All for the haircut that never would be. 

You know I’m talking about Mei, right? No, Yamato’s hair is here to stay.

——

So, am I allowed to bring my former angst back and recall the jaded side in me? I better hope I can’t because there’s a lot I want to say about people being shallow and people being nice. And if those two qualities can get you laid, then I have every reason to not want to live on this planet anymore. That’s just me and my personal views. The nature of this anime will challenge them, and even startle me somewhat. Heck, I think the biggest reason why I can tolerate flashbacks of my high school years is because Mei is quite relatable. Strange, socially awkward and pretty awesome at bowling? Yep. 

But more than my social views of teenage perception and heckling of Yamato’s combination nice hair, good boy attitude, this episode did its deed by making the popular male lead as human as possible. Okay, I didn’t really buy into the story at first, but after digesting it for a few hours, I felt like Yamato’s the real deal. I kept swaying on this after my initial impression of him, but the guy has his needs but keeps his genuine personality. For all the kissing and sex the guy is involved with, I’m more inclined to point the finger at the girls than him. Just ask Mutou Aiko (Uchiyama Yumi), who admitted taking advantage of his kindness. 

Aiko is really tempting that frenemy threshold after all the damages done — to Mei and herself. The weight loss has given her more to be insecure about and seeing Yamato choose Mei over her has made this a bitter contest as of now. I can’t say much about two different girls fighting over a guy but if I brought up sex like it was nothing, then you know it’s going to leave your “rival” shaken up. 

While innocent and uncertain, Mei really does have a strong sense of self. She may not be confident enough at this point but Yamato assures her that she is the right girl for him. It’s just a matter of time before Mei realizes that he is as vulnerable as she is in a different sense — that he depends on others to simply blend in and hide his true self. Strangely, these two are quite compatible; there is a chemistry between them that works even though they are seemingly very different. It might not always be graceful, especially to the judgmental (and often envious) public eye, but what they can potentially have is beautiful and true. When Mei comes around to saying those magical words (or one word in Japanese), that is when her confidence will blossom and her perception of the world changes. 

Mei and Yamato may be on a kissing spree three episodes in but I’m starting to warm up to this couple. Well, Yamato insists that they are dating so I guess they are officially a couple now, yeah? 

GO Rating: 3.5/5

Mei being late to their first date was all but expected.