Not the bed but the sofa! How bold! 

——

Well, the mystery of who this Nagi (Ise Mariya) person is quickly gets resolved. Yeah, again, I’m a week late, but I didn’t expect her to be Yamato’s younger sister. And more than for plot device and girl problems that are quite exaggerated, her involvement helps solidify Mei’s drastic improvements since the first episode. No longer jaded and in vain, Mei can be the one giving advice and play the role of big sister. How nice would it be if Nagi can rebound and start making friends again? And who else is better other than someone she can feel comfortable with, like Mei? But, Mei is still silly in many ways, like having kinky thoughts after getting an innocent invite from her boyfriend, but that shows her genuineness and innocence. 

On the complete flip side, episode six’s introduction of “Megu-tan” (Kotobuki Minako) completely shuns Mei and her growing confidence. Even Mei’s efforts to learn how to bake cookies are put to waste because she reverted back to having lonely, inferior thoughts of herself. Why? Because Yamato is too bright, too popular and too natural being next to Megumi. It sucks because her mind got caught in picking up every word of every other person’s shallow opinions about how Yamato is such a star or how Megumi is so cute (I can’t understand the definition of model attractiveness, sorry) or how the two are a perfect couple. I’m sure those are not the only words spreading around, but that’s all Mei is fixated on hearing. Even that blasted Kenji is turning on Mei. I swear, he’s doing all sorts of things to mess with Yamato’s relationship with Mei — he’s worse than any of the girls so far. I joke in earnest, of course. 

The difference between these two episodes is enough to cause havoc with mood swings. The clingy younger sister turned out to be Mei version 2.0, but the next hot chick ended up being an adversary, unsurprisingly. Only for me, because of my week’s absence, did it feel like a huge turnaround and Mei’s boost of self-esteem just went down the drain. Just like that, gone and in vain and in tears. I was really hoping Yamato would “snap out of it” and just show his undying love for Mei right on the set but it didn’t happen. That would have been miraculous, but I can’t blame him for enjoying the limelight, in all honesty. It was set up so that Mei wouldn’t be the aggressive and outgoing type and it finally bit her in the rear despite leveling up to finally referring to him as “Yamato,” if only in her mind. 

The emotional roller coaster has always been there, but Megumi is proving to be a difficult mid-boss. I obviously don’t have a girl’s perspective as much as I want to assume one, so it’s hard to really understand that feeling of dejection. (It’s not all the same, right? Guys can feel like crap too, but I’m sure it’s magnified for girls no matter what.) But more so than Megumi’s mere presence, it’s going to be up to Mei to decide whether she ignores everyone else and fight for Yamato’s heart. After all, she is her own worst enemy no matter what her peers say or how pretty the other girls are. If she can conquer her own fears and her own inferiority complex, there’s nothing in hell that can stop her. 

Getting to the halfway mark has been interesting, and if Megumi is a trying challenge, I wonder what the future will hold. (Yamato’s alleged fiance in the lurks? Arranged marriage? Someone who read the manga might be able to confirm this.) No matter how exaggerated, extreme or dramatic each new trial has been, I’ve been enjoying it so far. Some of the lovey-dovey stuff has lost its luster because there has been a serious shortage of kiss scenes — what, I’m asking for it now? — but the hugs and hand-holding are sweet nonetheless. But now is the time for Mei to make her move and show her devotion. 

GO Rating: 3.5/5 (average)

Yamato and cats: OMG, it bit me! OMG, it pooped! 

And black cats are always named Kuro. Always.