Impression
I think I’m slowly warming to Yanagi. At least, I’m liking her better than I did at the start of the series. She’s got more guts than I thought she had – and she can deliver some surprisingly coquettish lines to boot: “You guys should get some release, too.” Despite Yukinari having already confessed to Touko, it turns out that she hasn’t given up on making her own confession after all – although it seems like her intention isn’t to add fuel to the fire. Of course, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Yana-chan was surprisingly brave and calm in pouring everything out with a straight face – in fact, you’d almost wonder why she’d even bother to go through with it if she already knew the outcome and still wanted everything to stay the same despite it. Maybe it’s just to finally get it off her chest, but I can’t imagine she’d be able to just leave her feelings for Yukinari behind by doing this – and similarly, it’s not like Yukinari will ignore everything and act like nothing’s happened. I didn’t like how Yanagi refused to let him get a single word in, almost like she was scared of letting what she thinks is the inevitable happen – she’s probably right, but it’s still unfair to Yukinari himself nevertheless. It’s been hinted at, but Hiro’s onee-chan let it drop that Yuki-kun and Yana-chan are stepsiblings – so there’s the whole incest barrier to overcome as well. Naturally, they’re not real siblings, but the very label is like an iceberg to their Titanic. And amidst all this, Yanagi’s still noticing Kakeru for some reason, and going out of her way to talk to him.
The Touko x Kakeru ship seems to have veered firmly back on course, but its next problem is that its engines are spluttering and dying. The fantasy element of Glasslip is really what holds this ship together – they’re tied together by their shared secret of being able to see the future. With hardly any development on that front, the knock-on effect is that there’s nothing really happening in their romance – it’d be one thing if the fantasy aspect of the show was neglected for romantic drama, but tying the two together to the same rock means they both drown when it’s shoved into the sea. This is what I meant back during the pilot episode when I said that I wasn’t sure what Glasslip wanted to be – now I’m not even sure if it knows itself what it wants to be. We’re approaching the halfway point, so it’s too late to care about whether it wants to be a fantasy or a slice-of-life drama – as long as it’s something, that’d be good. The animation, artwork and OST during that forest scene was absolutely stunning, and it’s one of those things you’d love to turn into a desktop wallpaper, but that was about it – Touko and Kakeru failed to even hold hands, with Kakeru in particular not being as bold as he’s been during earlier episodes.
As for Sacchan and Hiro, it continues to remain the calmest ship of the three – in fact, it’s so calm that I’m beginning to think Sacchan doesn’t even care. Hiro sees their little book meetings as dates, while Sachi doesn’t share that same sentiment – she flat-out denied having a relationship with Hiro to Touko, but she doesn’t seem to dislike having him around either. I love how these reviews are starting to become a bunch of status updates and comments on various ships in the series – not like too much is happening, that is. The leisurely pacing has started to make the show more stagnant than it is calming, and if it’s going to have a turnaround everyone needs a big jolt. Yanagi’s trying her best, but I don’t think she’s making a big enough splash. Maybe Touko really does need to have a glassblowing accident.