I really wanted to see Kaju meet one of the losing heroines so I’m beyond happy that it finally happens in the fifth episode. And of course, she’d meet Anna first. It just has to be Anna. I love that random justification the show makes to have these two meet. Basically, Anna’s father got paid for the month with boxes of somen noodles and Anna decides to give some to Kazuhiko to avoid going insane (well, more than she already has). It’s completely ridiculous (and honestly very concerning for Anna) but this Anna we’re talking about here so what else is new? This special encounter unfortunately lasts for just one scene but Makeine makes it count by having Kaju completely lose her mind at first and then try to conduct an interview with Anna to get some new information about Kazuhiko’s social life (and maybe also Anna’s chemistry with him).
After that, the episode cuts to a literature club meeting. A very distracting but hilarious element of this scene is all the boxes of somen noodles Anna has apparently dropped off in the clubroom. There isn’t a previous scene establishing this and everyone doesn’t explicitly acknowledge it, making all those boxes look funnier as the scene goes on. Anyway, Shintarō tells everyone present that all clubs are required to report their summer vacation activities to the student council so the plan is to have the club self-publish a physical anthology of their writings. He also has Kazuhiko and Chika help the school library with inventory, something that the literature club traditionally does as a favor.
A fun little development in the library scene is the fact that Chika is still doing track and field practice with Lemon. In the last episode, Chika asked this of Lemon so that Kazuhiko and Anna are alone during the final scene. I figured that was just a one-off gag (and a very funny one at that) so I find it wholesome that Chika is still having Lemon train her and she’s actually grown to enjoy it.
Right before the library scene, Kazuhiko asks Anna if she’d okay with a hangout with her middle school friends, as Sōsuke and Karen will be there as well. Anna then reveals that she’s made her peace with the whole love triangle issue after reading a book about lightening one’s heart. I love how Makeine makes it abundantly clear that Anna is pretty much gaslighting herself by having Kazuhiko doubt just as quickly as the viewer would, adorn Anna and her book with an over the top heavenly glow, and have her rise up like she’s ascending to heaven. The show is completely aware that no one watching this show would believe Anna here, when she literally said in the last episode that she won’t get over Sōsuke any time soon.
Unsurprisingly then, Anna hangs out with Kazuhiko the next day to vent about how frustrating the hangout was. Funny how she could talk about this with Lemon or Chika, both of whom can easily relate with her, but she keeps choosing Kazuhiko because it’s tradition at this point. Before Anna can continue her diatribe however, she and Kazuhiko notice Mitsuki and Lemon hanging out. I love the complete contrast between these two’s reactions. Like, Kazuhiko has some doubts but he otherwise decides it’s none of his business. Conversely, Anna immediately assumes Mitsuki is cheating on Chihaya and she gets in a frenzy over it. I guess in Anna’s defense, she’s not alone here as she and Kazuhiko soon run into a suspicious Chihaya who’s already on a stakeout. Chihaya explains to the others that she is aware of Lemon’s feelings towards Mitsuki and she is willing to break up with him if being with Lemon makes him happier.
The next day, Kazuhiko and Anna help Chihaya with her stakeout. After seeing Mitsuki have fun with Lemon, Chihaya runs off to a nearby store. Kazuhiko follows her to make she’s okay and while chatting, he encourages her to try to grow closer with Mitsuki. The conversation is soon interrupted by Mitsuki, who quickly finds the two of them. The fact that Mitsuki finds the two in a changing booth worries me. I really hope this doesn’t continue with Mitsuki jumping to conclusions and things getting super heated between him and the others.
I’d be kind of shocked if Mitsuki is actually cheating on Chihaya. He’s clearly very fond of her in some scenes and he’s proven to be extremely oblivious to any feelings Lemon has towards him. He also tends to just hang out with Lemon in general so these recent ones probably aren’t that out of the ordinary. Part of me does suspect that Lemon might be taking advantage of these hangouts. Like, in her head, these are the closest she’ll get to going on a date with Mitsuki so she”ll make the most out of it (hence why they may look awfully romantic to everyone else). That kind of goes against her saying she’s getting over it two episodes ago but I suppose she’s in the same boat with Anna in that it’s hard to let go of her feelings.
Watch Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! on Crunchyroll
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