#tamahoshi

Like, why is it that hard for Sae to notice that Koki behaves differently when he’s with her compared to other girls? Like, he’s a gentleman towards other girls, but she’s special! I guess that’s why this is a slow burn romance, but the fact that Sae doesn’t raise an eyebrow on the possibility of him being in love with his cousin does make it a bit frustrating.

Weird stuff aside, it was nice seeing Koki gaining more confidence in speaking in English in front of an audience after practicing with Sae off-campus. I was told that in the English dub, Koki’s weakness in English was changed to being afraid of public speaking, which makes no sense given how sociable he is. Also, whoever made his outfit did him dirty because that’s no lion, that’s a frilled-neck lizard! Still, it was hilarious how he thought he looked like a parabolic antenna. I think this episode showed a lot of good sides of Koki because he’s willing to overcome his weakness in English for the play and even hit a third-year when they talked smack about Sae ruining their chances to get an upskirt shot of Sui. Given how he’s always defending the girls from people like Yushin who says tactless things about them, Koki is a male feminist.

Though, there is a possibility that Ayukawa could have a crush on Sae, but I think it’s unlikely in the sense that he gives off socially awkward vibes. He may be book smart, but he feels like he’d be denser than Koki when it comes to romance. There’s a lot that’s not really known about him other than him being super smart and being from the middle of nowhere. This story does avert a lot of usual shoujo tropes, which is why I don’t think Ayukawa would have a crush on Sae, but I could be wrong. In a sense, if he does have a crush on her, it could give motivation to Koki to confess a lot sooner. Besides, Ayukawa was there when Koki kicked Yushin off the slope during the garbage cleaning event. He doesn’t seem like the type who’d try to get in Koki’s way.

I do wonder if Subaru’s role in the story is to help close in the distance between the leads. She seems like a cool girl and a sister figure to Koki, so it would make sense if she would be supportive of them. She gives off extremely perfect vibes from how her grades are good and how she’s talented at art. By the way, Subaru did appear in the first episode when Sae and Koki were about to take their entrance exams and Koki was glaring at her before walking off. I hope that she actually doesn’t have feelings for Koki.

Subaru is voiced by Haruka Shiraishi, who voiced Reiko Kujirai from Kowloon Generic Romance and Karen Moriya from Blue Box. She got good range because she sounds a little different when voicing Subaru that I didn’t realize it was her until I saw her name in the credits. Also, the voice actor for Spy-D Man is Michael Rivas, who voiced TK in Angel Beats! I feel like I haven’t heard that name in a while. I wonder if he’ll show up again next episode.

This was a good episode for both Sae and Koki. While their relationship did progress a bit more than before, they also did things to show off their kindness like Sae stopping the creeps from taking pictures of Sui and finally standing up to Yushin to tell him off from teasing her and all the things Koki did like helping Sae up on stage and also punching the creeps. They are a power duo not only in strength but in heart too. I can’t wait for next week’s episode! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!