Hana-Kimi Episode 3

Right off the bat Mizuki finds herself dealing with Rika, who had come to confront her. To be fair though, she wasn’t wrong in any respects when she called Mizuki out for ‘following Izumi around’, which we do know for a FACT that is exactly what she did last week. She overstepped her bounds by deliberately seeking to eavesdrop on their private conversation. I too would be deeply concerned if someone who came out of nowhere suddenly started doing that to a friend.

However the second Rika started prattling on about how Izumi shouldn’t be rotting away at this school and that she doesn’t want Mizuki hanging out with him, she lost her justification to confront her in the first place. It only got worse from there, as she went on to say the Izumi who doesn’t quit the sport and can’t win, that’s not who he is… like GURL. REALLY? And then the freaking audacity to try and slap Mizuki in the fact for saying otherwise? WOW, get a grip!

What this did do though was show us how Mizuki’s and Rika’s admiration for Izumi as an athlete are not the same. It was that outburst that also made Mizuki come to realize (much to her relief) that she didn’t share the same opinion. Mizuki doesn’t care about his winning record, what she admires about him is his form when he jumps. She finds it breathtaking, and that’s how she got into track and field in the first place.

That said, unfortunately the outcome conflict of this confrontation turned into a mess when Izumi got (rightfully) involved. He basically told Rika to bugger off and don’t come back. But that got Mizuki mad at Izumi for speaking to Rika the way he did, all while Izumi was mad on behalf of Mizuki, and understandably so. I mean Rika had almost slapped her in the face, and he didn’t like the way she was talking to her either. It’s his call to make.

So if you asked me who’s side I’m on between Mizuki and Izumi, it would be Izumi. With the way Rika was behaving, you can see why he had been avoiding her, and today he decided he needed to draw the line. It’s clear she doesn’t respect what he wants, she was about to slap Mizuki in the face, and the fact she keeps acting like a manager instead of a friend, none of that is okay. It was his right to say he had enough. In the end, it’s really none of Mizuki’s business, and she has no context about their history. That’s why I get why Izumi was frustrated that Mizuki didn’t understand why he was mad on her behalf. It really doesn’t matter if she has feelings for him, to me, she wasn’t being considerate about how he felt at all.

With that being said… I’m glad we did finally get an explanation this week about why he had quit the sport. However the way they presented the scene actually confused me. Izumi was saying one thing, and we were seeing another. He says he choked out from the pressure of needing to perform well to secure the recommendation for a famous track and field high school. It was his last chance, and ultimately he blew it. But while he was saying this, they were showing us Izumi jumping to push Rika out of the way from an incoming car. I found this terribly confusing, and unfortunately when I tried to remember the reason for clarity sake, I kept drawing a blank. (As tempting as it is to check the manga for certainty, I’m just going to let it be and continue my second blind run with this series.) Bearing that in mind, a part of me is left wondering he’s either hiding the fact he’s actually injured and that’s the real reason why he failed the competition, or the purpose of that was to show he actually didn’t get hurt at all.

Thanks to that though, Izumi has finally found his resolve to try doing the sport again. He’s done with running away and doesn’t want to live in regret for a second time. It did get a chuckle out of me though when Mizuki commented on his point about trying to take it seriously with, “Are you saying you weren’t trying your best at jumping before?” 

Apart from that the spat between them, we’re definitely seeing how knowing that Mizuki is a girl is taking a toll on Izumi. As much as he could mind his own business, the poor guy he can’t help but worry about Mizuki’s secret getting exposed. That’s why he panicked when he saw her with Minami (who at the time was showing concern over the fact her eyes were absolutely swollen from crying all night). The guy is known as a womanizer, and Izumi’s rightfully wary of the fact he might figure her out. Needless to say, it is very sweet to see how caring Izumi is. It was also good that he was able to clarify to Mizuki that no, he doesn’t hate her. She was under the impression as such since he didn’t really want to talk to her after their spat.

Then on the other hand, we have Nakatsu who (still doesn’t know she’s a girl) spent the entire episode trying to sort out his feelings for Mizuki as a guy. But after seeing how upset she was about the fight between her and Izumi, at that point he realized it didn’t matter to him which way he swings, he’ll care for her regardless. He really wanted to hold her, but resigned to a head pat. Hopefully this means he’ll have a bit more peace of mind now. It really was eating him alive.

Last but not least, speaking of Minami, we did actually learn that his mother is Dr. Umeda’s sister. It seems Dr. Umeda has asked for her assistance in perhaps obtaining the appropriate supplies (such as tampons and pads) for Mizuki whenever she has her period. After all, Mizuki really can’t afford to be seen out shopping for this stuff, especially when she has come from abroad and living in the dorms. It’d make no sense for her to be seen carrying it on her. Even more so when you have a nuisance like that punk who’s determined to get revenge on her by posting more damning and scandalous pictures on the board. However this is admittedly a risky thing to do since Minami’s in charge of delivering the stuff to Dr. Umeda. Either way, it goes without saying that it’s good at least that Mizuki (knows) she has at least one person who knows the truth and is willing to assist her when needed.