With the school festival underway, the girls are still struggling with their feelings and are each responding very differently to it. For Satowa, in her head she knows what she needs to do, but the incident where the two found themselves so intimately close with each other has left her so flustered, she couldn’t even look at Chika in the eye without breaking into a blush. The problem was that even though she eventually tried to shrug it off, she fell back into her habit of closing herself off to others— which meant avoiding or not talking to him altogether. As result Chika interpreted it as she has since become uncomfortable around him, and so (as Tetsuki suggested), he tried to give her some time and space. But while Chika was certainly patient with her, it was hard for him because it was eating him alive. That’s why when the opportunity came around when the two of them could finally talk alone, he decided to just straight-up ask her how he could make things right between them again.
For Hiro, it was great to see how much she has grown from the start. We saw her lash out out of jealousy when the former club leader, Mashiro dropped by to visit Takezou, but as soon the words left her mouth, she felt awful about it. And instead of leaving it to potentially evolve into a misunderstandings, she took the initiative apologize for her actions right away. Better yet, we saw her act selflessly by not only helping Takezou and Mashiro have alone some time to hang out with each other, but also putting the club’s stability above her own feelings. Like Satowa, she was concerned that these feelings would be a distraction her or cause trouble for others. That’s why the two of them were desperately either trying to cast them aside, or suppress them altogether.
I suppose the biggest surprise that comes out of this event is the fact Takinami ended up playing a big role is helping the girls sort out their emotions. For Hiro, he told her it was okay for her to be in love. He assured her she doesn’t need to worry about it dragging the club down, instead, she should embrace it, and turn it into a source of power. For Satowa, his’ impact was more indirect thanks to revealing the fact despite Takezou and Hiro being second years students, this will be their last chance to qualify for Nationals because of the way it is scheduled. By dropping the bomb of what is at stake, it inherently helped Satowa reclaim control of her disheveled emotions, and diffuse the awkwardness between her and Chika.
Although, I must say, it was absolutely hysterical how he realized he was interrupting an important conversation. Nevertheless, it was probably better that he ended up spoiling the mood because at that moment, it certainly felt like Satowa will still all caught up in her head.
Overall it was another slow week, but it was just as enjoyable as the last ones have been. It was such a wonderful surprise to see them play the first cour’s opening song “Tone” by Shouta Aoi for their festival performance.
I would say the interactions between Hiro and Takezou were probably was the most adorable one this week with the way she was coping with her emotions. Takezou has yet to realize the true power of his smile and words. He has also yet to catch on to how conscious she is around him. Chika also had a badass moment when he swooped in to help Satowa out of an annoying situation with some guys at a table not respecting that she’s not interested. I loved the way he handled those guys!
Rest assure the arc of this cour will be kicking into full gears next week with Takinami having found the piece he wants them to play. (This scene is after the credits for those who don’t usually stick around to watch the ED/Previews.) Of course it’s none other than Satowa’s heart-breaking performance that had failed to reach her mother. Takinami has been particularly picky about their song selection because he wants to find the piece that will play to their strengths and spirits. With preparations for the upcoming qualifiers for Nationals underway, there is a lot of development to look forward to!
