Episode 5
As one would expect, getting over having a crush on someone isn’t something that’ll heal or go away in a day or two. Although as viewers/readers we can read more between the lines of what Koki meant last week, Sae on the other-hand, referred to it as the second time her heart was broken by the perception that she really is locked in the friend-zone. So this week she was struggling a lot with trying to enjoy being ‘friends’. She knows all too way that ‘friends’ don’t stare longingly at the other, and think about their touches and all that jazz. The clouds in her heart remains, and unfortunately it’s blocking her from seeing the way the sun is really looking back at her.
Which brings me to Koki. This week we continued to see Koki seeking to take the initiative to do things together with Sae. When it came to the class jump rope competition, he was the first one to volunteer to swing with Sae. And then later after they won, since he wasn’t around, the teacher had asked Youta to go up with Sae to deliver the victory speech. When he did see that, he was obviously both disappointed and jealous because he went up to Sae afterwards to say weren’t they supposed to do that together.
Koki also set another example, he simply won’t tolerate slander in any form towards Sae. He was pissed off enough with Yuushin poking at her insecurity (her height) and called him out to say, if he was going to call her cute, don’t beat around the bush about it.
But we’ll have to see how much longer Sae will be able to hide her feelings from Koki, as today she was exposed a bit with the way Mio and her friends pointed out the only one who makes her blush when called cute is Koki. So we’ll have to see whether or not Koki will take a stronger initiative having secured a more reliable clue.
And finally, it was really nice to see the girls supporting each other this week. Mio was struggling with the jump rope challenge, so Sae and Sui helped her out, alongside Koki and Youta who saw them practising together. Thanks to that extra effort on Mio’s part, their class won the compettion with 178 jumps!
Episode 6
SLOWLY BUT SURELY, KOKI AND SAE ARE MAKING PROGRESS! The two of them are truly two peas of a pod when it comes to dealing with their feelings for each other!
I knew from the get go that Sae was 100% going to make the error of messaging Koki the discussion she was having with the girls. When you’re juggling multiple conversations happening in different threads at once, it’s bound to happen. Luckily for Sae though, she didn’t make a critical error of naming her crush when she messaged him by accident. Thankfully, what he did get was the part about giving up on the one she likes, so he sent a response in the notebook asking her “Are you trying to give up on someone you like?”
It was actually quite funny how he wasn’t subtle by the slightest to check for an answer in the notebook she was giving him. Like, he literally grabbed it out of her hands and immediately flipped through it to see the answer. It’s clear that Koki is very protective of Sae, and even a bit of jealousy slipped out today when they were talking about her crush. He even went as far to suggest if the guy (not realizing it’s HIM) makes her feel awkward at the possibility that he may not return her feelings, then maybe he’s not worth her heart. That said, I can’t help but snort a bit because he’s gonna be kicking himself so hard when he realizes the one she likes and he’s jealous of is himself!
But because of how direct he was about this, Sae got to learn just how long and closely Koki has been paying attention to her. In-fact, it’s just as long as she has been watching him (since elementary). He knows how reliable she is, and how she’s always being considerate of others. He knows she either had to hold back or decided against doing things she wanted to do because of that. More than anything though, what frustrated him the most was how he felt like he was the burden who kept her from doing what she wanted to do the most. So he just wants her to give it a shot and hopefully feel better once she does so. (Though side note, I freaking lost it when his Mom interrupted their moment! HER FACE WAS PRICELESS!)
So thanks to Koki, Sae got the push she really needed to steel her resolve. She doesn’t want to be stuck with lingering feelings. She has tried to be mature about it and let her feelings go, but it won’t stop nagging her. It’s harder to let go of something if you lack the closure to do so– of course somethings you just don’t have the luxury to get that opportunity. In Sae’s case, she feared that if she did so, things would get awkward between them because while she wants to be more than friends. Koki says he’ll be there to support her no matter what, but it’s certainly more complicated when he’s the subject of the matter.
With Sae committing to the mission of confessing to Koki. Though before she does that, first she wants to try a couple of things to see if she can make his heart flutter! There were a number are amusing things we got to see from her today, starting with what she considered a failed attempt to do just that– which was honestly just being a badass. I thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Koki at least thought she was cool when she did that. All Sae really needs to do is just apologetically be herself!
Now both have finally found their resolve, it’s safe to say this is my favourite episode to date. We’re finally getting some good progress! Now that they are both attempting to win their love’s heart, hopefully this means that they finally have the chance to meet each other halfway. The biggest step forward was existentially their first date as I’m going to call it.
This event was thanks to a domino effect of Sae hilariously and selfishly nominating Koki to play as the Lion for the class’ play for the Wizard of Oz. Besides the fact it’s super refreshing to see it being something else other than Cinderella and cliche of Romeo and Juliet, there’s a big catch with this one! They have to do the play entirely in English! Sae and Youta are at the top of the grades for it in their class, so they have been assigned the roles as prompters by default. On the other hand, Koki’s absolutely terrible at English. It’s the subject he has the most difficulty with. So it’s thanks to the fact he’s struggling so hard, but is determined to perform well that an opportunity arose for the two of them: A chance to get together outside of school to practice! BRILLIANT! IT’S A DATE!
Though needless to say, the whole situation with Sae choosing to just sit there waiting in the rain just struck me as super dumb. Like, okay sure, the book can keep her somewhat dry, but girl couldn’t you just walk across the street and stand under something to stay dry at least? Koki’s running late, and she just kept sitting there! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! But whatever, maybe it was worth being objectively dumb about that since it created a whole corny scene with Koki throwing his coat over her to keep her dry and had a moment to be cool about it. Seriously, this could’ve been a cute scene, but it was watered down by the sheer silliness of it.
Overall, I really enjoyed how they tied the theme of ‘courage’ with the lion role for their class play of the Wizard of Oz. Both of them need it, but I’m quite relieved to see it’s Koki now who’s realizing he needs to be courageous too. I’m looking forward to how this practice date goes between them them, heehee!
Extra Note: Koki has a cute habit of trying to cover his face a bit with something whenever he’s shy/flustered! It’s quite adorable! I’m actually surprised Sae hasn’t quite registered this part of him yet. Maybe because she doesn’t realize it’s often tied to her.
