FallLover

So slightly before the airing of both Episodes 12 and 13, some folks in Japan got to see the episodes in theaters, with most viewers afterward simply stating the story had a happy ending, though at least some of the viewers did share more overt spoilers. I chatted with someone who saw the Episode 13 showing, so I was a bit cooler on this episode than I might have been if I went into the episode with no spoilers. I also bought the first print release of the English translation of the manga about a month after it released back in 2018, and I read volume 2 (back then, Go For It Again, Nakamura-kun!!) the day it released back in 2022 in English. So knowing the anime generally sticks to the manga while making the friendship between Okuto and Aiki a bit more obviously close is not that surprising to me or gut-wrenching. I would have liked it if they'd gotten together as a couple, but I'm not crushed that they didn't. I've been dealing with it for 8 years and published 4 (probably soon to be 5) fanfics about them getting together, starting with one (unknowingly) shortly after the anime was first announced back in 2024. Writing fanfic endings for me is generally cathartic and while I can say I liked the episode we got, that I don't particularly love it as much as I might is not like... a slight on it. But knowing spoilers in advance probably helped me not dislike it as much as I might have. Because yeah, I was hoping after waiting so long we'd maybe get Nakahiro as a couple. But well. It's not My Oh My, Atami-kun, at least.

A good chunk of the episode was quite manga accurate, though the opening wasn't. Poor, sad, burrito Okuto :((( At least we finally got to see him feed Icchan. And no Kana handling Icchan with tongs in the end after all lol I know that wouldn't have been this story but it was always a funny manga panel to me that the anime didn't use.

I love the detail of Okuto paying attention to the TV because it's talking about different species of octopus at an aquarium. At least he's happy with some things.

Hana's arrival in the classroom is largely manga accurate (though Kota's reaction is more exaggerated lol, and we see a bit more of Ryou, too). I always found Aiki's chilly reaction to Hana interesting, and wondered if he looked annoyed or just embarrassed? Those are two very different things, and given how relatively little we see from Aiki in the manga, could mean the world of difference in his mental landscape.

To me, this made sense with him later getting dumped, and I incorporated it into I think all my fanfics as a result: if he wasn't just embarrassed his girlfriend was showing up, he seems decently bothered by her being there. And it's no wonder she later dumps him. Aiki's not a horrible person (mostly, though he did the whole drink thing with Kota), but you deserve better, Hana lol

The octopus pen is, from my recollection, from this manga arc. It is in the manga here (Hana does bump into Okuto and pick up the pen for him, and that scene in the anime is pretty faithful). It's cute we got an anime origin story for it, though, too! However, in the manga, there was no origin story and no pen gift for Aiki. But in the anime, Hana knows Aiki has that pink octopus pen, and even asks Aiki about it immediately after this. And she stares at Okuto's pen for a while. Hana staring at it for a long time and thinking and later asking Aiki about his pink pen is curious O.o. Does Hana know? Or does she wonder? Aiki doesn't specify which friend gave him the pen, so maybe Hana assumes someone else gave both of them pens, or maybe Okuto shopped from the same store or something.

Imagining all the people writing fics where Hana dumps Aiki because she knew Aiki was "cheating" by accepting pens from strange boys lol

Again, as I noted before (and I had a longer post about this that I never made), I think the removal of Okuto thinking in the gym closet that he'd support Aiki in the situation where Aiki ends up with someone else is a loss for the story, and makes this whole arc work a lot less. Yes, it maybe makes more sense why Okuto is acting more dramatically during his anime breakdown, but I felt his breakdown in the manga made sense, and we still had that moment of maturity in the closet.

Again, the episode continues decently faithfully to the manga, with Okuto turning into a hardcore stan of Hanaki... until the scene where Okuto walks in on Hana dumping Aiki. And Hana in the anime is crying. That's new. We also see her pull her arms closer to herself, making herself smaller. She's clearly upset and embarrassed.

And Okuto's fleeing is a bit funnier and more exaggerated lol It's a shame he now has to crush Aiki and Hana to stick to his word.

The first part of Aiki and Okuto's conversation is generally the same, with some little changes: Aiki walks ahead, and Okuto runs up to walk with him, and Okuto makes that little smile when he catches up.

In the manga, Okuto is more visually neutral and surprised. Anime!Okuto may have been pushing himself away for his own mental health, but he can't help but be pleased all the same.

Okuto and Aiki's conversation here is so cute :3 Their seiyu do such a wonderful job, and the animation is adorable.

In the manga English translation, Aiki says, "A guy I can talk about lots of stuff with like this might be better!"

Crunchyroll has the English sub with Aiki say, "I prefer a friend like you who I can talk to about anything."

The English dub says, "I prefer people I can be myself around, like you." And given Aiki isn't on-screen when this is being said, this does not seem to be a matter of, "They had to modify the lines to match the lip movement."

I don't know what the subs on Hulu are like. I don't know what the original Japanese in the manga or the anime says. But given the line in the English dub, I think the English sub got decently close. Assuming the translations are accurate, that is a bit of a difference from an English reader standpoint. In the manga, it was open-ended if Aiki meant Okuto specifically, or guys in general, which still left open the idea of bisexual/pansexual/gay Aiki, and the transition to Aiki focusing on Otogiri-sensei made sense, too, based on an earlier demonstrated crush and the manga interaction they have after this (though it's left open-ended what Aiki wanted to talk to him about). However, the anime makes it clear (at least in the anime), Aiki feels specifically comfortable around Okuto. That leaves it open for demisexual!Aiki headcanons, if nothing else, while still leaving the door open for bisexual/pansexual/gay in general Aiki.

Everything after Aiki's, "Don't tell anyone", is anime original.

So happy for Okuto going for it :3 Inviting Aiki on a walk and checking in with him when he seems upset.

There's a lot of lovely shots in this episode, and I love this one in particular, where it's just their upper faces, especially given the scene at the lockers where we couldn't see their eyes/how they were really feeling.

I don't know if it's a callback, but it's nice if it is. Gentle sunset scene where they both have their eyes open, and Aiki is looking up, not down.

I like their conversation and also think it's funny how similar some of my fics, particularly my last one after Episode 12, got kind of close in some of the dialogue. Like it's all tropes, but... funny. And I'm glad Aiki fastened onto Okuto's "charm" comment, because I wrote about it so much lol And Aiki running after an embarrassed Okuto XD Yeah, my version involved Okuto confessing his feelings, but still XD

The sparkle animation in Aiki's eyes when Okuto offers to listen :3

In the manga, Aiki does ask for Okuto's LINE after the break-up, but it's a while after (and right before, in the manga, Okuto meets Kosei, because the anime moved a lot of things around). The anime's version is adorable, as usual.

Okuto going through 100 different emotions getting to text with Aiki :3 Reminds me of Ibuku's reaction to Mikami's texts in I'm Here, Beside You. It's haaard :D And they're going to see what looks like a romance movie, judging by the tickets XD Or at least a drama.

Also, Okuto's athletic movements around the room are amazing alkdjalj That boy be bendy.

The way Aiki nudges the popcorn slightly towards Okuto >:3

Okuto given a critical hit, seeing Aiki chew popcorn :3

Glad both of the boys had a good time :3

Okuto, you need to remember Aiki likes it when you're earnest :3 You don't have to be embarrassed :3 I appreciate Aiki noticing what's happening and encouraging him :3

Poor Okuto, trying to protect himself. He doesn't want to go through the pain again, and he wants to set a boundary for safety.

I don't know, Okuto, maybe one day get a big dog and let Aiki be responsible for it, and I think he'll be plenty happy. Plus, he's happy with you now.

Being a teenager is hard.

I was admittedly distracted during the pavilion scene by thinking of The Garden of Words (which you should really watch if you haven't, it's one of the prettiest anime films around).

I was originally going to write a longer scene specifically about this in Let's Go before I just left the bit where Aiki considers this as is, so this whole sequence in the anime is extremely validating.

Aw, Okuto has been nice guy'd :( I also sort of wrote about this in the fic alkjdlaj This episode, for all I wish it had gone different places, was very validating from that standpoint anyway alkdjalj

This could obviously apply to the crab keychain, too, but <.< >.>

He liked it so he put a ring on it

Like some folks speculated, we are doing basically a redo of Episode 6. There's a focus on Aiki not fitting in with people in the way he wants, and then running after Okuto (after Okuto runs into the aquarium alone > after Hana dumps Aiki), them having a nice chat (in the aquarium > outside school), spending the day together doing different activities indoors and out (in the aquarium and around Chinatown > the movies and the park), culminating in them sitting in a covered garden area and one of them gifting the other one a marine animal keychain. Even Aiki's behavior is similar to Okuto being nervous about Aiki's reaction in Episode 6.

S'fine. Don't mention it. I don't have any feelings about it at all, you know <.< Tsundere Aiki emerges. He's so unflummoxed he even puts his hat on the proper way.

And of course, this time at the ceremony, Aiki is waving to Okuto for real.

The amount of food this ships gets, even in the end. Love that for people.

Of course, Ryou doesn't want someone else's trashed goods.

And at least Okuto maybe figured out how to get along with Tsukasa O.o

More ships being served here.

Poor Kosei. Forgotten again. At least Aiki isn't around the clothing thief.

So do they end up in class together next year O.o Maybe one day we'll see. Or we can imagine it.

All in all, it was a pretty good adaptation. I still struggle with some of the reasoning for the changes and cuts, especially given that odd letter Syundei sent to HERO'S Web. Generally the writing was quite good, the rearranging was overall okay, and a lot of the new stuff was fun, while the art was by and large wonderful, and the music was generally great (and that OP was phenomenal, maybe Revolutionary Girl Utena references and all). Some side characters were expanded, and it was nice to see Aiki and Okuto spend more time together, while all the seiyu did a great job. An open ending for the anime isn't bad, especially since, despite the fact I would completely understand Syundei never touching this series again after all the harassment she's faced, we could still get volume 3 of the manga someday. Unfortunately, most boys love anime do not get second seasons (even when there's more to animate, as shown with The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter, Twilight Out of Focus, and Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, and plenty of BL animated movies are just the start of longer novel and/or manga series, as with Seaside Stranger, Classmates, and Yes, No, or Maybe?). It sucks, but that's the industry (and the industry kind of sucks). An entirely anime original second season, presumably (and hopefully) with Syundei consulting, would be nice, but I really doubt it'll happen. There are plenty more school-related BL if you'd like to read those! Generally, BL have happy endings where the couples end up together, so if you want that, Ganbare is something of an outlier (and isn't yet complete as a manga, anyway, so there's still hope).

And not everything about this fandom has been bad, despite the horrible stuff that happened to Syundei and how antis infested fandom spaces. There's so much more fanart, we went from fewer than 100 fics before the anime aired to now over 500 just on Ao3, there are tons of cosplayers and just people chatting about the manga and Syundei's other works, and even getting into the audio drama. The manga's always been beloved - despite antis infesting the fandom for years and harassing Syundei - and it's nice to hope that Syundei is enjoying this to some degree, too. I hope she is, anyway.

Other Thoughts:

Episodes 1-2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13 (you are here)

My Nakamura Okuto/Hirose Aiki getting together fanfics

The new editions of the manga are available in English

The anime website

The anime twitter

Listen to the audio drama for the manga in Japanese, and the twitter for the audio drama