WHO’S CUTTING THE ONIONS?! I didn’t expect to be crying this episode, but god damn it was so wholesome and touching how could not? It was really beautiful to have two friendship episodes back to back, one for Kaoruko and now for Rintaro. And it did such a good job of showing just how much they all cherish each other.
This week was Rintaro’s turn to face his friends. He’s been on the edge and completely out of the sorts because of the anxiety of whether it’d be okay for him to be open about his friendship with Kaoruko and Subaru, and how he was going to go about it. That’s why he had called the girls out to seek their permission to do just that. Naturally as one would expect of the two at this point, they were totally fine with it, but you could see just how much it meant to Rintaro to be given the green-light to be open about it.
And hands down, the best part of the episode was the fact because Shohei, Ayato and Saku had decided to follow him out, it allowed them to hear Rintaro’s true feelings! God, it was so emotional to watch. This was the part that had me unexpectedly tearing up, because the way he expressed how much he cherished them, and for them to hear that was absolutely priceless. For so long he had kept his own feelings towards his friends closely guarded to his heart. So they had no idea just how much they meant to him, and hearing that… how could you not be overwhelmed by emotions? It was beautiful!
It truly makes me so happy to see Rintaro having found such great friends after years of suffering from prejudice from his peers, to the point he was forced into accepting it as it was, and embrace solitude. Shohei, Ayato and Saku love him to bits, they know just how great of a guy he is, which is why like Subaru wants to do for Kaoruko, they will not hesitate to stand up and protect him. And today we saw just that when the two idiots Rintaro had protected Kaoruko from had gone running to their upperclassman like the cowards they are to get back at him. It did turn out quite fortunate that the trio decided to follow him that day, as they stepped in just in the nick of time to spare Rintaro the grief of being ganged up on while trying to protect both Subaru and Kaoruko. And poor Subaru, she was really frightened. Don’t forget she was picked on by the boys when she was little, so it’s totally understandable why she terrified. Thankfully Shohei jumped in to pry off the guy who was touching and commenting on her hair.
But as it turns out, the guy the goons really had to worry about was not Rintaro, not Shohei, and while they did get a heck of a verbal beating from Saku, it wasn’t him either. No, the one they truly had to fear was Ayato, the smallest and arguably the softest one of the three. As it turns out, he knows how to fight, and while we know he (genuinely) seeks to be an advocate for peace, if anyone tries to harm his friends or another— make no mistake, Ayato WILL kick their ass. Shohei and Saku didn’t have to do a thing apart from stand back and hold his bag. Ayato single-handily take out the mob and sent them packing. This was why Rintaro said to the Kaoruko and Subaru that he was actually more worried about the opposition considering who they were up against hahahahahaha.
Once that was settled, Rintaro finally got to talk to the boys about his friendship with Kaoruko and Subaru. It was going great with how — and then freaking Shohei spills the beans that they were following him. It had me cackling with how he had exposed themselves like that, but rather than being upset about it, Rintaro was more flustered over them bearing his heart about how he truly felt about them to Kaoruko and Subaru. It was so adorable, and even funny when Shohei took the opportunity to run for it with Ayato, all while leaving Saku behind to push him into the position he can finally apologize.
While Rintaro had to bear with everyone having heard his true feelings, although he lacked an audience, Saku in turn shared how much he too cherishes Rintaro and the guys. It embarrassed him the hell the say it, which is why he insisted he’d only say it once (god it was adorable), but I’m glad he was finally able to properly convey to Rintaro how much he trusts them all with all his heart, and that whenever Rintaro is struggling with something, he hopes he and the others can be someone he can count on. Having this kind of mutual understanding between clears out all the clouds that’s been hanging over them. When Rintaro comments on how the weather was great, he wasn’t just literally speaking it, he was referring to how much the skies have cleared up for him emotionally too.
And finally, last but not least, one more highlight absolutely worth mentioning! Before the whole gang showed up, Subaru had earnestly asked Rintaro to introduce her to his friends sometime so she could properly apologize to them. That itself was a huge step forward for her. It’ll definitely mean a lot more now since they’ve protected her and Kaoruko, but I’m excited to see the two groups become friends.
