Now that exams are over, it’s time to start thinking about student council nominations, elections, and summer break. This week we get to see two sides of popularity, first through the lens of Takamine senpai and her lack of it, and through Shima and his overabundance of it. There’s trouble on both sides, but as always, Skip and Loafer always takes the time to explore everyone’s feelings.
Right off the bat we find out that Mitsumi has been designated Secretary of the student council. Hurray!! I’m proud of her! She’s working her way up to where she wants to be! Unfortunately, we quickly learn that Takamine, the ever diligent and loyal council member failed to be elected President and instead became the Student Council Vice President. At first, I was curious to find out what direction they were planning to go with this mysterious new president. Initially, I thought that they might explore that bitter experience many people have had that dedication does not guarantee you a position because there may be someone else who was just as perfect for the job as you were. Instead! They took the route, which arguably hurts more: you may be more dedicated to something, but sometimes the popular person just wins because… well, they’re popular! And let me tell you, it sucks a lot. Anyone who’s been in a similar position will probably tell you the same thing. Right from under Takamine’s nose, a member of the soccer team, with no previous experience in the student government, decides to throw his hat into the ring and ultimately ends up winning. And to top it all off, it doesn’t seem like he’s super serious about the position anyways. That just rubs extra salt in the wound. Oh, and to tug on your heart strings more?? Her pulling out the “When I become President” notebook really hit hard. You can really tell how much she wanted to become president only for it to be swiped from under her.
That being said, I think Egashira really laid out the situation clearly to everyone. She was super blunt about it, but I don’t think she was wrong. Immediately upon hearing who Takamine was going up against, Egashira blatantly states just how popular the other candidate is – and quite frankly, because he’s popular and a well known name in the school, and good at sports, he’ll naturally gain votes because he is viewed favorably by his peers. On the flip-side, Takamine comes across as very uptight and strict. Regardless of how much effort she puts in, it isn’t necessarily seen by the rest of the student body. And no matter how much Mitsumi proclaims to her friend group that Takamine deserves the position, that doesn’t change the perception of the entire school. Unfortunately, sometimes things just end up as a popularity contest.
Granted, despite the results, I think we get an incredibly sweet moment with Kanechika as he shares his first homemade movie with Takamine, Mitsumi, and Shima. I love this interaction because it’s cringey and embarrassing, but it’s something he put his whole heart into as a child. And it’s nice to see that he’s flustered over showing it as well. It’s not something to stroke his ego, but rather, sometimes seeing where you’ve come from and moving out of your comfort zone is the best way to start taking steps forward. It was honestly a super sweet gesture even if he might have just been making up for making a poorly timed comment earlier in the episode. And overall, we get a happy ending to this segment. Takamine is going to start doing things outside of her comfort zone – she’s going to start trying to relax a little more, smile to her classmates and have small chats. I love the note about trying to go to a café with friends. You go Takamine! Make those first steps!!
The second half of the episode, we get to watch as Shima has to turn a whole lot of girls down. He’s popular no doubt – just one look at him and everyone is swooning over him and to top it off? Well, he comes across as really nice too! Unfortunately, many of them don’t seem interested in just being his friend and seem to want to speed run to the dating phase. But you know what? At least Mitsumi is his friend. 100% Friend – Made in Ishikawa Prefecture. But!! It seems that we get some development as she asks him to go to the zoo with her & it’s not as a group, but as a duo instead. He agrees without much hesitation, so that must mean something good, right? But the drama starts increasing from there, but surprisingly not between Mitsumi and Shima. Instead, Egashira witnessed the whole zoo conversations, is noticeably upset by it, but quickly runs into a model at the front gates. To add even more drama, she knows Shima and he seems very aware of her. As for their relationship? Hoo, we’re going to have to wait until next week to find out. Is she a partner? An ex who can’t take a hint? A stalker? A friend? A family member? Who knows!! Either way, I’m on the edge of my seat and can’t wait to see what we learn in the next episode.
