It’s really nice to have an episode to unwind after all the drama that’s happened. A lot of progress has been made, and Kotarou and Akane’s relationship has finally been made out to the open. It was nice to just have a slower fluffier episode.
I’m not sure what to say other than I freaking loved this episode. The only thing I hated was the wonky animation. Obviously I didn’t watch this while it was airing, but the fact that there was a recap episode right in the middle of the show that I had to skip means that there had to be some production issues with the show, which was pretty evident this episode. It was mostly the character models that looked awful, but the backgrounds were gorgeous.
Oh man, what to say? This episode was absolutely adorable. The news spread around their class and with other students in the school, and now everyone knows that Akane and Kotarou are dating. So, just like their little date at Dome City, they’re able to do things in public. They definitely made a lot of progress that one time, and now they’re able to meet at school and speak to each other much more casually. I loved it when Kotarou took Akane to his festival practice. That look of awe on her face as he did his dance was so cute. It was like she was seeing this cool and manly side to him she didn’t know he had. In fact, I think they learned a lot more about each other this episode because they were able to spend time together, and they went on a festival date! Kotarou learned that Akane likes Japanese things, and Akane learned about his role in the festival, and she learned his birthday. It was adorable that she went out to buy him a gift, and she ended up buying him the same potato squish that she has. And now they match. That’s…that’s just so damn cute. They go to the shrine with the wind chimes the guys back at practice told them about, it was gorgeous, they write fortunes, and they eat and talk and have fun. In the end, as they cross a bridge, Kotarou thanks Akane for the gift and calls her by her first name, and she calls him for his first name. And finally, after they were interrupted last week, they share their first kiss with each other.
That’s basically what the episode was and I loved it. I love watching their romance progress. It was interesting that Akane couldn’t come up with one thing she really liked about Kotarou to her friends. Not that she didn’t like him, but it was just that she really couldn’t come up with anything because they didn’t know each other all that well on a deeper level. She liked him but she couldn’t pinpoint why. But at the end of the episode when her friends asked her again, she was finally able to give a clear answer. It’s no wonder why Akane feels safe being around him, Kotarou really cares about Akane and looks out for her. It was also nice to see them be way more talkative than before, both of them feeling comfortable sharing jokes and whatnot. The show does a nice job with their interactions, like I said in the very first episode. They act and feel like real people.
The date was sweet, Akane looked adorable in her yukata, and the two of them are just so cute. The last straw was when we saw what they wrote on their fortunes, and they both wrote the same thing: I wish we can be together forever. That’s adorable!!!! But also worrying, because I feel like something is going to come up and get in the way of their sweet little love. Also, interesting that Chinatsu didn’t do or say anything. But like I said, I’m glad the drama took a step back this time. This show is just too good.
Also, I love that Akane bought Kotarou a potato squish but I kinda like these little guys more~
Yeah, I kind of figured you feel this way about this episode. Everything seemed to culminate up to this point, and there are still a few episodes left. Did you notice how they seemed to make efforts for each other at the library? It was really adorable to watch. It was also nice to see Akane struggle to give an answer as to why she likes Kotarou. It’s honest in the way that sometimes, there doesn’t need to be an explanation for everything.
“There is such a thing as love in this world. I’m sure of it. It’s the expression – the etiquette – of love that is so hard to find” – Dazai
Shout out to the fellow festival workers for picking up on Kotarou and giving him some money. That was nice of them. Speaking of the festival, it was really nice how it was portrayed. We see them walking around, looking around, putting band-aids on stuff. Compared to other festivals, their activities were refreshing (no cliche games or goldfish scooping stuff). Making wishes together, buying belated birthday gifts…all so adorable. I really liked the corridor of wind chimes. It was really bright and aesthetically pleasing. Supposedly, this was a better depiction of a traditional Japanese festival, so that is interesting to note (though I’m not sure if it’s really true). Also…that first kiss…..the build up to it was really nice too. Wish all other romance anime had build ups like this. And that ending….both of them having the same wish….words can’t really explain that…but it was nice. Yeah, guess I’m saying that a lot, but I find it tough to put into words.
Uh oh….looks like his mother found his hidden stash.