopping for camp gear in Hanazawa, Ganta feels that spark whenever Isaki is in the viewfinder. And the gorgeous, loving way she’s drawn and animated, you really can’t blame him!

Haya isn’t just their chaperon on their trip, but also their driver. When they arrive at the sisters’ vacant grandmother’s house, it’s a little stuffy, but it has an engawa that opens up to the sea, and Ganta and Isaki are able to have a quiet little moment together before Haya is yelling about toilet paper. She proceeds to act as an agent of chaos throughout the evening, getting Ganta to say Isaki’s name, and drawing on Isaki’s napping face.

But there’s a method to Haya’s madness: she drew on Isaki to delay her on purpose, so she could speak to Ganta one-on-one. Growing up, Haya was constantly being neglected in favor of the smaller, younger, and far more fragile Isaki. Resentment was Haya’s constant companion.

Haya, who is surprised when Ganta says he knows about Isaki’s heart, then asks if it’s true “what she heard” about Isaki trying to hook up with him. He answers honestly that he’s not sure he can take her words about him being “special to her” to necessarily mean romantic love. Haya is impressed by his answer, but then warns him not to get involved with her sister.

She says Isaki already knows how “different from the norm” she is and doesn’t need anyone feeling sorry for her. Ganta, turning direct and serious as he fights back his blushing, assures Haya he’s never once felt sorry for Isaki. Instead, he’s thought she was cool (which she is) and is someone who “shines very brightly” in his eyes.

Haya learns what it means for someone to shine in his eyes when Ganta invites her to look into the camera and she sees the dull podunk town she despises looking gorgeous and idyllic. Isaki then tells her sister Ganta’s pretty amazing.

The next morning, Haya is off. She says she’s going to meet up with her boyfriend, and maybe she is, but she’s also leaving because she saw and heard all she needed to know get a good measure of Ganta. That said, she still orders Isaki not to tell their folks she split, and the sisters end up waking Ganta up with their rambunctious roughhousing.

Haya doesn’t treat Isaki like this because she hates her sister; quite the contrary. As she prepares to drive off, she tells Ganta one more story: of how she watched with resentment as her shrimpy, slow sister ran in a race and was helped to the finish line by her peers. Watching her be pampered and cheered on made Haya sick.

But then Haya saw Isaki bawling her eyes out into a tree, saying “this sucks”. At no point did Isaki feel like she was being pampered, or like how she was being treated differently. So from then on, Haya vowed to be the one person in Isaki’s life who wouldn’t treat her like a pity case.

Isaki also never tells anyone about her heart problems. I doubt she’s even told her girlfriends, as close as they are. But that she told Ganta tells Haya a lot about how Isaki feels about him. There’s love, but also trust. And so in a simple little ceremony, Haya has Ganta high-five him, serving as a tag-out. She’s leaving Isaki in his care.

After Isaki appears to give Haya a curt goodbye, Haya drives off, and Isaki and Ganta are alone at last in the rural peace and quiet. Only they’re late for their bus, so they have to skip breakfast and end up in a mad scramble to gather all their stuff—an adorable little preview of their future domestic life.

My Dress-Up Darling – 09 – You Can Be Anyone

As Wakana and Marin collaborate over how her Black Lobelia cosplay will come together, Marin snaps a pic of herself in a swimsuit, the bottoms of which will need to have a high waist to resemble Lobelia’s. The thing is, she didn’t really need to wear the swimsuit top as well…that was for Wakana’s benefit!

When she comes to his place wearing that imported high-waisted swimsuit, she’s also fully prepared to change in front of Wakana, having even worn a fancy bra she wants him to see her in. Her teasing makes Wakana supes uncomfortable, but the tables are turned nicely when it turns out she wasn’t wearing the bra she thought she was.

If Wakana and Marin haven’t quite established boundaries for how much Marin should show Wakana, this incident should at least temper her forwardness in future, especially seeing how upset Wakana got, even insisting she not touch him and leave him be. It’s not explicitly stated, but I assume both the pics she sent and the in-person teasing was making him…let’s say overly aroused, considering how he tries to keep his back to her. As he puts it, “…a lot happened.”

I’d be, like, deffo shocked if this series didn’t get a second cour, but the fact there are only three episodes left after this one means it had to fast-forward to the completion of the Shion and Black Lobelia costumes. Sajuna is amazed and delighted at the craftsmanship, fit, and attention to detail Wakana brought to the table. Being a cosplay veteran, Sajuna can also give Wakana clear and detailed feedback regarding things like the floofiness of her skirt and the weight of her cape.

Marin is in awe of Sajuna’s commentary, wishing she “sounded like [she] actually knew what she was talking about”. Indeed, when she tries on her Black Lobelia corset dress, she pushes herself too hard to come up with constructive comments and ends up going with various forms of “super insane!”, which while not overly detailed, is still accurate!

Sajuna proves a valuable source of information for all-things-cosplay, recommending Marin switch to a lighter foundation and blue color corrector, as well as giving Wakana the idea to use cosplay tape to make her eyes look more Lobelia-ish. Once her makeup, white wig and contacts are on, Marin is so shocked by her appearance, she asks if she was alwaysBlack Lobelia all along!

The day of the group shoot at the old hospital, the weather is dark and gloomy, but Sajuna assures Marin that it will all work out, and the two chat about their mutual love of Flower Princess Blaze! and take a selfie together while waiting for Wakana and Shinju, who are later than they expected. When the two finally arrive, Marin and Sajuna are shocked at what they see.

That something harkens back to the day they scouted the hospital, after Sajuna and Marin took off for the day. Before Shinju leaves, Wakana asks her upfront if she actually does want to cosplay after all. Sure enough, she does, but is so self-conscious about her body size and shape she was worried her sister would hate her.

Wakana may not have known Sajuna long, but he’s awfully sure she’d never judge Shinju for wanting to cosplay. He says if she really wants to cosplay,  he’ll do everything he can to help her, and even keep it a secret from the others until the day of the shoot. Here’s the twist: the Blaze! character Shinju wants to cosplay is Shion’s big brother, Souma.

This presents a new and unique challenge for Wakana in more ways than one. First, Shinju’s feminine curves and substantial chest needs to somehow disappear to make the cosplay work. Second, Shinju is just a middle schooler and has no part-time job to fund this cosplay, so they have to pinch pennies where they can.

Fortunately, Wakana’s school uniform resembles Souma’s from the show, and with help from a traditional sarashi wrap, a surprisingly inexpensive chest binder, and dollar-store makeup, the project price was successfully kept down. Where they can’t really skimp is the wig, and while Sajuna initially thinks he’ll cut and style it without hesitation, she lets out a relieved laugh when she realizes his nervous about messing up.

Wakana assures her that there are plenty of things he can’t do, but when it comes to cosplay, he’s learning how to do a lot of new things. That’s not just thanks to Shinju and Sajuna, but Marin, who got him into it in the first place. Like Shinju with him, Wakana put Marin on top of a high pedestal, assuming she didn’t have troubles like he did. Then he got to know her, and learned she has the same feelings he does, both happiness and frustrations.

Wakana’s extended love-rant of Marin (who goes unnamed) leads to him assuring Shinju that while you may not be able to look inside people, practically everyone “has a lot going on”. With that, he takes the scissors to the Souma wig and has at it, then takes the pointers he’s learned from Sajuna to transform Shinju into a real-live Souma.

I love how a clear look at the final product is kept from us, and Souma!Shinju is only revealed in all his cool manly glory when Wakana and Shinju show up to the shoot. For a second, Sajuna and Marin think Souma has come to life to join them!

When Sajuna realizes it is indeed Shinju, and Shinju’s hands tremble as she starts to explain how she wanted to cosplay too, Sajuna takes those hands into hers like the loving, caring big sister she is and proceeds to lose all of the eloquence she had about describing Shion’s cosplay. Instead she sounds more like Marin, overcome by amazement such that she can only say Shinju looks amazing…also accurate!

Marin joins in the simplistic but heartfelt and ebullient praise, asking Shinju point-blank “where’d your boobies go?” Shinju answers in her cute, delicate Shinju voice and her girly smile, which causes further amusement and delight from Marin. Just as when she cosplayed the stoic Shizuku-tan and put her own stamp on it with her big Kitagawa Marin smile, the Souma cosplay matched with Shinju’s individual traits make for a unique and irresistible look.

Marin snaps a group selfie to commemorate this amazing day when not only she gets to cosplay with the legendary Juju-sama, but Shinju finally joins her sister like she always wanted to but was too scared. All she needed was a little gentle nudge from someone who didn’t want her to deprive herself of becoming someone she loved (Souma) out of regard for someone else she loved (Sajuna). As expected, Sajuna couldn’t be happier her sister is cosplaying beside her.

I’m also glad the photo includes Wakana smiling proudly in the background, his quality handiwork on full display. It’s truly beautiful and heartwarming to see all four main cast in the same pic, having an absolute blast. Not that he’d ever abandon his hina doll calling, but if for some reason that didn’t work out, he already has a lucrative fallback job in the custom cosplay business!

My Dress-Up Darling – 08 – Love at First Fries Thrown at Hawk

Wakana is impressed and Marin is in awe of how talented and mature Sajuna’s little sister Shinju is, and how adept and knowledgeable she is about photography. By the same measure, Shinju really comes out of her shell when bombarded with questions about something she loves to do.

Indeed, Shinju resembles a magical girl with her complex flowing locks when she brightens up about how much she loves her sister and the “Juju-sama” identity she created for her. Despite looking the part, Sajuna ironically has no interest in cosplaying herself at the moment, wanting to focus on taking photos of her sister.

Chatting with Sajuna gives Marin and Wakana a lot to think about going forward with their own cosplay photography venture. Wakana in particular really gets loud when he finds out how expensive cameras that don’t even come with lenses can cost, which in turn causes Marin to burst out laughing, since Wakana is so rarely so loud!

The four really hit it off, to the point Sajuna invites Marin and Wakana to join her and Shinju as they scout an abandoned hospital that resembles the place in the anime where Shion does some soul-searching. Marin and Shinju run ahead and have a lively conversation about lighting, but Wakana stays back as he notices Sajuna doesn’t do very well at all in dark, creepy places.

He offers to scout the place for her, worried she’s pushing too hard, but Sajuna tells him straight up she has to do this. She asks him what his dream is for the future, and Wakana has it locked and loaded: the guy who paints the faces of Hina dolls. Sajuna admits it’s a beautiful dream, then tells him hers: to be a magical girl. As she grew older she learned that magical girls were make-believe, but then one day in middle school she discovered one could cosplay as Shion.

She snatched up the pre-made dress in the store, locked herself in her room, and donned the ill-fitting costume with a sloppy wig and no makeup. As Sajuna recalls, it looked awful, but at the same time, she’d never felt happier. Her dream had come true! Then, much later, after she’d been established as a social media cosplay star (thanks to Shiju), she found those photos of Marin in the Shizuku-tan cosplay Wakana made…and she was jealous.

Sajuna surprised herself with this jealousy, but knew she had to find the person who made Marin’s outfit and have them make one for her. Sajuna struggles with the words to describe how she felt, but settles on “love at first sight,”, which not only resonates with Wakana, but takes him back to that very same pivotal moment when he first laid eyes on his gramps’ dolls.

He knew right then and there he wanted to follow in his footsteps. A weeping Wakana takes Sajuna’s hand to thank her, unaware that since she attends an all-girls school and has never held a boy’s hand! Combined with her lingering fear of the abandoned hospital they’re in, she promptly passes out!

I for one was charmed and moved by Sajuna’s story, and loved how it butted up against Wakana’s since both of them can track their passions back to their exact moment of origin. But as much as I’ve come to love the Inui sisters, I was also miffed by the relative lack of Marin-and-Wakana time. Thankfully, the remaining third of the episode is all them, as they go to the beach after school.

It takes a minute for Wakana to realize there’s no practical purpose for going there, nor any reason related to their cosplay venture. Marin just wanted to go to the beach…specifically with the man she wuvs (not that Wakana is aware of that yet).

The two deal with a hawk stealing Marin’s burger, then they share the second one (which technically counts as indirect kisses). Then Marin ditches her socks and wades in the cool water, and when Wakana joins her she learns he’s never been to the beach.

Wakana is happy he came, which is to say he’s happy Marin brought him, since it fulfills his gramps’ wish that he’d get out in the world and observe more to become a better dollmaker. Tickled pink by Wakana’s sentiments and how she helped him experience something for the first time, Marin blurts out that she wants to invite him everywhere this coming summer…just the two of them.

And while I’m not 100% sure Wakana fully understands that heartily agreeing and stating how happy it makes him essentially means he and Marin are going steady now, I’m sure he’ll find out before long. Even if Marin runs away to hide her red blushing face, shocked, surprised, and delighted that she managed to say what she said. We’ve got ourselves some solid forward momentum!

My Dress-Up Darling – 07 – Like, the Best Thing Ever

Marin really wants to do a group cosplay with Sajuna, even offering to share the expensive studio fees for the shoot. So does Wakana, for that matter, whom Sajuna learns is responsible for Marin’s cosplay makeup. When Sajuna still looked reluctant, Marin did something I’m very appreciative of: she backed off, telling Sajuna to forget about it.

Marin sensed Sajuna wasnt comfortable, and gave her an out rather than keep the pressure on. But the more Sajuna saves on studio fees, the more she can put into her outfits, so she agrees to collaborate “just this once” (it won’t be just this once).

Its not just saving money thought; Sajuna wants to work with someone as dedicated to their craft and detail-oriented as Wakana, who wants to watch every episode of Blaze!! to get a better handle on Shion and Neon. Marin happens to have all 126 episodes on DVD; Wakana just has to come by her place to collect them.

Back home, Wakana is worried about his Gojou Doll skills suffering, but his gramps assures him he’s improved, and his once-stiff strokes have softened. Clearly happy his grandson has met someone, he tells Wakana that he’ll have to observe more than just dolls so be good at making them.

The next day Wakana arrives so early that Marin’s doorbell essentially wakes her up, and she comes to the door with neither a bra nor her color contacts—which I didn’t even know she wore! Naturally, she’s embarrassed far more by the latter, as she’s already upset Wakana’s seen her without her makeup.

Marin is a teenager and takes great pride in the appearance she crafts for the outside world, but she’ll soon come to realize that neither contacts nor makeup matter to Wakana…and despite her thinking he’d never notice she’s not wearing a bra, well…he does, Marin…he does. At any rate, I love her natural dark brown eyes, and I’m sure Wakana does too!

Wakana is so nervous about being in a girl’s house for the first time he’s on the cusp of hurling in Marin’s genkan, but Marin won’t let him simply collect the DVDs and skedaddle, especially when he came bearing fancy pudding. She invites him to her very loud, anime-and-eroge-dominated bedroom to watch the DVDs together.

What results is some of the sweetest few minutes of pure bliss this side of Takagi-san. Wakana, whom Marin is on record as wuving, is not only sitting beside her and watching the anime but actually getting into it. She’s so happy she doesn’t want the moment to end. It’s so adorable and relatable, since there’s nothing like watching (or doing!) something you love with someone you love.

Marin’s Cloud Status falls from Nine to Zero when her stomach lets out a great groan, but even that is an opportunity to move the home date into the kitchen. Wakana initially says he’ll take care of dinner, as always, but kudos for Marin for pushing back and saying no, you’ve cooked enough for me, it’s my turn to feed you!

And while Marin is definitely not going to win any Shokugans, the show doesn’t mock her lack of professional culinary skills, but simply portrays the process of cooking for someone you love (or in her case, wuv) organically. She’s so nervous when he takes his first bite of “omurice” (which he assumes is just fried rice with some egg). But despite how it looks, it actually tastes great! And she knows Wakana is not one to lie about such things!

After Marin and Wakana laugh and cry through the rest of Blaze!! (or at least a good chunk of the run), we rather abruptly shift back to Wakana’s house as he has a combination voice and video call with Sajuna about her Black Lily cosplay. It’s here we learn that despite their very unfortunate start, these two make a good team.

Sajuna in particular is impressed by Wakana’s detailed schematics of the costume, especially when she learns that Marin’s Shizuku-tan was his very first project. She clearly feels it’s just not fair that he’s this good this soon. But Wakana knows he still has plenty of room for improvement, and also wants to learn more about photographing Marin.

So does Marin, for that matter, and for that Sajuna has them meet her little sister Shinju, who is only smaller in years, since she’s almost 5’11” despite being in middle school (compared to Marin, who is just over 5’4″). Shinju is as shy as she is statuesque, but despite Marin being a little too loud about it, she has nothing to fear from her and Wakana.

They, on the other hand, have everything to learn about cosplay photography, since Shinju is clearly very talented if she’s Juju’s photographer. While I’m hoping Wakana starts to pick up on Marin’s vibes, I’m still looking forward to the non-romantic part of the series that remains, involving getting better at this whole cosplay thing by collaborating with two of the best in the business.

My Dress-Up Darling – 06 – True Wuv and Black Lily

First Marin was called beautiful by someone who doesn’t use that word lightly. Then it dawned on her when she looked into Wakana’s eyes while they were washing her wig in his laundry room, one of the most adorably domestic things to do imaginable. That “it” is the realization that she’s developed feelings for Wakana. That’s how it goes sometimes!

That closeness she feels towards him only gets closer when she meets his gramps (who is clearly relieved the stockings weren’t his grandson’s) and is welcomed to their table for dinner. There, Wakana and his gramps learn that Marin’s idea of “eating well” is…a bit of a stretch! But watching Wakana interact with his gramps about her outfit and also being an ace cook only endears him to her more.

We also learn that both Wakana and Marin’s moms are dead, and since Marin’s dad is always away for work, she basically lives by herself. Gramps invites her to come by for dinner from now on, and Wakana doesn’t object. Just like that, the two are so much closer than they were even when he was taking her measurments. On the train ride home, Wakana’s words “we weren’t doing anything inappropriate” linger in her thoughts. “What if we did, though?” she rebuts.

I like how this episode didn’t just jump into the next cosplay project for Marin, but instead explored how quickly they’re becoming the most important people in each others’ lives. It’s also the opportunity to introduce Inui Sajuna, whom Wakana meets in the worst possible way. Wakana, likely unaccustomed to knocking in his own house, is also worried his gramps let a con artist into the house. Instead, he let a soaked Sajuna use their bath so she wouldn’t catch cold…and Wakana barges right in and sees everything.

The two seem to get over that initial unpleasantness when Sajuna asks to see the “outfits” and Wakana, like gramps, assumes she means those of the dolls. Sajuna is charmed by the etheral beauty of said dolls, but suddenly changes gears and gets back on track for her true reason for visiting the shop: she wants Wakana to make her a cosplay outfit.

She starts by threatening to report him to the police for being a peeping tom, only to explain she found out where he lived by stalking him and Marin. So really, Wakana has the stronger case should the police get involved.

Fortunately they don’t, but Marin does when she shows up for her now regularly-scheduled din-din with the guy she’s decided she not only loves, but wuvs. Her shock at Wakana hosting a tiny girl wearing his shirt is soon dissipated when she realizes Sajuna is “Juju”, one of her favorite cosplay idols, who is actually a year older than both of them despite her size.

Sajuna wants Wakana to craft for her the outfit Black Lily, from her favorite magical girl anime. To Sajuna’s surprise, Marin is not only a big fan of Black Lily, but also knows everything there is to know about said anime. Marin further endears herself to Sajuna by assuring her she’d never cosplay as Black Lily, because she’s the kind of cosplayer, like Sajuna, who only chooses characters she resembles in both appearance and demeanor.

When Sajuna first saw the pics of Marine-as-Shizuku-tan, she assumed that Marin was just an “annoying bitch” who dressed up as characters she thought were cute. Now that she knows they share a deeper passion for the practice, Sajuna openly sobs in apology, though of course Marin has no idea what’s going on.

Marin also wants to be Black Lily’s sister and arch-nemesis Neon, and while Sajuna quickly shuts down the idea of cosplaying together in a heartbeat, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ultimately do collaborate not too far down the road.

Sajuna is also the indispensible “third character who can see what’s going on,” as she assures Marin she only wants Wakana’s contact info for the purposes of making her outfit. She assumes, this time not unfairly, that the two are dating. Upon hearing this, Wakana turns beet-red and loses it, telling Sajuna he’s never “gone steady” with anyone.

Hearing this is music to Marin’s ears, as she also assumed (for some reason) that Wakana was spoken for. She’s absolutely delighted that he isn’t. While things didn’t start smoothly (or G-rated) for Wakana and Sajuna, I’m looking forward to, well, all of this: Marin dealing with her powerful crush, Wakana hopefully coming to some kind of realization of his own vis-a-vis Marin, and Sajuna continuing to barely tolerate the pair’s blinding adorableness.

My Dress-Up Darling – 05 – I Seriously Can’t!

The longer Kitagawa is in her new Shizuku-tan cosplay, the more she notices how perfectly Gojou got all the details, and the more giddy she gets. She’s just overflowing with pure joy to the point she starts shouting “I can’t! I seriously can’t right now!” until Gojou helps her calm down. Dude did good!

Invoking Kitagawa’s unbridled elation means its hard at first for her to pose as Shizuku-tan for the first series of photos, since her natural inclination is to flash her trademark gleaming smile and a peace sign. While she deems these photos “sorta hilarious”, once she gets Shizuku’s more serious look down, she gets a bunch of great shots she immediately posts under the hastily chosen cosplay alias Marine.

She’s so happy and excited, she decides she wants to attend tomorrow’s cosplay event after all. And why not? Gojou got the job done on schedule! At first he’s extremely self-conscious and even on the verge of panic when suddenly being among so many people dressed as their favorite characters. Kitagawa gets it, and once they go to a more chill section of the event, he begins to enjoy himself, surrounded as he is by people doing what they love.

He did such a good job on his first try, Kitagawa soon gets a huge line of photographers, many with much nicer cameras than her phone. Kitagawa is so incredibly psyched that people want to take her photo. Gojou hangs back, suddenly realizing that with his promise fulfilled, this will be the end of hanging out with Kitagawa…the big dork! But then Kitagawa suddenly looks panicked, looks around, then flashes a huge smile and starts running towards Gojou when she spots him.

Not only was she worried he’d disappeared on her, but she kinda messed up, deciding to wear two “NuBras” to enhance her bust even more, resulting in her boob bag being close to bursting. Add to that the summer heat and the thickness of the higher-quality fabric, and Kitagawa almost gets heatstroke. Gojou gets her into some air conditioning, and there Kitagawa demonstrates the trust she has in Gojou by having him unzip her back and even wipe the profuse sweat from her back.

Gojou is understandably nervous about such close contact with Kitagawa, but notes that this is no time to panic; Kitagawa is so hot she can barely move, and is relying on him to help her. Once she’s feeling better, she shows just how nice a person she is when she returns to the plaza and tracks down the last woman in line so she can get some shots…including some unplanned upskirts that show the tally marks Kitagawa hand-drew on her inner thighs for extra Shizuku-tan authenticity (the lady deletes these shots).

Kitagawa and Gojou are blessed with a near-empty train car on their way home. Gojou, feeling bittersweet about their last day together coming to an end, formally thanks Kitagawa for everything. She thanks him back…then subverts his assumption by asking what they should do for her next cosplay. Obviously, this was never the end of anything; it’s only the beginning for these two.

As the sun gets lower, Gojou betrays his fatigue by starting to nod off. I was expecting him to fall into Kitagawa’s lap, but instead, he drowsily tells her she was “very beautiful” at the event, thinking not about her posing as Shizuku-tan, but when she spotted him and ran to him beaming. Kitagawa remembers Gojou saying he never uses the words “pretty” or “beautiful” unless he “absolutely feels it from the heart”, realizes it’s no casual compliment, and cannot mask her bashfulness.

Fortunately for her, Gojou has nodded off and doesn’t see this face. But if he did, he’d surely turn just as red.  So ends another tremendously sweet and uplifting episode of one of the most joyful and beautiful animes of the season. Honestly—and I mean this in the same way Kitagawa does—I can’t…I seriously can’t with this show!

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