Oh, I guess Hanako can eat donuts because he didn’t turn them away. Still, he didn’t even get to eat them in the end. T_T
I liked this episode but it also felt a little weird. I don’t know the source material but this episode sort of felt rushed as we went from donut making, to Hanako’s brother appearing, and then to the crazy pink-haired boy at the end, as well as Minamoto-senpai seemingly getting into the mix. I know things are really moving along now, but I feel like it’s maybe going a little too fast and for some reason I feel like there’s a bit of a disconnect and it’s kind of bugging me.
However, this episode was a really good one for Kou. Like, I really like Kou and think he’s cute and sweet but that’s pretty much the extent of my opinion for him. Weirdly he hasn’t really done much of anything of importance in the show so far and his presence has just felt third wheely. The show really focuses on Hanako and Yashiro, and Kou is also with them but he’s usually just there for an extra bit of fun but he’s not especially important? Last week he showed a sweet side when being interested in Hanako’s secret and he joined Yashiro and talked about donuts with him, because he cared. This episode he continued to show that innocent friendliness of him and asked Yashiro to help him make donuts for his little sister, but in reality of course it was for Hanako. He also lied in saying that he’s terrible at cooking, when in fact he’s great at it and it’s his brother that sucks and left those poisonous ones. He noticed Yashiro’s awkwardness around Hanako and took this opportunity to talk with her, check if she’s okay, and offer to listen to her thoughts anytime because he knows that she’s not used to suddenly seeing apparitions yet. He even went so far as to give Yashiro the donuts to give to Hanako herself, even though it was all his idea anyway. Kou, you are so nice!!! He’s got such a big heart, and he shows a bit of that to his brother when he describes Hanako in a better light and says that not all apparitions need to be exorcised. Minamoto looks like he’s on to something, so he’s not going to act on anything just yet.
But yeah, it was nice having something on Kou. He’s a great boy with a good heart and it’ll be interesting to see what’ll happen with him and the pink ghost at the end who…has a weird fixation on weird porn. I’m so glad that no one heard all his yelling at the end. I’m not sure what kind of role he’ll have on the story but it’ll be insane.
We had a big reveal in this episode after Yashiro brought Hanako his donuts. She admits that things might be a little weird and that he’s a pain, but she still wants to be with him. As a friend! Even though it’s obvious that Hanako seems to have fostered feelings for Yashiro, but right before he was able to say that the black crane from before appeared! That black crane was the other Hanako, who is actually his brother. From the very short interaction we had between the two brothers, what’s easy and obvious to deduce is that the demented brother is who Hanako killed, probably because he’s the one who kept abusing him and is now haunting him. Hanako did not react to him well at all as he stood there frozen in fear, but let’s give it to Yashiro. Even though she was scared and confused, she jumped in to throw the hot tea at him which is great of her to do. Yashiro has grown on me over the course of the show and I really like her friendship with Hanako. She cares for him a lot and likes him and wants to be there for him, so it’s nice that while it was a small action by some, it was huge for Hanako as she did her best to protect him in her own way.
Hanako’s brother seems to be working with green girl and the guy, and obviously they’re the ones messing up the rumors in the school. We’ll probably be seeing more of them soon, and I’m looking forward to that. Like I said, I liked this episode but the pacing still felt a bit weird with how things went. I hope they’re not rushing through the source material too badly. I am loving this more serious side of the story but I hope the pacing of events won’t be too weird anymore.
Unfortunately, the anime has been rushing since ep 6. The 4 O’Clock Library was 4 chapters, the same length as the Misaki Stairs, so I expected it to take 2 episodes. Even though the op and ed was cut for more time, a lot of scenes were still omitted. The anime entirely skipped 2 short arcs. One focused on Kou’s conflict with Teru and took place after the Confession Tree before the 4 O’Clock Library. It’s such a shame that it wasn’t adapted because it significantly developed Kou’s character and his relationship with Hanako. Some extra dialogue was added between Kou and Teru in this ep that was took directly from the skipped arc but it’s not the same. A simple conversation does not replace how impactful and emotional that arc was. The second skipped arc further developed Nene’s relationship with Hanako. It took place after the donuts scene and before the new pink-haired ghost was introduced. If you would like to see what anime-onlys missed, read chapters 9-14 and 16-17. Chapters 9 and 10 were Kou’s arc, 11-14 the 4 O’Clock Library, and 16-17 the other skipped arc.
Oh really? Well darn, that’s not exactly a good thing at all. But sure I’ll check out the manga chapters to see what I missed since I’m really curious. 😀