It’s the second exam and I knew I was going to be stressed for Yatora, but I wasn’t expecting to be this stressed. Sure, last week’s episode left us in an unfortunate place with him collapsed on the floor, but it just keeps building in this episode. In addition to this collapse, we also have the time constraints of the exam, the lack of a strong clear theme, and just the overall intensity of everything going on around them. And of course, they left us on a cliff hanger which brings the stress to a new high!! It’s moments like these where I wish I could just binge the whole series!!
Things are looking rough for Yatora this week. His fatigue is catching up with him and despite how many people are there to help, they can’t fix his body for him. Maki was able to help him get up to the room and Yotasuke was there to at least check on him. But boy that first day for him was just rough. He fell asleep during the first section and had to play catch up for the remainder of it… Well, it seems like he’s behind, but it turns out that he’s actually right on track with others. When he returned on Day 2, most of those around him still only had the base paint down. Granted, I think he’s still behind in terms of ideas. So, the sketchbook portion is going to take some more time on his part.
Yatora really focused on the idea that nudity = the true self, which is probably due to what he experienced in the previous episode. And on the one hand, it produced ‘good’ art from him and allowed him to think deeper, but at the same time, that seemed to be a hinderance for him. He equates nudity as the true self, but it took him a little while to realize that what that means changes for everyone. I think that he can still work with that idea, he’s just going to need to change his perspective a little bit – which seems to be the case as he opens up his sketchbook at the end of the episode. Everyone seemed so shocked at what he was doing, and I can’t help but be curious about his plan.
Since the majority of this episode seemed to focus on the stress of the second exam, there isn’t a whole lot going on outside Yatora’s situation. Hashida and Maki are also taking the exam and have their own approaches to the prompt. They both show concern for their classmate, but otherwise they are pretty heavily focused on what they are doing. I am, however, glad that we got to see the other kids from their class again. And it was a nice way to utilize Sakuraba and her story. It was small, but I think it was impactful and good to include. She’s been trying so hard to get into art school, but it really shows that you can work incredibly hard and things can still be difficult to accomplish. It was nice to see it included. And on the flipside of the exam, I appreciate all the moments Yatora has with Yota. The interactions between the two are always so interesting. They aren’t exactly best friends or anything, but they still talk to each other and help each other out. I mean, Yota was the one to stop and check on Yatora collapsed in the hall, and Yatora was able to help stop Yota from choking. But I kind of want the two of them to play Pokémon together after the exam is done. So, you both better give it your all!
I’m worried for the next episode. I hope the rest of the exam goes well and everyone is able to pass. I know Hashida was already accepted into another school, but I love the dynamics of everyone and their personalities. Also! I hope Mori comes back sometime soon; I think it would be interesting for her to see how much Yatora has grown!
