GO HOTARU GO! Everyone give this girl a round of applause for cutting straight to the point! When she sees a problem, it must be addressed immediately. Hotaru knows all too well of the potential consequences of letting insecurities fester in someone, so she’s been incredibly proactive in nipping the bud of any potential misunderstandings. I also must commend her for her self-awareness of Saki’s behaviour becoming more intense since her childhood classmate Yohei became her co-worker. When Saki started showing up not just to escort her home every single day, and then soon followed with being constantly present while she was working, what did she say? ‘Hey, don’t you think you’re showing up to my work too often?’ ATTA GIRL! I’m glad she didn’t hesitate to tell him that! At times like this, you gotta draw the line. Good for you putting your foot down!
And the same time, the best part was that thanks to her past, Hotaru was quickly able to grasp the situation that was unfolding. Now that she understands what it feels like to be in love, and what it looks like when someone is forcing the smile, she recognized it would be a big problem if she didn’t address the root of the problem: Saki’s insecurity. And sure enough, in typical Saki fashion: Rather than talking about his feelings, he was prioritizing Hotaru. Just like she has noticed something was off with him, he has noticed ever since Yohei has been employed at her workplace, Hotaru has been feeling down, and even uncomfortable around the guy.
But Hotaru wasn’t going to let Saki’s insecurities be left unaddressed. I absolutely love that she took the initiative to make sure they were communicating properly! Misunderstandings be damned! She understood that he wasn’t going to bring it on his own, so she made the point that his feelings are important too. It’s clear that things aren’t okay right now, and she wants him to tell her how he’s feeling rather than hiding behind a fake smile, and so he did (good job Saki, it takes two to communicate). And the second she connects the dots of his fear of people leaving him for someone else, she’s like: OKAY ENERGY RECHARGING TIME! Man, that was such a precious scene, because she understood what he needed right now was reassurance. And best of all? Hotaru understood that was not the time to tell him that she has fallen in love with him. She knew if she said it then, it probably wouldn’t have made him happy.
I think the biggest take away of this episode was Hotaru coming to terms with this understanding where her fear of confessing was coming from. From past experience, she knows how strong feelings can change people. A precious friend became an enemy because of jealousy. For the same reason, she is scared how love might change her and Saki. But in typical Hotaru fashion, she’s not the type to let things drag out. In-fact, she just ended up confessing to him on the spot while they were cooking together— though she did end up properly confessing to him when she gave the chocolate she made (post-credits). Hotaru is the best girl!
Apart from Hotaru being an absolute champion this episode, I really enjoyed seeing the two of them bake the chocolate cake together. I mean, what better way to spend valentines together than to bake a delicious cake? I think doing that activity is a lot more sweeter and memorable than just a date. But it was great of Hotaru to notice how Saki was staring excitedly at the valentines chocolate signage to get the idea to go on a date together for valentines. Even better that she decided to just go over to his place because considering Saki’s habits of never being late, him saying he’d need another hour or maybe longer is a good enough reason for Hotaru to feel the need to check up on him to be on the safe side of things! And it was so endearing to see how flustered and out of his element he was. Saki’s always striving to show his best sides, so it was refreshing to see him struggling for an exchange. I’d also like to make the point that he is exceptionally adorable with glasses and I think that actually makes him look better with short hair because his character designs doesn’t look as generic, if you know what I mean. I liked seeing this imperfect side of him, and I’m glad Hotaru got to see it too. It’s fun for her as well, as she got to see another side of him as well.
I’m also really glad Hotaru talked about her past trauma, and how it contributes to her fear of how love has the power to change people. It’s really important for Saki to understand that part of her fears, but it was sweet to see him tell her how while love has the power to make people turn for the worse, it also has the power to make them into a better person. But at the end of the day, it’s the respective individual who will determine what love turns them into. Unfortunately Hotaru’s ‘so-called friend’ decided to succumb to petty jealousy, and took the absolute worst route of freaking CUTTING HER HAIR ALL BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT HOTARU WAS LYING TO HER. Wow this brat— Under no circumstances was that okay! It’s no wonder Hotaru been so traumatized!
Also who the hell spurred the rumour that Hotaru liked Yohei? Or was that just the girl saying that because she was trying to test Hotaru and see whether that was true or not. Either way, this wasn’t Hotaru’s fault at all– even though she blames herself for not pressing the issue harder when her friend forced a smile that everything was fine. It was clear she didn’t trust her despite the fact Hotaru was the one who gave her words of encouragement. Whatever happened for her to so boldly declare Hotaru a liar? We know for sure that Hotaru definitely didn’t confess to Yohei. And worse off, it looks like this guy doesn’t have a clue what went down. All he knows is that Hotaru “suddenly cut her hair” and stopped talking to everyone– which to me sounds like the whole class turned against her because of the said rumours. Sheesh…
Finally, before I wrap things up: There was one thing that made me go, ‘WAIT HOLD UP! GO BACK– WHAT?!’ And that was when Hotaru had listed out three people she had given chocolate to in elementary school. She had mentioned she didn’t give it to Yohei because of the lineup, so she had given it to Non-chan, Chiho-chan and Sasaki-kun. Weirdly Yohei has no idea who Sasaki is, and that surprised Hotaru, but when she said Sasaki-kun, my brain wait: Wait a freaking second, could that be Saki!?!?!?! Besides the name almost matching, the only reason I see this as a possibility is the the fact the park they first met at is said to be near her elementary school, which can’t be a coincidence now that not only do we know that Hotaru knew someone called ‘Saki’, and we now know he typically wears contacts instead of glasses— except, seeing him with them on didn’t jog any memory, so hard to say if that’s a valid clue or not. Well anyhow we’ll find out if it ends up being true or not in due time.
