This is going to be a mess

THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THE TRAILER 🫶

theepeach being cute? ✅

theepeach on various trips together? ✅

peach being visibly endeared by and in love with his husband? ✅

peach being romantic? ✅

plub getting a girlfriend? ✅

and i will have y'all known, i've been manifesting emibonnie in MaT since DECEMBER 2024, so you are fucking welcome everybody, i did it! i'm pretty sure this also marks the first time gmmtv mixes up bl and gl at least a little bit, which i hope they will do more of in the future, so yay!

peach being thee's rock? ✅

JEALOUS PEACH? ✅✅✅✅✅

THE ONE (1) THING I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THE TRAILER* 🙅‍♂️ *subject to change due to the deceptive nature of most trailers

one of the things thee says in his beautiful, iconic "let's be boyfriends" speech is - AND I QUOTE - 'whatever you want to do, just tell me. i'll make it happen. if you like working, i won't get in your way. i'll let you live your life." thee was NOT lying. the very POSSIBILITY that thee was lying in that speech would ruin it ENTIRELY. in addition to that, thee asking questions about peach's work, understanding that peach actually likes to work, that work is something he actively enjoys doing is a literal plot point in 'me and thee'.

now, there is some hope for this storyline yet ☝️

which seems to be that thee swiftly green-lights peach going back to work after his brief outburst and refuses to put his feelings above peach's to the point of not even wanting to tell him about said feelings. a quality that i have admittedly always found endearing about thee. he will do anything peach wants, even if it's not something that he wants.

still, the very fact of thee having an issue with peach going back to work and seemingly not letting him get back to work for half a year (?) in the first place might be indicative of what has been my biggest fear for this mini-sequel: them reaching for the lowest hanging fruit of comedy while disregarding the very serious, in-depth, crucial development the characters went through in the main series in favour of a cheap laugh. you could always argue that 'progress is non-linear', but thee changing and making progress is kind of the central plot point of MaT, which is what makes it such a beautiful story, what makes thee such an endearing, beloved character, and what makes peach fall in love with him.

the last thing i want is to rewatch 'me and thee' and go 'aw, this thing thee said aged kind of poorly because they wanted to get an easy haha out of me in the mini-sequel' or 'this incredible change in thee's personality and perspective on life is actually not super important since he will keep regressing backwards just to learn the lesson again in the prequel because they didn't know what else to write'.

with a real person or a narrative that is long enough to further confirm that the lesson has finally been well and truly learned, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but going backwards just to go forwards again in the few episodes of the definitive last time we will see these characters on screen would make the change feel less real, like thee could go back on it any time. and learn the lesson again, i suppose. but, while exploring the mutability of human character and non-linear progress could be interesting in a longer narrative that has time and space for it, in such a short narrative, after the change of character and demeanour has already been established as such a big deal in the main story, the flip-flopping will just weaken and blur thee's character. in my opinion.

We begin by checking out a bit more of Yako's job. If you recall from Vol 3, we got little peeks into her job. She's some sort of graphic designer. Though here we see her working on some 3D rigging and doing the back-and-forth with clients and bosses. She looks tired, and she's working hard, but the comic doesn't imply she hates her job, it's just taxing!

And, by putting two and two together (what we knew of her beforehand and how busy she does always look in her work situations), her job is the reason why she's always the one usually starting up food parties and the like. She needs a break!

So where does Yako suggest this time? Not just any ordinary party....a trip to a fishing hole!

Lookit our cuties all ready for some outdoorsin'. Oh, also note: This story takes place in May, so they make comments here and there of what's in season and even water temperature stuff. It's neat little tidbits.

Anyway, Yako knew of this place and wanted them all to enjoy something a bit more personal - to catch, prepare, and enjoy some food together. Of course, Yako being Yako, she doesn't do much in the way of preparing the food. Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Hang on lol

The girls learn how to bait-fish (live bait, that is) with reel-less poles. There's a lot of fun panels as the girls fish (and yes, Yako joins in as well!), but it's even more hilarious that Nomoto is the only one that can handle setting the insect bait, so just imagine her coming over to set up everyone's poles after each attempt lol

After a while, the gang finally has enough food to have the party portion of their outing. Yako leads in a more respectful "prayer" of sorts - talking about how, after actually experiencing this more personal way of obtaining food and being respectful of nature, they must give thanks a bit stronger this time around

And then they eat. Including Nagumo! She's slowly getting better~ Of course, I'll give you the page of Kasuga enjoying it first! (Yako gives her the honors, it's a little cute moment, actually lol)

Nomoto is utterly into this. She really has a Thing for watching Kasuga eat...and that's okay!

We are then treated to some "having fun" pages as they eat, then enjoy the river together, but then Yako takes at look at her calendar

June is coming up. Pride is coming up.