Summary
Kaoru ponders on why Ricchan gave him a pair of gloves, and almost believes that they were a mistake before Ricchan corrects him, leading him to accept the gift and start wearing them. When he gets a cold and is visited by Ricchan, she wonders where all his confidence and love towards her has gone, as all he does is build up an inferiority between himself and Sentarou. Kaoru eventually finds his voice, and proclaims his love over and over in the front yard of his house, not caring who overhears him. When summer arrives, Kaoru and Sentarou prepare for the summer festival, however unknown to Kaoru, Sentarou won’t be showing up…
[portfolio_slideshow pagerpos=disabled size=large click=advance nowrap=false trans=fade]
Impression
For me, what I find seems to recur with Sakamichi no Apollon is a moment (or moments) in each episode where you’re pushed to the edge emotionally, then meet something completely unexpected and scream out NOOOOOOOO to whoever can hear you. And the prize this week goes to: Kaoru and Ricchan’s near-kiss! Well, it should have happened. We all wanted it to happen (except the fujoshi Sen x Bon lovers) BUT IT DIDN’T sobs in corner …Stupid realistic cold. The classic bath scene made its appearance, however unlike the usual where the girl runs off screaming, it ends on a rather flat note, with Kaoru asking Ricchan straight out – why him and not Sentarou? I know it must be hard for Ritsuko to explain her new feelings especially when its to the person who expects it the least, making this all the harder.
I was a mix between pissed off and sympathetic towards Kaoru this week – being rejected as forcefully as he was last time, it’s understandable that he thinks up the worst case scenario of why he even got any mittens from Ricchan, the “leftovers from Sentarou’s gift” being the worst one of them. But seriously, when a girl goes out of her way to knit you something and give it to you, that’s usually a sign that they’re interested in you. I doubt there was a need to go into that wave of self-pity comparing himself and Sentarou in front of Ricchan, and like she said, he had no confidence at all during that moment. What happened to the Kaoru that kissed her on Xmas or played hard-learnt piano pieces for her?
That was quite the timeskip we had after Kaoru’s illness, jumping straight into summer where we have the upcoming festival again – yup, the one where the epic medley was played last time round. The bomb wasted no time in dropping though, since for some reason Sentarou has no intention of showing up – and is actually leaving town, from the looks of it. It’s pretty obvious the matter’s related to his returning dad, whom he doesn’t have the most stellar relationship with from the last of what I remember. But running away? He’d better have a damn good explanation, since he’s got a lot here in town he’ll definitely regret leaving behind if he does.
- Random Thought: Subtly blocking a snowball meant for Ricchan with the very gloves she knitted him. Wow…pretty smooth, man.
