The main charm of this series is the relationship between Izumi and Shikimori. However, the series would’ve been boring if it’s just telling their story. That’s when their friends and family came in. The supporting characters also lit up the series as much as our two main characters are. Watching Izumi and Shikimori bonding with their friends and family is as equally pleasing as watching the couple spending their times together. To my pleasure, this episode revealed how Nekozaki officially got acquainted and became friends with Shikimori, and obviously also Izumi who was Shikimori’s boyfriend.
Like many others, Nekozaki at first thought Shikimori was this pure delicate type who makes people want to protect her. She’s also the type that Nekozaki wished to become even though she had already accepted and comfortable with herself. This misconception led Nekozaki wanting to befriend Shikimori, believing her to be the ideal woman. But of course, she was soon proven wrong when both were pitted in a basketball match, which was the first time Nekozaki found Shikimori’s competitive side that immediately pushed Nekozaki’s button. And so, Nekozaki unexpectedly got her wish becoming Shikimori’s friend came true through their mutual hatred for losing (Nekozaki always has the sense of sportsmanship, while Shikimori dislike it when Izumi being impressed by other girl).
In regards to Shikimori, it’s already been established since the first episode that she is good at studying and sports, coupled with her beauty and kindness, caring for her boyfriend, there’s no question why people would fawning over how a ‘perfect’ girl she is. The episode revealed that Shikimori, in the end, is not as a perfect as a character like people around her believed. Like any other human, Shikimori has her flaw. In her case, her love for Izumi could be a double-edged sword for her. In other words, her love for Izumi was also her flaw. Shikimori was so in love with Izumi that she’s easily jealous if Izumi showed an interest in any girl, even if it’s just a girl in a poster that Izumi praised. She hilariously became so self-conscious to the point she even thought of buying ridiculously revealing swimsuit. Fortunately, her two best friends were there to stop her from making that mistake. Shikimori lacked confidence when it comes to Izumi, trying too hard to match what she perceived as his preference that she totally forgot how much Izumi loves her and something like that won’t change his love for her.
The phone call, like other romantic moment between Shikimori and Izumi, was the best part of the episode. Shikimori once again made it clear to Izumi that his bad luck is not a bother to her and she would want to go wherever Izumi wishes to as long as they are together. For some people, like it did with the manga, it feels repetitive and boring, a formula that I noticed starting to catch up. Personally, I still love how the series is proceeding so far.
I enjoyed most of the episode, but to be honest, I didn’t quite like the cooking class at the end, specifically when Izumi’s mother seemingly flirted with Shikimori. I know she’s trying to make Shikimori relaxed, but the way she did it didn’t look right, especially the fact that Shikimori is supposed to be her son’s boyfriend. But I can let this one slide and still gave this episode a 5 stars out of 5.
