Sasaki and Miyano Episode 5

AAAAAH. We’re seriously not wasting any time here! I did not think that Sasaki would work up the courage to confess to Miyano so soon (in the show) but he did and now Miyano really has to work his feelings out now that he knows that Sasaki is completely serious in his feelings for him.

This is probably my favorite episode in the show so far. There’s so many great things that happened and that I appreciate a lot. While this show does tend to follow tropes, I love that they sort of deviated from them as well. First of all, can we appreciate that Sasaki DIDN’T end up kissing Miyano? The episode had been so great but I was getting nervous at this part after all that kissing talk in the beginning, and the perfect set-up for the “kissing through the mask” plot line they were talking about from the manga. I am really not a fan of surprise kiss scenes, where it’s completely one sided and the other person is either 1.) completely unaware (so like Miyano as he slept) or 2.) the person was not ready and they’re shocked. In some cases they can work, the most recent example of a show I watched was Fruits Basket, but those two characters already confessed their feelings for each other and felt very strongly for each other that it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. But in most cases it’s completely one-sided and it’s just…ehhh. It’s weird, I just don’t like it. So I’m glad that Sasaki only thought about kissing a sleeping Miyano through his mask for just a second before having the self-realization that it was completely not okay. Yes he really likes Miyano and thinks he’s adorable and irresistible, but even he knows that kissing him would have been a big mistake. So I’m glad the most he did was lay his finger over his lips over his mask. It was still sweet and romantic without making it weird or creepy. Sasaki is such a good guy.

Another thing I really appreciate is the fact that Sasaki’s misunderstand was resolved by the end of the episode. Even though his explanation was still hilariously bad and I couldn’t stop laughing at how annoyed Hirano was with him. I totally get it. But at least it relieved the tension between them with Miyano never really liking his answer in the first place and being self-conscious about it.

I’m glad we got to explore Miyano’s self-consciousness over his looks. The story could have left that detail as a passing comedic joke, but I’m glad to see that they really went deeper into and showed how negatively it affects Miyano. As a guy, I can imagine that always being compared to a girl and always hearing how girly you are can really get grating. Especially in your teen years, you want to be seen as more manly. Yes, Miyano is very cute and there’s nothing wrong with being cute, but I assume for most guys that they don’t want to only be seen as cute. It affects people’s perception of him, and it even went as far as his female crush in middle school joining in with that thought and ruining anything between them. Though with how she saw him, it sounds like anything happening between them would never have happened anyway. But that realization can be crushing. So Sasaki only bringing up Miyano’s face as the thing he likes about him brought those memories back. What does that mean to him? When he says he likes his face, is it because he thinks it’s girly just like everyone says? I don’t blame him for feeling that way, but also Sasaki’s confession took him by surprise. I’m happy that Miyano didn’t back away from the confession and was eagerly agreed to give Sasaki a proper answer when he was ready to do so. Ugh, so cute!

And I don’t blame Sasaki for flubbing his answer to Miyano. He was caught off guard as well and wasn’t able to form a good answer. But…he didn’t really give Miyano a good answer later but at least saying “I like you more than your face, I’ll explain next time” is better than nothing, and it gave Miyano some peace of mind. It also just cracked me up. But at least his confession was crystal clear. It was funny that Miyano was thinking that what he heard on the train was a mistake, until boom Sasaki just confirmed it and didn’t back away from it. Such whiplash haha.

Here I thought that Hirano knew what was going on between them but even he was shocked at the confession, and I love that Sasaki doesn’t give a crap and he just kept on explaining what was happening between them while Hirano stood there confused. But he’s great. While it shocks him, he doesn’t judge the situation and instead helps Sasaki out by giving him his cellphone so that he could call Miyano and properly explain himself. Which he sort of did, and the only judging Hirano does is thinking Sasaki is an idiot for not telling him what he wanted to tell him lol. They easily could have gone in the “wait what, you’re gay? you like a guy?” thing but I’m glad they didn’t. Just a friend helping another friend and that makes me happy. Also I agree Hirano, how the hell have these two known each other for so long and shared manga and NOT gotten each other’s phone numbers?! I hope Sasaki asks for it next time, while hopefully not scaring Miyano away.

This episode was great. As usual, it was wholesome and sweet while bringing it a little bit of drama that didn’t overstay its welcome. The animation isn’t the best at times, but there can be some really nice details here and there. The flowers falling around them as they spoke during the sports festival was pretty, the confession was beautiful, and when those fluffy bubbles and shapes appear they tend to look nice as well. Though they really do overdo it, I feel like the fluffy shoujo effects show up in almost every scene now. It’s cute and all, but I wish they would tone it down. I know that Sasaki is feeling bubbly and embarrassed, you don’t need to include the shapes and stuff. Oh well.

I can’t wait to see how things will develop now! Sasaki’s confession came up quick, so I don’t think they’ll dawdle with Miyano’s answer. Like I mentioned in my Demon Slayer post, I’ll be out of town on vacation so next week’s episode is going to have to be a double post with Episode 7 when I get back. It’ll be a pain to wait that long but I’m sure it’ll be worth it!