So it looks like in between the events of last episode and the start of this one, Natsuo x Hina was officially confirmed as A Thing and this episode she’s given him the keys to her new house. Jeez, I know it didn’t look great at the end of the festival there but I thought she might hold out just a little longer. That’s what I get for expecting anything of Hina. I wonder how long it’s going to take for this all to blow up in their faces? I can’t say they don’t deserve it. No matter how you slice it, both Hina and Natsuo are being pretty terrible here mainly to poor Rui. For the love of god, won’t somebody think of the Rui?

I actually really liked Rui’s early scenes this episode. It was nice to see her issues take centre stage for a few minutes – she’d really taken a backseat to Natsuo and Hina in the last while. Her chance encounter with Shuu and Kiriya (who are old college friends, apparently) was a little odd and random but it was worth it if only to see Rui’s angry face, which is always a delight to behold.

How awkward is it that Kiriya is just sitting there chilling while Shuu and Rui have this intense, private conversation? Also thank you to Marie for saying what everybody was thinking:

I still can’t make up my mind on what Shuu’s deal is. Like… has he actually learned the error of his ways or is this some sort of long con to get back in Hina’s pants? I mean, it seems genuine, but it seems a bit sudden considering his very consistent shittiness over the past several years. I guess I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now and assume Hina dumping him was a wakeup call. I will say, though, that it doesn’t necessarily reflect well on him that Kiriya is his friend.

I’m so horrified by her talk with Hina, oh my god. What is Hina saying here? Because it sounds like what she’s saying is “Sure, go throw yourself at Natsuo, Rui, you have my blessing”. But that’s not very good advice given the situation, is it? That could end up going quite badly wrong not too far down the road, couldn’t it? But Hina and Natsuo don’t think about things like that. No time for thinking when you’re digging a hole this size.

Rui’s talk with Natsuo was not quite as disastrous in its implications for the future but it still had some real awkward moments. I’m cringing just thinking about the brutality of that “as your stepbrother” line. Aaaagghh. And also this:

Oof, those hoverhands. I am in pain. Can we have one episode where Rui gets some brief respite from this perpetual suffering?

Onto the scene at Hina’s new house, they made such a thing of her not answering the door that I half-expected her to be having sex or, I don’t know, dead or something, so I was a little bit disappointed when she just turned out to be asleep. And from there (once she wakes up, not that consciousness is a prerequisite for Natsuo), the making out begins almost immediately.

Yep, no arguments here.

I almost threw up over the line “I might not be able to stop… is that okay… Sensei?”. Ew ew ew. No wonder Hina noped out of that encounter, that’s enough to turn anyone off. So their relationship remains technically lawful for another day. But for how long?

The club plotline was a refreshing late-episode addition, but I’m still not completely sold on Al, though his Engrish was definitely good for a few laughs. What’s wrong with him anyway? He doesn’t quite seem all there. Is this what the mangaka thinks Americans are like? Human golden retrievers? He seems like a bit of an afterthought character, like he’s just here to fill up a spot. Who knows, though, maybe they’ll do something fun with him. I’m looking forward to literature club antics whenever they next pop up, anyway.

I had to laugh at Hina giving Natsuo a big lecture on trying to protect their relationship from the outside world, then proceeding to kiss him in the middle of a school hallway. Someone is definitely going to catch them kissing at some point, I’m calling this now.