I’m admittedly really behind right now but whatever, I’m liking Wotakoi so I’ll keep covering it.
If you recall from the first episode, one big benefit Hirotaka brought up to Narumi about them dating was being able to help her out with her Comiket booth. That was a very silly thing that sold Narumi on the relationship and as far as we can tell, the romance has gone in a pretty genuine direction. Still, Comiket is about to happen and Hirotaka was not kidding when he said he’d help out. Not only did he help Narumi get her doujin done on time, he was even bold enough to help sell the yaoi when his girlfriend was away for a bit. I know there’s better proof that this relationship can work but damn, Hirotaka’s a keeper.
Afterwards, Hirotaka invites Narumi to have drinks at his house. For someone who’s clearly dated guys before, Narumi is very anxious about stepping into the place. In fact, just the possibility that Hirotaka invited her to have sex has her deeply flustered. In the end, it turns out that Hirotaka invited everybody for some drinks and Mario Kart (thank goodness it wasn’t Mario Party or some breakups would’ve happened) but I think the initial awkwardness suggests a lot about Narumi’s feelings towards her boyfriend. Childhood friends is one of the most common tropes in anime but Wotakoi does the somewhat rare effort to explore how such a history might affect the romance. Perhaps Narumi is like this (maybe more than she would be normally) because she has known Hirotaka for years. It’s dawning on her that she has to look at him a lot differently now that they are adults and in a romantic relationship no less.
It certainly does seem like she is a lot more concerned about her role in this relationship because of that history. At one point, Narumi talks about her social life and accidentally has Hirotaka admit that he had very few friends growing up. Later, she discovers she’s forgotten some key memories about her past with Hirotaka while the latter remembers it as if it was yesterday. Understandably, both of these things makes Narumi feel a little guilty and while Hirotaka is cool with it, it’s easy to see why she encourages her boyfriend to be more upfront if he does feel that she’s crossed a line. It’s both impressive and endearing to see Narumi want to make sure that this relationship is working for both her and her boyfriend.
I have to say, Hirotaka is one chilled dude. It’s not as though he’s unfazed by anything but the amount of flexibility he displays in this romance is amazing. I can’t blame Narumi for feeling the need to request transparency from Hirotaka because it is almost surreal that the latter be so understanding, especially considering the potential landmines in this episode. At the same time, it does seem like Hirotaka would flat out tell Narumi what’s not working for him if he felt the need to. I doubt he’d actually punch her like she suggested though; even if he was genuinely pissed, I think the chillness would still kick in for him in some way.
Other Thoughts:
- Kabakura seems like a pretty flexible guy himself as he tries to not let the many fangirls fawning over his cosplaying girlfriend bother him. Yeah, he can get pretty verbal but Hanako can too so I guess it’s even.
- Oh man, Hanako’s speech about porn is the best. Clearly a woman of culture.
- I love how Narumi turned all of Hirotaka’s big boobed waifu figurines towards the wall out of spite.
- Hirotaka likes Masamune-kun no Revenge? I feel like I lost some respect for the guy. Maybe if this show praised Saekano again, I’ll forgive it.
- As an example of how much Narumi cares about Hirotaka, I like how she’s annoyed that the latter invited friends but concedes because such a hangout is making him happy.
- Hold on, Hirotaka left his stash in his co-worker’s office desk? When did this happen?
Thanks for reading!
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