And after the delightfully refreshing date from last week, we’re right back in the lab to continue with the experiments! But more specifically, it’s the episode in which Ibarada causes as much chaos as she possibly can – and it’s great.
When the episode started and we were introduced the classic late high schooler running to class with toast in her mouth I definitely thought we were veering into a side story regarding Kosuke. Perhaps he was starting a new route in his game? But I was duped as she crashes straight into Yukimura. A crash of fate that would typically be the start of a brand new romance anime. But of course, Yukimura really isn’t the romantic type so he shuts her down right away without even realizing it. Honestly, it was a fun way to start the episode, but I don’t really know what it contributed to the rest of the series aside from explaining what Murphy’s law is – which I guess was pretty neat.
The bulk of the episode starts off with a typical meeting of the lab to talk about their presentations and research. We’re introduced to the famous Ikeda who I think is an absolutely fantastic character! Not only was he asleep up until he was called to the meeting, but he’s your typical nerd with muscles type character. Watching him flip-flop from kindly professor to “YOU’VE UPSET ME SO I WILL DESTROY YOU” was a highlight for me. I hope we get to see more of him, but I have a feeling he’ll be the type of character to show up every so often, get buff and then leave. The remainder of the presentation focuses heavily on rehashing the premise of the anime and essentially serves as a recap of the previous episodes. In case you forgot, they’re researching what the base definition is for being in love and also they just had a really good date in the previous episode. But! Surprisingly, Ikeda’s on board with the idea so it’s onward with the experiments!
There weren’t any new experiments in this episode, but rather previous ones being played out with different pairings. Kosuke and Yukimura perform the Kabedon, Kaede and Yukimura share food, and Ibarada and Kosuke snuggle up with each other. The Kabedon scene didn’t essentially just served as a little bit of bait. Kosuke’s blush really hit it home, but in the end it wasn’t even talked about in terms of the experiments! It just existed to give Ibarada something to crack up about. Kaeda and Yukimura sharing food essentially highlighted the fact that Himuro was jealous that someone else was feeding him. While I admit, her jumping and straight up eating the food was funny for a moment, the rest of that skit also seemed pretty pointless. From my understanding, they didn’t get any data from either of these two instances so we’re just as far away from a conclusion as we were at the beginning of the episode.
However, I did ultimately think the experiment, or rather competition, between Ibarada and Kosuke was the best part of the episode. Ibarada is here to cause chaos and Kosuke sure as heck doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction. That combination, plus Kosuke being generally helpless is great (how did this kid get into grad school?). First, Ibarada who already looks like Kosuke’s 2D crush straight up goes in for the kill by reciting the confession from his game. I mean, that would make any otome fan swoon, right? Naturally, Kosuke doesn’t accept these results and demands they restart without her using the game as a reference guide. So, what’s the next best thing? Humiliate him! At first, I thought it was going to be a touching moment between the two of “remember when we were kids” and then he would slowly soften up his determination and she’d eventually win that way, but instead she opted to go for the route that caused him the most embarrassment. She’s definitely here for chaos and not love. Ultimately, I do the whole bit between the two was enjoyable, but I’m kinda bummed that it just ended with “oh haha Kosuke is humiliated”.
But! We do have something to look forward to next time: The kiss!! I wonder how they’re going to implement that into an experiment, will it just be a very controlled situation or will it be spontaneous? Will it actually be Himuro and Yukimura who kiss? Or will some chaos occur behind the scenes?
**Notice: Episode 6 will be released in a double post next week!