The opening scene of this episode hides the truth really well. If you just watched the first minute, you’d think this week was all about good intentions going right and how unencumbered life really is.

——

I have absolutely no idea what happened. Absolutely nothing’s changed about the show. It’s back to featuring romantic relationships heavily. The tangled net of who likes who is back. Everything is exactly as it was before the last episode, but now I suddenly like it. It’s the strangest thing too, cause I don’t want to like it because it’s the same. The only obvious difference between before Sen and Kaoru had their fight and now is that all the arrows point in the opposite direction, at least in our three main characters. Why the new character dynamics are so interesting now, I can’t say but they are and I’m definitely back in.

Kaoru’s the epitome of a nice guy. I know that the term “nice guy” has a certain connotation and meaning behind it in social justice, but I’m not using it in that context. Kaoru is a guy who is doing nice things for the sake of others. I mean, it can probably be successfully argued that I’m seeing all of this in a skewed light and you are welcome to call me on it. After all, I bring my own lens to this situation and it might not be the right one. But compared to his previous attempts of preventing Sen from going out with Yurika or joining the band, the ulterior motives for his actions this time aren’t as obvious, if they exist at all. He’s not as petty anymore; he’s putting Sen’s and Ritsuko’s happiness above his. And while that might seem martyrly, I still think it’s kinda noble.

So Jun’s version of the past six months or whatever in the anime have been eventful it would seem. I don’t know much about Japanese history in the 1960’s, seeing as how I’ve never studied it, but it did not look fun. I can’t really form an opinion about him right now, because honestly, it hasn’t had a chance to sink in quite yet. And the situation between Jun and Yurika is pretty scandalous. What exactly is going on there? I mean, yes in general and yes there was a kiss, but a gynecologist appointment? Things got really heavy really fast. The whirlwind of action and development between these two and specifically Jun have been crazy. I feel like a gossipy housewife saying this, but it’s totally true: this whole Jun-Yurika thing was definitely my favorite part this week.

Basically, a lot happened in this episode and I am officially behind this series again. The gossip in me cannot be contained with passing information about the Kardashians any longer, apparently…

GO Rating: 3.5/5