The opening scene of this episode is the only part where Hori and Miyamura are prevalent. The rest revolves around the budding romance between Ishikawa and Yoshikawa. Basically, Hori and Miyamura bump into Tanihara and Shindo and Hori gets jealous that Miyamura is buddies with them, going as far as to demand that Miyamura stay away from any guys. I frankly don’t find this bit funny. If your romantic partner is that paranoid and is dictating who you hang out with, that’s a red flag or at least cause for concern. The fact that Hori is more concerned about the guys than the girls honestly makes me think this show is trying to make a gay joke. Whether or not that is the intent, I nevertheless think it’s unfunny. Fortunately, this bit is short. To be honest, I’m finding it strange that this show will shoehorn in a scene starring Hori and Miyamura when the episode in question isn’t centered around them. Did the staff had some quota to fulfill? I understand that they’re the main couple but I’d be okay if they were entirely in the background so that the episode is more concentrated.
So apparently, Yoshikawa and Ishikawa are still pretending to be a couple. I honestly figured that they dropped the act after Yanagi got rejected but to be fair, there technically wasn’t any confirmation to begin with. Maybe Yoshikawa is afraid that Yanagi will ask her out again but would Yanagi really do that? Even with eyesight as bad as his, I imagine he can read the room that Yoshikawa isn’t interested in him. Really, I think what’s going on is that Yoshikawa is trying to milk the act for what it’s worth. If she can’t actually admit to Ishikawa that she likes him, she can at least keep this game of make-believe alive for as long as possible.
Since these two are still pretending to be a couple, word naturally spreads across the school and Sakura eventually finds out by happenstance. Obviously, the reasonable thing for Yoshikawa to do is tell Sakura the truth. But because telling the truth would give Sakura a chance, she instead chooses to lie when Sakura asks if she and Ishikawa are dating. Curiously, Yoshikawa confides with Remi about all of this. That’s a bit risky considering that Remi is friends with Sakura though I suppose Remi would eventually figure everything out so better to spill the beans. Remi decides that she won’t do the same but she does have Yoshikawa admit to her that she likes Ishikawa as her only condition. It’s a tall order given Yoshikawa’s indecisiveness but it’s a push that girl sorely needs. Plus, it’s only fair with how unfair Yoshikawa is being. I swear, Remi is most interesting when she’s a third-party in the romance and that’s saying something considering that she is in a relationship.
Despite the belief that Ishikawa’s taken, Sakura finally admits to the guy that she likes him. She just doesn’t expect an answer in return. I don’t blame Ishikawa for sticking with the lie as he’s not sure what Yoshikawa wants him to do. I am surprised that his response would been “no”. I understand his reasoning that Sakura deserves someone better but the fact of the matter is that she wants to be his girlfriend. Whether or not she’s out of his league doesn’t matter. For crying out loud, Ishikawa thought he had a chance with Hori and she’s one of the most popular girls in the school. Frankly, this feels like an excuse to allow Ishikawa and Yoshikawa to hook up. Really, the simpler thing to do would be to have Ishikawa decline Sakura because he’s actually in love with Yoshikawa.
So are these two official? You tell me. Ishikawa does some smooth wordplay about how he loves snow (Yoshikawa’s first name is Yuki) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that these two are officially a couple. Then again, they don’t necessarily drop the act so your guess is as good as mine. One thing is for sure, this has definitely been a messy ride so far. I like Ishikawa a lot so I’m happy that he’s seemingly moved on from Hori and is developing a connection with someone else. On the other hand, I don’t really like Yoshikawa. She’s not doing anything evil but her inability to be honest and decisive is frustrating and there’s no denying that she’s screwing up her way to the goalpost. Maybe if the show invested more in her early on, I could be a little more lenient with her. As for Sakura, I just feel bad for her. She’s been more courageous than Yoshikawa and she gets almost nothing as a result. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time the show explores her character.
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