Classroom of the Elite – S3 11 – Warmth through Contact

This week’s opening quote, from the 19th century French writer Stendhal, states There is only one rule in love: bring happiness to those you love. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was born in the “White Room” facility. It was run by his father, who made it a point to tell his underlings not to go easy on his son, even if it broke him.

Ayanokouji was raised without love or happiness. One day Sakayanagi Arisu visited the facility with her father, who loved her and encouraged her to love others. She spotted Ayanokouji playing chess from the observation gallery, and she was immediately smitten, vowing to one day face off against him.

That day has finally arrived thanks to the circumstances of the final special exam, and while Ayanokouji is his usual neutral self, Arisu having an absolute blast. Class C jumps to a 3-2 lead with wins in basketball, typing, and archery, while Class A secures wins in English and Math.

When the Mental Math subject comes up, Kouenji doesn’t take it seriously despite likely knowing all the answers, and Class C loses. Ayanokouji took a calculated risk and accepted that he wouldn’t be able to control every element in the exam. This leads to a 3-3 tie.

The deciding subject is chess, of course, and not even Ayanokouji could convince Arisu that it isn’t destiny that they face off against one another in the final game. That said, they are represented at the physical chess board by their proxies, Suzune and Hashimoto.

The two novices begin play on their own, with Suzune only learning a week ago and Hashimoto only a few months earlier. The latter tries to psych Suzune out by talking about Ayanokouji, but she already prepared for that eventuality. Arisu starts issuing instructions first, and for a few tense moments, Suzune is left hanging, but then Ayanokouji issues her instructions, and the real match begins.

Unfortunately, the animation of Suzune and Hashimoto as well as the chess board itself are rendered in somewhat stiff and plasticky CGI. This was most likely a cost-saving measure, but I suppose I’ve seen worse, and it didn’t pull me out of the game. In fact, I was spellbound as the game went on and each move gained more importance.

To Suzune’s distress, Arisu ends up winning, but later she learns the match was rigged: an instruction Ayanokouji sent to Suzune was edited by Tsukishiro, likely on orders from Ayanokouji’s dad. While he loses, the protection point prevents him from expulsion. That’s no solace for Arisu, who is disgusted by the interference, and promises Tsukishiro that he’ll “pay a high price.” I’m just glad Tsukishiro didn’t knock her over again.

The adults can’t keep our two scheming geniuses down, however; they replay the match as it unfolded in person the library, but this time, with none of his moves edited, Ayanokouji beats Arisu. He probably would beat her every time. She’s satisfied with the result, and more importantly glad to have gotten closure on their competition. It’s her loss, and she can live with that.

But it’s also her gain, because she was finally able to compete against the boy she saw in that cold, loveless White Room, and learn something in the process: his genius wasn’t and isn’t artificial or manufactured, but simply a product of his birth, like hers. She likens herself to a childhood friend pining for someone she wasn’t able to find, but now she has, and she’s elated.

Arisu is positively glowing for this final scene, and Hidaka Rina’s voice has never been kinder, gentler, or prettier. She admits that she chose to be a captain so she could spend as much time beside him as possible. And since he showed her he was a true genius, she tenderly takes his hand in both of hers and impresses upon him the importance of the warmth of human contact.

In the end, Arisu wasn’t some conniving mastermind hell-bent on destroying Ayanokouji, but a surprisingly sweet, emotionally intelligent girl in love who refuses to accept that anyone—not even unquestioned geniuses—can survive without love, warmth, and happiness. Is Ayanokouji is truly beyond saving, or is there still hope he may one day grow a heart in that chest of his? I’m sure if you asked Arisu, she’d say anything is possible.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 05 – Unbreakable Ichinose Honami

Ichinose’s Class B defenders nearly come to blows with Hashimoto, whom they accuse of spreading awful rumors. Even Ayanokouji admits he suspects him, but clearly isn’t looking for a fight. Shiina defuses he situation, but the same day Ichinose returns to class, Sakayanagi barges in flanked by Hashimoto and Kamuro to inform Class B that she has proof that the rumor about Ichinose being a criminal is true.

Rather than allow Sakayanagi to continue influencing the class, Ichinose takes her fate into her own hands. She stands before the class and admits she was a criminal. Four years ago, her sister badly wanted an expensive (~$200) hairpin worn by her favorite idol. When their mother worked too many shifts, collapsed, and was hospitalized, and no one would hire a middle schooler for part-time work, Ichinose stole the hairpin from the store.

While she knew it was wrong, her sister’s smiling face gave her comfort and cover to ignore the guilt eating away from within. But when her mother saw the pin and knew Ichinose stole it, the smiles turned to tears and her guilt became an open wound. She withdrew to her room for months, letting the wound fester, but her mom urged her in a note not to give up on her dream of high school. She worked up the strength to leave her room, got back to work, and started fresh.

Back in the present, Ichinose apologizes for being such a bad leader, but her classmates don’t believe she is. Having heard her full story, they can relate to the circumstances that led to her crime, and are happy she trusted them enough to share her secret with them. Then Sakayanagi raps her cane on the floor and says “shoplifting is shoplifting”, saying Ichinose doesn’t deserve their sympathy.

Ichinose then agrees with Sakayanagi, and admits that maybe all her hard work came from a “place of pretend virtue.” Even if all that is true, and her sin will never go away, Ichinose wants to graduate with her classmates and friends, and gives a tearful and moving appeal to come with her to the very end. Her classmates all agree that they will.

As Sakayanagi’s little gambit to destroy Ichinose grows weaker and weaker in the face of Class B’s stalwart unity and Ichinose’s genuine contrition, the last nail in the coffin is the arrival of President Nagumo flanked by two teachers. Leaving aside who reported what to them, they know about the rumors, and put forth a stern warning that anyone caught spreading them will be punished.

Now that the adults are involved, Sakayanagi gracefully withdraws, but not before casting her lovely gaze on Ayanokouji. Later she congratulates him on a game splendidly played, and he admits he got her to confess her past to her when he visited her in her room. When she asked him how she could leave that room, he told her she’d just have to face what she’s done head-on. Touyama Nao puts on a powerhouse vocal performance throughout the episode, and particularly powerful here.

Ayanokouji calmly tells Sakayanagi that he shattered Ichinose’s heart, the part of it that broke healed stronger than before, allowing her to survive Sakayanagi’s assault. As for Kamuro, he knew all along Sakayanagi sent her to him, because the beer she “stole” was the same one she gave Sakayanagi, something he could tell from the sell-by date.

Sakayanagi puts her cards on the table: she launched an attack on Ichinose and drew him into it with Kamuro just to get him “interested” in her, because she wants to have a proper competition with him. If he wins in the next exam, she’ll be expelled. But if she wins, she’ll tell everyone he’s the Mastermind of Class C.

That night, Ayanokouji has one more meeting with a pretty girl: Kushida, who provided him with all of the dirt on the students in exchange for a payment of half of all his points going forward. Ayanokouji then gave that information to Vice President Kiriyama for distribution on the message boards, warning him if he didn’t comply he’d tell Manabu that Kiriyama flipped his allegiance to Nagumo.

So while Kushida provided the dirt, Ayanokouji is the one who had it circulated among the classes … including the info about Ichinose, along with the rumor about him having a crush on Kei. He did it all for the primary purpose of determining the quality and quantity of Kushida’s information, as part of a larger effort to eventually compel her expulsion.

No doubt Ichinose’s heart would break all over again if she found out Ayanokouji was the source of the rumor. Or maybe not, as the next we see her she is significantly more cheerful and lighter of foot. It’s thanks to him she was able to gather herself enough to put her old demons to rest.

But like Ichinose’s theft, Ayanokouji did what he did, and it harmed her. Whether he tells her he’ll always offer an ear to listen should she need one to make up for the harm he caused her or to just maintain good relations with a valuable ally, his offer gives Ichinose the courage to do one more thing: give him a box of belated Valentine’s Day chocolates.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 04 – A Man Cut Out for Zeroes

Valentine’s Day has arrived, and with it a lot of futile anticipation among the “losers.” Indeed, in Ayanokouji’s class Yousuke is the only one who gets a bunch of chocolates. He personally couldn’t care less, oblivious to the fact Kei is looking forward to their next meeting for that purpose.

He also checks in on Suzune (who also doesn’t care about chocolate) and her progress with Kikyou. Apparently after persistent inviting she got Kikyou to meet her at a mall café. Suzune still thinks friendship, or at the very least détente, is possible.

After school Ayanokouji has Kei meet him outside so as not to attract unwanted attention, but they have it anyway: Hashimoto is watching him, having heard during the training camp that Ayanokouji was Hanabi’s favorite and that he was responsible for Ryuen’s downfall.

While Kei was hoping Ayanokouji wanted to meet her today to exchange chocolate, he only really wanted to know if she knew the number that called him. It’s not in her contacts, but she promises to look into it. She then gives him chocolates she claims she bought for Yousuke but didn’t want to go to waste.

Kei is clearly happy to hear he didn’t receive chocolates from anyone else, and tells him he can think of her as his “emergency backup.” From his distance, Hashimoto can’t make out what they’re saying, but it sure looks like it’s just “romantic stuff” and nothing more.

But Hashimoto isn’t in Class A for nothing, and decides to go in for a closer look. Ayanokouji and Kei play it cool, implementing what is either a designated plan for instances like this, or they’re just that locked in a duo. Kei starts by saying she merely needed a random guy to give the chocolates originally meant for Yousuke.

When Hashimoto is still suspicious, Ayanokouji tells Kei to tell the truth to avoid trouble later. She then says she was giving it to Ayanokouji so he would give it to the guy she really likes. It’s a pretty good gambit, but as soon as Hashimoto hears Kei isn’t interested in Ayanokouji, he wall slams her and asks her out.

At this point Ayanokouji peaces out, but before he leaves Kei twisting in the February wind, she’s able to separate herself from Hashimoto and leave before him. Hashimoto then asks Ayanokouji for his number, and he obliges.

That night Ayanokouji prepares some rice porridge as he surveys the five boxes of chocolates he got from girls, among them Haruka and Airi (and perhaps Satou Maya as well?). But the purpose of the porridge is the only girl he intends to visit on Valentine’s night: Ichinose Honami, whom Kei reported was still holed up in her apartment.

Through the intercom, he can tell she’s not feeling well. She greets him in a mask, and invites him in provided he wears one too. She’s grateful for the porridge, admitting she doesn’t remember the last time she’s eaten. She puts on a brave front, but Ayanokouji knows that even if she caught a cold randomly, the stress of the rumors are affecting her immune system.

The next day, a surprise attack on Ayanokouji’s class is launched. The message boards are filled with scandalous rumors: Ayanokouji has a crush on Kei; Hondo is only into big girls; Shinohara was a prostitute; Maya hates Onodera, and so one.

The person in the class most interested in reveling in and propagating these rumors happens to be Yamauchi, the potato-faced NPC whom Arisu asked to speak to last week. He of the most punchable face takes the rumors as fact and rubs them in the subjects’ faces, much to their consternation.

Ayanokouji flatly denies his crush (which we know to be the unvarnished truth), and as he sits beside Suzune she laments that something like this should happen just when they were starting to enjoy a measure of class unity.

Was this action sanctioned by Arisu as a way to further provoke Class C into A’s clash with B? Was it a matter of Hashimoto taking the initiative? Whatever the case, it’s definitely made things interesting.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 02 – First Blood

The Mixed Training Camp is off to a rough start, with the misfit team’s leader Yukimura injuring his ankle and Kouenji once again going off on his own. Hashimoto takes care of Yukimura while Kiyotaka tries to get Kouenji to help out. Kouenji is well aware that Kiyotaka is strong enough to “tame the dragon”, i.e. Ryuuen. He assures him his secret is safe, but he’s going to continue doing what he pleases.

At least, for once, doing as he pleases helps the team to a degree, as the giant boar he catches becomes dinner for their team and the girls team that shares their dining area. Kiyotaka also lucks out when he alone sees a charm dropped by Asahina Nazuna. This gives him an excuse to talk to her, and learns she’s one of the only second-years who wouldn’t mind seeing President Nagumo taken down a peg. He asks her what happened when the girls divided into groups.

That night after lights out, Hashimoto proves his status as both a 1-A student and a born leader when he regales everyone with a self-deprecating and relatable story about his past. This leads Yukimura to speak up as well about how he was never good at athletics. When talking makes him tear up, the vulnerability actually wins him over with one of his harshest critics in Ishizaki. As it happens, everyone is awake, and it becomes a bonding experience for everyone.

The next time Kiyotaka gets a note from Kei, he checks on Manabe’s secretary, Tachibana Akane, who is crying off by herself but won’t tell him why, other than she’s worried about the former president always covering for everyone else, most recently in this duel with Nagumo. Kiyotaka tries to pry further, but Akane won’t reveal what else might be bothering her. Of course, Kiyotaka probably already knows.

The last day of camp arrives, and the team of misfits comports themselves well in zen, written, and speech tests. The only question mark is the mountain marathon, but even there, the order of runners ends up paying off, with those who are stronger runners running further than the minimum in order to protect Yukimura and his still-tender ankle. He ends up passing the sash to Kiyotaka, while it’s Kouenji who runs the final leg.

In the end, no one from the boys’ groups gets expelled because everyone finished above the borderline. Manabe’s group also outscored Nagumo’s, so it would seem he won, right? Well, not quite. Turns out Nagumo’s duel was only a distraction from his true goal. One of the girls’ groups, led by Ikari Momoko, ended up below the borderline. That means she is expelled, but she also gets to choose someone, and she chooses Akane.

Kiyotaka had learned from Asahina that Nagumo used girls loyal to his faction to create a group with the express purpose of taking out Manabe’s trusted secretary, and it worked like a charm. Manabe is caught off guard, but doesn’t hesitate to use his store of points to prevent Akane from expulsion, even if it threatens their Class A status. Akane was ready to be a good soldier, but Manabe wouldn’t hear of it.

In the end, it’s a strategic win for Nagumo, as the points Manabe had to spend to save Akane only came from his class, while Nagumo was able to pool all of Year 2’s points to save Ikari, thus taking a lesser hit to his store. The bottom line is that even if Akane was saved this time, Nagumo is dead-set on expelling a lot more students during his term, while Manabe can’t afford to bail anyone else out.

As Kiyotaka and Kei are talking about the results, they hear others approaching and Kiyotaka starts to take his leave. Kei asks him what he’d do if he were in Manabe’s position, and before she’s even done asking he assures her, with the sunset behind him, that he wouldn’t let her get expelled and would do whatever it took to save her.

I won’t pretend he’s saying that for any other reason than to keep her happy, loyal, and smitten more than a little with him, but I’m also not going to complain when his words cause Kei to make such a cute face.

Classroom of the Elite – S3 01 – Protecting Traditions

We pick back up with CotE on the way to a new special exam: a “mixed training camp” in the mountains, meant to inspire mental growth. Everyone is to be split along class year and gender lines, and the new groups will prepare for four distinct tests on the last day.

Groups that score high will earn both class and private points; but the leader and one person named by the leader of any group that scores below the borderline are both expelled. Hirata volunteers as central consultant for the boys; Suzune agrees to be the same for the girls, with Kushida as her sub-leader.

Like all previous exams, there’s opportunity for a shuffling of the Classes. Kiyotaka’s Class D is the new Class C, so it stands to reason if they comport themselves well in this exam they could challenge Class B. But due to the way the groups are formed, he knows he won’t be able to protect everyone in the class.

While the buses are unloaded of the students’ baggage, former student council president and Suzune’s brother Manabu is confronted by the current president, a supremely confident second-year Nagumo Miyabi, challenging him to a competition to see who can score more points. Manabu agrees, but only if he keeps third parties out of it.

Kiyotaka finds himself in a group with Yukimura, Koenji, two of Ryuuen’s former crew whom he beat the shit out of, and Hashimoto, Sakayanaki Arisu’s right-hand man. In this group full of “ruffians”, Kiyotaka notes that their inability to mesh or form tight bonds could bode poorly for their chances.

As for Suzune, she genuinely considers Kushida an untapped well of potential for Class C, and only asks that Kushida trust her. Unfortunately, Kushida has no intention of trusting her. She knows Suzune chose her so she could keep an eye on her, and is loath to cooperate beyond keeping up appearances.

Having floated over everyone from atop Class A all this time, it’s striking to see Sakayanaki Arisu get tripped by someone accidentally and fall to the ground. She shakes it off, as well as Kiyotaka’s offer to talk to the guy about it. She informs Kiyotaka that she’s suspending her campaign to crush him, instead focusing her eye on Class B and Ichinose Honami.

This should be interesting, as Kiyotaka and Honami have always been on cordial and even friendly terms; they even exchanged pleasantries during a meal (one of the few times boys and girls are allowed mix at the camp). Also intriguing is Arisu’s theory that all of Class B is using Honami’s personal account as a bank vault (hence the millions of points she has), and that everyone, even Honami, has a “dark side.”

Kiyotaka meets with Kei, who agrees to keep an eye on a list of individuals he gives her, through it might not be easy. Kiyotaka himself is then summoned to a secret meeting by Manabu, who is calling in his favor. He wants Kiyotaka to take out Nagumo Miyabi and install Suzune in his place.

He introduces him to the current vice president, Kiriyama Ikuto, who serves as Manabu’s mole. He serves willingly because like Manabu he values the traditions of the school above all else. They believe Nagumo wants to tear down the foundations of the school, leading to unprecedented expulsions.

While primarily setup, this CotE still establishes that patented CotE atmosphere, that makes an otherwise innocuous class field trip look and feel like a political summit with the very fate of the world at stake. As for whether newbies like Mei Yu Wang will play a key role, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Higehiro – 10 – A Warm Place

While Yoshida does his level best to hide it, Mishima and Hashimoto can tell he’s devastated by Sayu’s imminent departure, and how he’s mitigating it by trying to bury himself in his work. While he has many reasons to worry about the welcome Sayu will received from her mother upon returning to Hokkaido, her big brother Issa isn’t one of them.

Issa meets with Yoshida after work to bow in apology for the rude things he said the other day, while also asking him earnestly to continue taking care of Sayu in the time they have left together. He reveals how Sayu was their mother’s last best chance to keep their womanizing dad around, refusing to get an abortion. Alas, the asshole left them anyway.

Sayu’s mom wasn’t equipped to love a girl who was the symbol of her failure to keep the man she loved in her life, and so Sayu received no parental love whatsoever, something Issa believes every child needs. Honestly, it’s a wonder Sayu isn’t a lot more scarred.

While it’s nice to be reminded that Sayu’s brother is a legit good guy, if what he’s said is true, Sayu’s mom may simply be incapable of loving Sayu—or if she does love her on a fundamental/biological level, has never been able to express it. Why would that change when she returns home?

Later, Sayu presents Yoshida with a parting gift: a hand-written and illustrated cookbook with all of his favorite dishes she’s made for him over time. I couldn’t help but let out a loud awwwwwww that a roommate must’ve thought was me reacting to a cute puppy video. It’s such a cute, warm gift, and filled with love.

Sayu’s next parting gift is to share with Yoshida the view Asami shared with her, along with the wisdom she imparted about how even the tiniest stares have pasts and futures. Asami accepted Sayu and became her first real girl friend, just as Yoshida took her in with only the best intentions when everyone before had the worst.

Sayu doesn’t see Yoshida as simply “some guy who shared his apartment with her” for a while. That she met him when she did may well have saved her life, and she’ll never forget that, looking back fondly on the time she stopped running away, settled down, and found a way back.

Sayu admits that she’s tried to leave a few times while Yoshida wasn’t home, but has been unable to do so. Ultimately, he means enough to her not to want to leave without saying a proper goodbye. Because in all honesty, she kinda wants to stay with him forever. But she can’t settle her past unless she goes home.

Ichinose Kana does some really lovely voice work here, and has indeed done much of the heavy lifting in a show that doesn’t have the best production values. She even moves Yoshida to tears, because a part of him doesn’t want her to leave, both because he fears what might go down in Hokkaido, and because he’s become so accustomed to her living with him. He’d no doubt say she saved him just as he saved her.

Back at work, the ever-practical Mishima, independent of her individual crusade to win Yoshida’s heart, says if it’s so unbearable to say goodbye to and part with Sayu, then mabe he shouldn’t, and should instead follow her to Hokkaido. Sure, it would mean leaving his job, but both Mishima and Hashimoto doubt he considers his job or whatever project he’s working on to be anywhere near as important to him as Sayu.

In fact, it pisses Hashimoto off to no end that Yoshida tries—badly—to pretend otherwise, like when Asami calls him saying Sayu has disappeared and isn’t answering her phone. It takes Hashimoto telling Airi that Yoshida are feeling sick and going home early, and Mishima taking over Yoshida’s work for the day, to get him out of there.

While giving him a ride, Hashimoto expresses to Yoshida how it pisses him off that his best friend knows what to care about the most, but pretending he doesn’t. As his best friend, Hashimoto knows what Yoshida won’t admit: wanting what’s best for Sayu, or wanting whatever will make her happy, and his own fear of being apart from her aren’t mutually exclusive.

Sayu is fine (don’t scare me like that, show!); her phone simply died while she was waiting outside Yoshida’s office to surprise him and see where he worked; he and Hashimoto must’ve just missed crossing paths with her. Airi and Asami are there with her, and Yoshida acts like a worried dad when he sees her. This marks the first time Hashimoto lays eyes on Sayu, and seeing her makes him immediately understand why Yoshida is scared of losing her.

That night, the very last night together in Yoshida’s apartment, Sayu asks if she can climb into bed with him. Not for anything weird, but just for some warmth and human contact between two people who have come to mean much more to each other than they’d initially expected.

Sayu asks if she’d have grown up into a “normal girl” if Yoshida had been her dad. Yoshida should’ve answered by saying there’s nothing abnormal about her, she’s a lovely person who has admirably hung in there under abnormal and suboptimal circumstances. Okay, maybe that’s a little too wonky for the mood of that scene.

But whether he had decided earlier that evening, or right there in that bed, Yoshida tells Sayu he’ll come to Hokkaido with her, to keep an eye on her and see her mom with her. Sayu can’t contain her elation upon hearing those words. There’s nothing wrong with going back home to settle your past, but there’s nothing saying you have to do it alone…particularly if you’re someone who’s experienced enough loneliness for a lifetime.

Higehiro – 05 – The Mysterious Woman

I love the series that can replicate the same butterflies in the viewer’s stomach that the characters have in a particular scene, such as when Yoshida takes Gotou to his place to see Sayu. They stop at a konbini first, where Gotou prepares an extravagant bag of drinks and snacks to break the ice.

It’s not like there was going to be any melodramatic blow-up between Gotou and Sayu, but the episode is always cognizant of how strange this particular scenario is without going too over the top with it. It’s an episode titled “Reality”, after all, so Gotou and Sayu’s meeting unfolds realistically.

Gotou also has Sayu send Yoshida off on a shopping errand in short order so they can talk in private as two women. Gotou asks simple and direct questions—where Sayu is from, how long ago she ran away—but also knows not to press when she asks a question Sayu isn’t ready to answer (why she ran). Another important question Sayu tries to consider is how long she intends to stay with Yoshida.

Gotou makes clear that no matter how hard or respectable Sayu is, a high school girl cannot escape the high-school girl label, so it’s best to use it to her benefit rather than detriment. Sayu admits that in the process of running she was probably looking for someone to tell her not to run away.

Before Yoshida, the men she let use her body in exchange for a place to stay were only enabling her. “Something inside me just went crazy”, and she couldn’t deny that, at times,  when they wanted her it made her feel good. Then she met Yoshida, who not only didn’t do anything to her, but said he’d set her straight.

Gotou may not have Sayu’s sexual experience, but she’s still a woman who was a teenager and knows how hard it was and is. So shetells Sayu she’s glad she found somewhere safe, and because she knows and trusts Yoshida, she thinks it’s fine to let him be nice to her…as long as it’s the right way.

Sayu knows she shouldn’t run from her past forever, and resolves to face it, leave Yoshida’s, and “go back to where I was”. But Gotou, gathering Sayu into a supportive hug, makes clear she should take her time facing what she needs to face, while accepting the kindness she needs to accept.

It’s such a staggeringly lovely and understated scene of empathy and sisterhood, with superb voice performances from Ichinose Kana and Kanemoto Hisato, it makes what goes on with Yoshida in the meantime that much more disappointing. Because he happens to run into Yuzuha…who has been stalking him and Gotou all night. Yikes!

It’s the first time on this show I didn’t quite buy a character’s behavior. After inviting herself to go shopping with Yoshida, she makes a scene at the station as if Yoshida were two-timing her. While she initially accepted that Sayu was living with him, she deems it “weird” for him to let Gotou and Sayu in the same room on a night she thought he and Gotou were spending the night.

While Yoshida could have cleared up matters rather quickly by simply telling Yuzuha that Gotou wanted to meet Sayu, and that was the sum total reason she went to Yoshida’s place, the fact remains Yuzuha is reacting to a situation she knows far too little abhout to make judgments.

Especially when she questions Yoshida’s “priorities” and doubts whether he actually loves Gotou, she seems motivated by her own jealous rather than genuine concern for him or Sayu. She is right about one thing, however: Yoshida is far too nice…in not more forcefully telling her off!

Before Yoshida returns home, Gotou makes clear to Sayu that she loves Yoshida and isn’t interested in anyone else, while Sayu confirms that Yoshida loves Gotou. Sayu is frustrated by Gotou’s “mysterious woman” act but still offers her blessing. Then Gotou puts some makeup on Sayu, partly so Sayu can feel better after her little cry, and partly to mess with Yoshida when he comes home.

Yoshida walks Gotou home, and learns that she and Sayu have a “hotline” if he tries anything. But Gotou is impressed by Sayu, whom she regards a a great girl. Yes, she’s a little unstable and “doesn’t understand herself at all”—but she’s a teenager, what else is new?—but she thinks it will all work out. After all, Yoshida is known by the bosses at work as the “problem-solver.”

With Gotou making clear her true feelings for Yoshida, it’s lookig likelier than ever that neither Yuzuha nor Sayu have a chance, should the latter end up truly falling for him. As for the introduction of a young man who works at the konbini with Asami , I’m desperately hoping he doesn’t turn out to be one of the men Sayu stayed with.

Higehiro – 04 – Protective Lies and Different Smiles

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I Shaved. Then I Brought a High School Girl Home. is a crap title. It reads more like a cheap hook for what this show isn’t, and so does the show it’s attached to a grave disservice. Hell, it’s not even accurate; his grooming habits didn’t improve until after he invites Sayu into her home. Basically any title would have been better than this. Fortunately, we can abbreviate the Japanese title to Higehiro, which at least rolls of the tongue, and leave it at that.

[Long Title Rant Over]

This week begins with Sayu begging Yoshida to let her get a job, then learning she never had to beg: he’s fully on board with her getting out of the apartment, keeping busy, and meeting new friends. Sayu gets a job at the local konbini, and immediately hits it off with her work senpai Yuuki Asami, who becomes the latest in this show’s much-appreciated procession of kind, thoughtful decent characters who feel and act like real people.

When talk of Sayu’s place comes up, Asami learns that Sayu is living with a man who isn’t her boyfriend, and invites herself over to check the guy out. When Yoshida gets Sayu’s text about her guest, Hashimoto learns Yuzuha also knows about Sayu, while on the other end of the office Gotou looks at the downward slope of the graph on her monitor also serving as a graph for her increasingly left-out mood.

Yoshida’s cramped apartment becomes even more so with the bold and expressive Asami there, but she’s immediately relieved that he seems like a good guy. And as an attractive high school girl, with all the unique experiences they face, her assessment, while quick, doesn’t seem rushed or half-assed. Both at school and work, she’s surely interacted with enough guys to know Yoshida is different.

As she stays for dinner, she also learns that Yoshida is incredibly lucky to share his home with a cute girl who is also a great cook. Asami has Yoshida walk her home, where she reveals she knew he and Sayu were lying about being old childhood friends, and asks him what the truth of their relationship is. Yoshida says not going to lie more, but he’s also not going to talk about things Sayu still wants to hide.

Hearing Yoshida be so considerate of Sayu’s feelings earns him more high marks in good-dudeness from Asami, who agrees to drop the matter and bring it up with Sayu when she thinks she’s more ready. She understands that while you choose who you get involved with, you can’t choose who you can meet, so it’s lucky when you meet a good one.

She’s certain both Yoshida and Sayu are good people, and looks forward to seeing more of them. Yoshida, in turn, asks Asami to be Sayu’s friend, just like a good dad. Asami’s only warning to Yoshida is to be careful, as “Sayu-chiso”, as she nicknamed her, is “really good at using different smiles.” Of course, we’re already aware Yoshida is aware of this, as he was able to see through some of Sayu’s smiles last week.

Sayu has a safe, comfortable, and supportive home, a new job and a new friend. The second half of the episode opens new opportunities for Yoshida, and I’m not talking about advancement at work. At the end of the day, Gotou approaches him, draws a bit closer than workplace sexual harrassment rules would probably be okay with, and takes him out for yakiniku.

They leave Yuzuha alone holding two cups of coffee; suddenly she’s the left-out one. Gotou doesn’t beat around the bush: she wants to know what’s been up with Yoshida, between all the time he’s spent with Yuzuha, passing up a work trip, and checking his phone all the time. While he’s under no obligation to answer any of that, he agrees to do so if, and only if, she answers his question: why is she so fixated on him?

That’s when, in between a lot of nervous fidgeting, that she actually likes him. When she said she had a long-term boyfriend, she was lying. Stating she (like Asami) has good intuition, she lied because while she was happy enough to jump for joy upon hearing he liked her, she didn’t think it was time, and was scared it wouldn’t go well.

Yoshida, who actually doesn’t have any reason to trust what Gotou is saying now, oversteps a boundary by saying she can prove she’s not lying about liking him…by sleeping with him. It oversteps because he’s not 100% lying. Only when he sees how flustered this makes her does he say he was only kidding. But she also admits the reason she was worried it wouldn’t work out: she’s a virgin.

Gotou’s behavior, from lying about having a boyfriend and confessing her feelings to revealing her virginity, could all feel like a goofy soap opera if handled improperly. But here’s the thing, it isn’t. None of it is out of left field or simply for the sake of increased romantic drama. It absolutely tracks that Gotou’s lack of experience with sex would make her reluctant to rush into something with a guy she really likes.

Gotou truly did wound Yoshida’s heart with her false rejection, because at the end of the day if she’d explained her true intent he’d have understood; we know that much about him from his interactions with Sayu and Yuzuha. And to their credit neither the show nor Yoshida let her off the hook without a penalty, as Yoshida vows never to ask her out.

Instead, he’ll wait until the time comes when she can ask him out on a date, and he’ll look forward to it. So yes, Gotou initially made a big mess of things and hurt the guy she liked. But it wasn’t the end of the world with him, and he’s happy to forgive her as long as their interactions going forward are open and honest. Both Yoshida and Gotou are able to leave that yakiniku restaurant feeling a lot better about things, and it all feels earned.

But wait: their agreement is only half-complete: Now that Gotou has answered his question—and he learns that Sayu has more sexual experience than the adult woman he likes—it’s time for him to return the favor. Instead of sticking with Yoshida and Gotou as he answers, we return to his apartment, where Sayu is eating some pretty bangin’ looking beef stew.

It doesn’t taste “as good as it should” because food always tastes better when you’re eating it with others (that’s an unwavering truth). But especially after experiencing the apartment with both Yoshida and Asami around, being alone still feels lonely. It also gives Sayu’s trauma-addled brain a chance to leak glimpses from her past.

These glimpses include what could be her first sexual encounter along with a very stark POV image of her on a bed with what looks like ejaculate in her hand—and an unidentified crying girl. Sayu starts to blame Yoshida for not coming home and heading off these painful, unwanted thoughts, but she scolds herself for “blaming it on someone else,” not yet ready to assign blame only to those who exploited her. It’s in this state of mind that she receives a text from Yoshida saying he’s bringing Gotou home.

This is it, Sayu laments, this is when I’m abandoned again. She texts back she’ll stay somewhere else (and thank goodness she knows Asami now, as she could stay there if she needed to), but Yoshida texts back that it’s not like that: Gotou wants to meet her. It’s a great way to reveal that, like Yuzuha, Gotou learned the truth from Yoshida, and because she knows him to be a good guy (and no one on this show has watched him closer or longer), is ready, willing, and eager to know more about it, not less.

Yoshida, in turn, is learning like Gotou that lies (and omissions!) can only hurt more than they can help. The only way forward is in the light of the truth. And I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait for Gotou to meet Sayu. I think she’ll not only be impressed by what a nice girl she is, but understand completely how Sayu and Yoshida ended up in this scenario. I officially love this show. Even at its messiest, it’s brimming with good faith and empathy and I am here for it.

 

Higehiro – 03 – Fated Encounters

Sayu has a dream about a past night she spent with a man in exchange for a place to stay. She lies under him passively, her eyes devoid of their usual glimmer, making no noise except to say “yeah” when he asks if it feels good. It’s not a love scene; it’s a transaction scene, depicted in all its awkward frankness. Sayu wakes up in her own bed as Yoshida dozes away in his. The glimmer is back in her eyes, but there’s also worry.

When Yoshida heads off to work, all Sayu has are household chores and her thoughts. And her thoughts are constantly asking why Yoshida won’t touch her. Shouldn’t he want to, at least a little? All the other men did, and took what they could. We learn Yoshida turned down a business trip, and his male co-worker assumes it’s because he has a girlfriend.

That prospect upsets Mishima, who asks him out to a movie after work. On the way out he and Gotou nearly walk into each other. Seeing him leave with Mishima, Gotou wears a look I’d describe as…left out?

Long before Yoshida returns home, Sayu is simply out of things to do around the house, so she has nothing but those lingering, worrying thoughts. Even though Yoshida hasn’t touched her like all the other men, she still believes he’ll kick her out when he doesn’t want her anymore.

When he texts her that he’s going out for a movie with a colleague, Sayu decides to stalk him…just a little. She happens to be watching just as Mishima finished talking to Yoshida about fated encounters, both the ones in the sad movie and ones in reality. Mishima is certain it’s better to realize that it’s fate the moment it happens, rather than months or years later.

While Yoshida isn’t 100% with her on this line of thinking (one, because he considers her a co-worker and friend first; two, he’s a bit dense), Mishima thinks she’s having such an encounter with him now, and doesn’t want to let it go. He’s taken aback when she hugs him, but the hug is all Sayu sees when she rushes off.

She doesn’t see Yoshida rebuff Mishima; not that she’s going to give up on him anytime soon. When Yoshida comes home to find Sayu’s phone but no Sayu, his first worry is that she was kidnapped, not that she ran away because she saw him with Mishima.

Even though I knew her running away would be a distinct possibility, I was still hugely relieved to see she didn’t go far; just to a nearby park to think. Heavy on her thoughts is how Yoshida looked when Mishima hugged him, how different it was from how he is with her. It made her jealous, but also reinforces her worry that once a guy as kind as him finds a girlfriend, she’ll be abandoned.

But this episode deals with three fated encounters: Yoshida and Sayu, Yoshida and Mishima…and Sayu and Mishima, who happens to find Sayu in the park looking forlorn (and out of place!) before Yoshida does. She sits with her so she can think without being bothered by a cop, and asks what’s troubling her. She’s not in a fight with her “parents”—i.e. Yoshida—as “they’re unbelievably nice”.

Rather, there’s something Sayu can’t tell “them”, or they might abandon her. Mishima tells her that fear can freeze you in place, but it can also spur forward action. In her book, the latter way is the better one. From what she’s heard, Mishima thinks whoever this is believes in Sayu, so she should believe in them and say This is who I am! This is part of me! Will you stay with me anyway?

Of course, Mishima is speaking from her experiences with Yoshida, who just happens to be the same person Sayu is talking about. Mishima learns this when Yoshida arrives at the park. And from the way he treats Sayu—like a worried-sick guardian would treat his lost kid—it’s clear Sayu and Yoshida have some “family stuff” to discuss. So she takes her leave, but insists that Yoshida explain himself later.

I love how low-key and empathetic Mishima’s reaction is to learning Yoshida is looking after a teenage runaway. She knows she doesn’t have the whole story, and while she very much wants to hear it, it’s not the time or place, so she’ll wait until it is. She doesn’t jump to conclusions or express premature outrage.

When Yoshida and Sayu comes home, Sayu takes Mishima’s advice, stops standing in place, and steps forward … in her black underwear … towards Yoshida. She refuses to dress before they talk. She again mentions how her breasts are big for someone in high school. She presses against Yoshida, and asks again if he wants to have sex her, like all the other men wanted to.

When pressed (literally) by Sayu, Yoshida admits that of course he finds her extremely cute and attractive. Sayu is flattered by his praise, and explains that this is the way she decided on to be able to live without going back home. She knows there are disadvantages to an adult having a teenage girl around, and so thought there must be some kind of advantage way to make up for that.

At first, she hated using her body in that way. But while she was doing it with someone she also felt she could be herself; that she was needed. The advantage she provided to the other men made her feel fulfilled. Maybe in her dream, when she said ‘yeah’ when asked if it felt good, she wasn’t lying. It felt good emotionally for there to be what she saw as a balanced give-and-take; something for something.

But ultimately the disadvantages would win out, and she’d get kicked out. However many times this happened to Sayu, she’s now of the mind that her crushing uneasiness won’t be quelled unless Yoshida sleeps with her. So she asks once more, if it won’t upset him, if he’ll do so. Yoshida gathers Sayu into a solid but thoroughly platonic hug, and make it clear that sleeping with someone he’s not in love with would upset her, so the answer is no.

Once she’s dressed again and they’re seated at the table, Yoshida calmly rejects Sayu’s assertion that she “hasn’t done anything” for him in return to justify keeping her around. Again, he tries to reorient her belief that only sex can pay for the roof under her head and make up for the disadvantages of having her there.

He admits he’s changed since she came. He takes better care of himself. They eat and talk about nothing special. His apartment feels like a real home with her there, and a place he wants to hurry back to after work. Just having her there has made his life more fun and more rewarding. She doesn’t have to do or say anything special to maintain that atmosphere; she just has to be there. That’s it.

Saying this moves Sayu to tears. Yoshida realizes that he wasn’t doing himself or Sayu any favors by thinking he could change her back into a “normal teenage girl”, and that there was nothing more to it than that. Denying her transactional mindset and sexuality only heightened her anxiety about properly paying him back for his kindness.

Acknowledging the role of sex in Sayu’s life up to this point was a crucial step in acknowledging Sayu herself, just as making it clear that sex with her is neither wanted nor required establishes firm boundaries. It sets him apart from all the other men, thank goodness.

Thanks to Mishima, Sayu was able to break their stalemate of unspoken tension, and was able to learn from Yoshida not only why he didn’t want to sleep with her, but why just being there was enough for him. Now that they’ve bared their hearts and cleared the air, they can begin truly living together, like a family. It’s an honest, beautiful, and heartwarming catharsis between two lonely souls who claim to be pathetic, but are actually inspiring!

Higehiro – 02 – Freedom and Choices

A princess raised in castles is going to act like royalty, like Queen Elizabeth. A princess raised by wolves is going to act like a wolf, like San, AKA Princess Mononoke. Behaviors are learned through social interactions and time. Sayu has apparently lived a life where her choices were few and her freedom nonexistent.

Leaving home only gave her a fleeting freedom, and she eventually had to do what conditions at the time demanded her of her to survive. As a result, she still behaves around Yoshida the way she had to behave around other men with whom she treated her body for shelter. He notes that the smiles she flashes often feel forced, strange, and wrong.

It’s doubly frustrating to him that someone so young had been forced into a situation where she didn’t feel safe not smiling when she didn’t feel like it. He calls her out on it with what I’d call “harsh kindness”, assuring her that even if his home isn’t hers, she’s allowed to be there, and doesn’t have to be “weird” or “lie to him” with those smiles.

Sayu understands what Yoshida is on about, and so tells him that she was thinking to herself why he’s so nice. He reiterates that he’s not being overly nice at all; he’s just being decent, the way everyone should be to each other. She says she’ll try her best not to refuse when he offers her things, or smile when she doesn’t mean it.

But she also points out that those smiles and refusals are habits that will be hard to break, since she’s still not quite used to the unprecedented freedom and choices Yoshida has given her. But through her attitude and the housework she does for him, she hopes to make him think he’s glad she came into his life. Despite everything that’s happened to her, Sayu remains a kind and decent person herself.

While last week focused on the establishment of Yoshida’s new normal at home, here we get a look into his work environment, where his crisper shirts, enhanced hygiene, and shorter-than-usual work days have led to rumors he has a girlfriend. But when his immediate underling Mishima’s code has some bugs in it, and she’s forced to work late, he works late with her, and even gets takeout.

Mishima takes their ensuing alone time to learn that Yoshida doens’t have a girlfriend, and was recently rejected by Gotou. Mishima considers herself “lucky” Gotou rejected him, and wouldn’t mind going out for a beer sometime. Like Sayu, she tells him he’s kinder than most by not simply giving up on her, but as with Sayu, he doesn’t think he’s any nicer than everyone should be.

When he gets home, Sayu is wrapped in her blanket like a Yuru Camp character, apparently angry he’s home late after she cooked dinner. But she follows her annoyed tone with genuine giggling, as she was just messing with him. As she reads manga and he has an after-work beer, he realizes that he really should have a way to get a hold of her.

Sayu threw her old phone in the ocean, and while at the mall she refuses to let him buy a new one, so he does so when she’s not around. Hashimoto, the only other person who knows about Sayu, can tell that Yoshida likes Sayu by the care he’s putting into choosing a case for her. Hashimoto gently warns him that it’s fine to be nice, but he should start thinking about how things are going to go, before she settles in too much, or she falls for him, or he falls for her.

Yoshida assures Hashimoto that that won’t happen, but while romance is out of the question, there are already glimmers of familial and paternal love. Hashimoto didn’t go so far as to say “she’s not a lost puppy”, but he’s right that Yoshida needs to come up with some kind of plan beyond keeping her off the streets.

One day at work, Gotou approaches Yoshida and they end up going out for yakiniku and beer, which she confesses she can only go out for with him, since all other men expect her to be a “sweet, proper lady.” That’s now three women who consider him to be uncommonly kind and understanding to them. One wonders why she’s with the man she’s with if she can’t be herself with him!

Gotou commences an anything-goes Q-&-A between them, starting first by asking if he’s dating someone. When he refuses, she lists all the evidence that he is—leaving work on time, cleaning himself up better—and mentions how Mishima seems to have a thing for him. He repeats that there’s nothing there, because in his give years at the office he’s always been in love with her.

When Gotou caught wind of the rumors, she was bothered by the fact he’d immediately been “taken in by another younger girl.” With the rumor staunched, Yoshida loses some points by asking Gotou what cup size she is. I know she said “ask me anything”, but c’mon, man!

When Yoshida comes home, late again, and not eating the dinner Sayu made again, she can tell he’s feeling down and needs a hug, so she hugs him. Like when she put her hand on his earlier, she does it because she wants to, and because she thinks it will make him feel better. And while in the bath he laments being a grown man cheered up by a teenage girl, it shouldn’t be anything to be ashamed of…ask any dad!

When he presents Sayu with a new phone, we learn he chose the white case for her over the black. White, the color of purity and chastity, yes, but also, Sayu just happens to like white! In that same vein, he didn’t buy it for her as a gift or a sign of his affection, but as a practical means of communication when they’re not both home.

Of course, he also doesn’t want her to worry if he is late. He doesn’t want to do or say anything to make her feel bad. He wants her to have every choice and opportunity someone her age should have. In this and in basically everything he’s done for her thus far, he’s acted like a father.

Yoshida acknowledges that Sayu is a woman, but to him, she’s a little kid. Someone to protect unconditionally. Someone who doesn’t have to force herself to smile to make him feel better. Maybe the endgame, then, is to simply adopt her.

Higehiro – 01 (First Impressions) – Inadvertent Guardian

Yoshida had the evening with his attractive co-worker Gotou all planned out in his head. They’d have a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant, and if things went well, he’d ask if she wanted to come home with him. He hadn’t banked on the possibility Gotou was already seeing someone for years, and simply never mentioned it at work because she wanted to keep life and work separate—which is perfectly reasonable.

Thus rejected, Yoshida goes and gets drunk with a friend until that friend has to head back home to his wife. Yoshida blabbers about how Gotou “tricked” him, and stole his heart and won’t give it back, but I’ll forgive his attitude as he’s allowed to wallow in defeat, drunk and horny as he is. The bottom line is Yoshida didn’t want to look past sleeping Gotou, and now he’s a little lost at sea.

He most certainly didn’t plan to encounter a runaway teenage girl (voiced by Ichinose Kana) outside his apartment, nor for this girl to offer to let him sleep with her in exchange for a roof over her head for the night. But even when her other options are seemingly ruled out, Yoshida makes it quite clear that he’s not sleeping with a “little kid”, nor is he prepared to leave her to the tender mercies of the night.

So, in his drunk and staggering state, he invites her in, then collapses into his bed to pass out. The girl, no stranger to crashing at men’s houses in exchange for sex (though she is thankfully not shamed for this), sits on the bed and asks matter-of-factly “Hey, are you sure you don’t want to do me?” He’s sure. When asked if there’s anything else he wants, before passing out he mumbles “miso soup.” The next morning, that’s what he gets: miso soup, made by the girl he flat-out forgot he invited in last night!

When he hears how he rejected her offer of sex, he salutes his last-night self, relieved nothing sordid happened. She also mentions how he mumbled about being rejected by someone named Gotou, and whether he wanted her to make him “feel better”. Once again, he declines, saying he’s not so far-gone he needs “a tiny little teenage girl” to do that.

When she points out that her breasts are quite big and asks “aren’t F-cups you can touch better than H-cups you can’t?” he flat-out asks why she’s trying to seduce him…and if she even wants to sleep with him. She says she doesn’t, but then embraces him and says she’s never met a man willing to let her stay for nothing in return, so maybe he’s the “abnormal” one. That’s when Yoshida, God bless him, asks for her ID, a gesture that again makes clear he’s not interested in her in that way.

He learns her name is Ogiwara Sayu, that she ran away from high school in Hokkaido six months ago. When he tells her to go home already, she says she’s sure they’re happy she’s gone, Ichinose Kana’s voice breaking ever-so-slightly. The more Yoshida thinks about Sayu, the worse he feels about it. He takes it out on her to a degree by calling her “stupid”, “dumb as a rock”, and “a spoiled brat”.

But beneath those harsh barbs, he understands that Sayu is not “fine” as she says in the slightest; that what she’s had to do to survive since leaving home is not right or okay. More than she’s an idiot, she’s a victim: both of a home that she felt she had to leave, and to a world apparently full of men who taught her all the wrong lessons and twisted values and standards. He’s also angry that such a kind and sweet young woman couldn’t have a “normal life” and a “normal love”.

Obviously, Yoshida’s positions are showing both his privilege and paternalism. The former was a result of his own upbringing and life experience; the latter was learned through both, just as Sayu learned a certain way of living the last six months. But I can forgive the motives behind his fundamentally principled choice to stop this child from being harmed anymore by offering her a safe, clean place to stay.

I’m not going to pretend that in the real world this isn’t his choice to make. As a matter of law, he should probably go to the police, right? And yet who’s to say Sayu wouldn’t be harmed anyway if he took that route? Considering what she’s been doing to stay away from her home, it’s clear going back there isn’t what’s best for her. Being placed into an overworked and uncaring social services system also wouldn’t be much better.

The fact there are no easy answers or cut-and-dried solutions add a lot of welcome emotional heft to the whole scenario. Yoshida, whom I mentioned is somewhat lost at sea, has encountered a fellow castaway adrift and rudderless, who has the added disadvantage of being far too young to have to endure the waves. So for now, he decides to lash their ramshackle rafts together and chart the course of least harm.

The more time he spends with Sayu, the more disappointed in his fellow man he becomes. When he heads out to the patio to smoke, she calls him “nice”, but our boy Yoshida is not so deluded to think he’s some saint, and makes it clear to her in perhaps his best line of the episode: “Listen up! I’m not nice. They were shit.” He contemplates the environment that put Sayu in such an unfairly precarious situation, and even implicates himself for “letting her stay spoiled” by giving her a place to run to.

But even as he checks headlines about an unrelated case of a man arrested for kidnapping a teenager, and Sayu walks over him, inadvertently giving him a look up her skirt, Yoshida isn’t about to cut the ropes of her raft free. He found her on those waves, which means he feels responsible for her well-being. That doesn’t just mean a roof under her head, but more appropriate clothes, pajamas, and a futon to sleep on.

Sayu isn’t ready to accept all this without worrying about not being able to repay him in some way. Yoshida is again disheartened by the fact a kid has to think that way, but indulges her by insisting that the cooking and cleaning she’s done constitute more than adequate payment, and that arrangement will serve for the time being.

The next morning over breakfast, Yoshida explains to Sayu that it isn’t the act of shaving that makes him feel old, but becoming too lazy to shave every day. Sayu spares no tact in saying he doesn’t look good with stubble, so he decides to shave after all. The exchange indicates this won’t be a one-way street. Perhaps in helping keep this lonely damaged girl safe, Yoshida can find a new course in life post-Gotou rejection.

Higehiro is fraught with potential problems, as all series involving an adult and a child always are. And yet unlike the horrifically skeevy Koikimo, Higehiro presents its situation, questions and arguments in good faith, and from a place of human decency and empathy. It’s a compelling, hopeful tale of an imperfect person trying to do the right thing for someone who has already been wronged far too much. Unlike Koikimo, I don’t feel like I need a shower after what I saw, but rather want to see what happens next!

Hibike! Euphonium 2 – 12

Shuu Sighting! Shuu Sighting! Kumiko and Shuu can’t sleep the night before the Nationals, and end up having drinks together by the vending machine. As always, they talk about mundane things. Shuu gives Kumiko a belated birthday present: a cute hairpin. Scene.

It’s these two in a nutshell. Here, in the middle of the night, the two are able to at least have a moment. It’s not a bit dramatic moment or anything, just a cordial acknowledgement of their history together, without any kind of indication either one of them know what to do from there. Sometimes I think the show revels in always teasing these two.

Oh yeah, the Nationals! Kitauji fails to win Gold. They fail to win Silver, too. They end up with Bronze. Bronze, after all that! I guess they aimed too high, huh? Ah well, like the band, I had carried unreasonably high expectations, and while it stings to seem them essentially crash and burn, they didn’t do badly for a group so young, and the second and first years aren’t out of opportunities. Just getting to the Nationals was a goal they successfully achieved, and that’s nothing to sniff at.

When Taki-sensei is awarded on stage, the band doesn’t have a cheer arranged. Enter Reina, who yells out “I LOVE YOU!”, which Taki and everyone else hears, but not necessarily as a confession. Later, when Taki thanks Reina and expresses his worry no one in the band liked him, she piles on the praise, then makes it clear she “really does like him” – to which Taki is flattered, and walks away without a formal response. Hang in there, Reina!

In better news, Asuka’s father, and judge in the competition, heard her, and through Taki-sensei, compliments her play as “beautiful” and is glad she kept at it. Frankly, I’m not sure why he couldn’t tell his daughter in person, but it seems to be enough for Asuka, who has to embrace Kumiko before completely breaking down with happiness.

And finally, after a lot of looking around and chasing, Kumiko tracks down Mamiko, who did attend after all, to tell her she loves the Euph and loves concert band because of her, and she loves her. Mamiko yells back that she loves her too, and that’s the ep.

It was a bit odd not to hear any music, but it was always going to be hard to replicate the atmosphere of previous performances without seeming repetitive. Similarly, the Nationals didn’t feel any more “special” than the Regionals this time or last. It ends up being kind of a bronze episode (if a 9 is Silver and a 10 is Gold).

It felt more like an episode full of loose ends being tied up. That made for some enjoyable moments, but they felt isolated and disjointed. Still, the feels were felt on numerous occasions; oddly enough no more so than when Mizore fist-bumped Kumiko and looked so pleased about it.

Hibike! Euphonium 2 – 11

All we needed was the slightest look from Reina to know, with relative confidence what was amiss and why: Thanks to Hashimoto, Reina learns that Kumiko knew about Taki’s wife before she did, and she’s angry Kumiko never told her.

Whether Kumiko was busy with Asuka and the other girls, and was going to eventually tell Reina, we’ll never know. But we do know that Kumiko hesitated as long as she did because she didn’t want to hurt Reina.

During Reina’s suitably elaborate procedure for confronting Kumiko – by going to the summit of the mountain that seems to accentuate Reina’s beauty – Reina yells at the top of her lungs, asks Kumiko why, and gets the answer she already knew.

Reina turns out not to be that mad at Kumiko after all, but at herself: at the weakness she exhibits upon hearing this news; the fact she didn’t know. Her armor has cracked just as the Nationals approach, and while she can say she’s going to “forget about it” until they’re over, it’s likely she’s not 100% sure she can follow through.

Kumiko, for her part, tells her she’s still rooting for her, making sure Reina hears that Taki isn’t married anymore, even if it’s hard both to say and hear. She’s almost making up for not telling her to begin with.

It’s another wonderful scene between the two friends, and a very welcome one after Reina’s presence had dwindled in recent eps. Both the animation and the voice performances soar.

In a quick flashback, we see a young Reina first lay eyes on Taki and fall for him right then and there. She quickly finds how hard it is to follow through, having an elaborate, warm daydream in which Taki compliments her playing and gives her a piece just for her to play.

She’s ripped from her reverie by the real Taki-sensei calling her playing “weak.” She needs to get it together. But how?

Reina finds a way. While delivering the practice room key back to Taki at the end of the day with Kumiko, Reina asks him about his wife. Not about where she went to school or who she knew, but what she was like.

Taki opens up to her, and confirms what Reina had suspected, but wasn’t ready to face until now, when her playing is being effected by the doubt. There is not doubt; Taki still loves his wife, and he very likely became their director for his wife’s sake. He wants to go to the Nationals and win Gold for her sake.

And so, we see both Reina and Taki at their most vulnerable and emotional this week. I guess Christmas came early!

Having gotten all the answers and confirmations she needed for the time being, Reina returns to normal, and starts playing the way she and everyone else have come to expect. Niiyama gives her the location of Taki’s wife’s grave, where takes Kumiko and prays.

That flashback was the beginning of Reina wishing time would move faster for her, so she could catch up to Taki. But now she has another goal to set her sights on, something that she wouldn’t have been able to accomplish if she was his age: She’s going to help Taki win Gold.