A little behind on Adachi and Shimamura. November has simply been one of those months for the blog. Oh well, time to catch up.
Last episode took place in Christmas; next episode is presumably set in Valentine’s Day. It dawned on me as I was watching this episode that I forgot to consider New Year’s Day as another potential opportunity for Adachi to try confessing her feelings to Shimamura (and fumble in the process because this is Adachi we’re talking about). You do have Adachi calling Shimamura about her plans for the holiday though the phone call ends up being just that, a phone call. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pleasant scene but I would’ve been fun seeing these two celebrate together. Like, have them visit a shrine and Adachi accidently blurt out that she wishes for her and Shimamura to grow closer. That would’ve been fun.
The aftermath of the phone call is amusing as you have Adachi beginning to fantasize about wanting to see Shimamura’s breasts or nestle on them. It’s actually not that terribly explicit as Adachi stops her imagination right as she pictures Shimamura taking off her shirt or she approaches her. I guess that’s a bit moot given the level of fanservice in this show, not ecchi tier but certainly prevalent, but it does fit Adachi’s fluster. That Adachi is imagining her friend in a more sexualized way is really interesting. It was bound to happen but bear in mind that the lewdest Adachi has generally thought about Shimamura is kissing her. For all intents and purposes, this is a new feeling for her and it confuses her despite not really denying her feelings in general anymore.
Since Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, you are essentially treated with a repeat of Episode 5. Adachi wants to give some chocolates to Shimamura but struggles to bring the topic up to her friend, much like how she struggles to ask her out on the Christmas date. Similarly, Shimamura gets a little suspicious but once again concludes the action to be platonic. The song and dance these two keep finding themselves makes sense but it does feel rather repetitive. I do however find it telling that Adachi asks her friend directly if it’s okay to give her chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Shimamura is right, it’s not like Adachi needs her permission. But Adachi’s answer is very befitting of her. She’s extremely careful with advancing her relationship with Shimamura and she’d probably only go through with the plan if she had 100% reassurance that her friend will accept the gift.
I was wondering if we’d hear more about Shimamura’s childhood friend, Tarumi (Ai Kayano), and sure enough, she finally makes an appearance in present day. Right from the get go, she hits it off with Shimamura, exchanging numbers and promising to meet up with her again. I might very well get my answer when I catch up and watch Episode 8 but it does seem like the show is setting up a love triangle with Tarumi involved. Shimamura compared her to Adachi during her flashback in Episode 5 and her one scene here suggests that she’s much more forward that Adachi. That Nagafuji is present during this scene as well is really telling as well. I can see her relaying this moment to Adachi.
If not as a source of conflict for Adachi, I can see Tarumi being a source of conflict for Shimamura. While Shimamura obviously remembers Tarumi, I get the impression that she thought of their relationship as nothing more than a passing friendship from back in the day. That she compares Tarumi to Adachi almost makes it sound like she sees the latter as the former’s replacement. And yet here is Tarumi now and it’s entirely possible she held onto the past more and is starting to see her old friend in a different light now. That’s bound to shake things up for Shimamura. A shakeup of some kind is needed in this series.
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