Yagate Kimi ni Naru Episode 8: Intersection/Rained In

The opening scene of this episode proves, sets in stone, that Sayaka is definitely best girl and you can’t argue with me about it. The opening scene was painful, infuriating, but brilliant. As Sayaka waits for Nanami at the station, her ex from middle school passes by and they speak with each other. Her ex decides to apologize to her, which to make things simple, her apology was basically “I’m sorry I (possibly) made you gay.” Because it’s not right and she made her into a weird girl if Sayaka still likes girls now. But it’s okay if she doesn’t anymore and she’s back to being “normal”. It’s comments like those that make me want to strangle people. My heart dropped in this scene, even more so when Sayaka clenched her fist and replied along the lines with “I don’t know why I fell for you”, her ex not understanding what she truly meant. It hurt to hear that as her ex played with her emotions while making a passing homophobic comment to boot. The pain on Sayaka was evident, but as a big middle finger to her senpai, when Nanami showed up Sayaka grabbed her arm as if they were girlfriends and left with the smuggest grins and a “Farewell”.

I’ve already mentioned this but in Japan it’s seen normal to date girls as kids, but not into adulthood. It certainly is seen as a phase, where girls are supposed to start dating boys afterwards and this was shown to us again. But Sayaka isn’t having any of that, and she made her point across to her ex. It was a satisfying end, but it was a sad scene because of how real it felt. Passing homophobic comments like that are so common and it can really be damaging and I thought this scene handled situations like that very well. Sayaka is a pretty calm girl, but I wouldn’t have minded if she had screamed at her ex but the smugness in the end was just as good.

Hydrangeas were focused on a lot this episode. We’ve seen them plenty of times in the OP but I just don’t know flowers too well to know what some of them were called. Hydrangeas hold many meanings, but in Japan specifically they can mean apology, heartfelt emotion, and gratittude. In Victorian flower language, it can also mean boastfulness and vanity but I think the Japanese meanings are more “accurate” in this case. The meanings can also vary based on colors, but in the OP, Nanami’s is yellow. I couldn’t find anything about the meaning of yellow, the characters never gave us answers on their favorite color but at least the flowers were worth noting.

I like that Koito and Sayaka got some time to really understand each other a little better, it was really fun to watch. Ever since that strange face off by the vending machines, Koito and Sayaka’s relationship has been a little strained. This was evident as they struggled to pass the baton during the relay practice, showing their lack of cohesion and teamwork. Glasses boy points this out and Koito tries to make small talk with Sayaka, and then offers her an olive branch (or french fry) to help out this weirdness between them. It was a bit awkward between them but I found it hilarious that they really misunderstood each other. Koito’s expectations of Sayaka made me laugh, picturing Sayaka as this super rich girl that’s never been to a McDonalds (or whatever the hell the anime calls it). Koito’s probably been reading manga way too much and just realized anime tropes don’t work in real life. They learn these new sides of each other and begin talking about Nanami. Sayaka’s deflection of Koito’s question of whether she liked Nanami was smart. As expected of her. But it was really interesting hearing their thoughts about what will happen to Nanami after the student council stage play. Sayaka knows she wants to do it for her sister, and since she wants to do it, Sayaka is going to help her. But after that, what’s going to happen to her? What will she do then? And for Sayaka, she wonders if she’ll be able to confess to her. For Koito, she wonders what will happen with her.

Because she knows what Nanami meant on the river. And her of not wanting Koito to fall for her comes back with a bit of an unsettling moment.

The umbrella trope is pretty cliche and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when Nanami came out of nowhere and they ended up walking together under it. Pretty convenient, but that’s fine. Either way, their whole walk under the umbrella was pretty cute, especially when they fought with each other about holding the umbrella. When they take cover and Koito dries Nanami with her towel, she mentions how happy she was when seeing her and that moment was when it became unsettling. Nanami’s expression changed, her eyes became darker, and it suddenly got cold. Koito totally noticed though and quickly saved herself from whatever would have happened. This reaction from Nanami really makes me worried about what could possibly happen later on. We already know that Nanami doesn’t want Koito to fall in love with her, but this reaction was a little surprising. This dynamic between them is not going to last at this rate because Koito is expressing other types of emotions. This moment was pretty eye opening, showing how serious Nanami is about keeping her distance and it makes me nervous. Their relationship is so unique and strange and I just don’t see shoujo bubbles between them if this continues.

While there was a bit of a bump, at least Koito and Sayaka are on the same wavelength now. But dammit, I wish we heard what colors they chose for the hydrangeas.