Not too much happened in the past two episodes, so I was actually a little worried for a bit that this was going to have to be saved for a triple post! Thankfully that’s not the case!
We got some really sweet moments with Mizuki and Izumi, notably the bed cuddles. Hilariously watching a horror movie together, breaking all the tropes of someone getting spooked by it because Mizuki freaking FELL ASLEEP during it! But Mizuki falling asleep in Izumi’s bed is just another Tuesday at this point, but it’s certainly testing Izumi’s patience since he has strong feelings for her now. It’s fair game considering she has snuggled with him in the past, so now it’s his turn to initiate the cuddles. Though Izumi did actually push the boundaries for once when he decided to give her a soft kiss on the cheek.
Apart from that, surprise, surprise! Mizuki’s friend from the States is in town! She’ll be around for a whole month thanks to a month-long student exchange program at St. Blossom Academy. Her arrival has already caused quite a ruckus, and not to mention she has caught the eyes of Minami, who got a punch in the face when he got too close and personal with her. (Respect the boundaries sir.)
Julia already figured out that Mizuki’s in love with Izumi, so she wanted to help get a read on how Izumi feels about her. Julia’s idea was to troll the guys by pretending she’s Mizuki’s girlfriend, but obviously that wasn’t going to work as intended, because Izumi already know this is some stupid stunt. It’s only Mizuki who’s too dense to notice that her feelings are mutual, because Izumi’s waaaaaaayy ahead of her. It’s by the end of the episode that Julia finally catches on and assures Mizuki that she doesn’t have to mind that anymore. But again, Mizuki failed to even press further with Julia when she said they didn’t need to worry bout that anymore.
In the end, the only one they did fool was Nakatsu, who’d unfortunately a bit too gullible to realize it until explained otherwise. Needless to say, the whole idea was stupid and it only produced a headache for Mizuki to deal with since it didn’t take long for the word to go around that she’s got a girlfriend.
Now with the school trip taking place in Sapporo (Hokkaido), that means they are going to Izumi’s hometown. One would think it’s an opportunity to visit family for a bit, but for Izumi, he’d rather not face them at all.
The woman Izumi was speaking to on the phone last week (episode 3) was actually his stepmother. His birth mother passed away at some point, and his father remarried. She’s a nice lady, so it seems whatever tension Izumi has with the family really lies with his birth father. But the sad part is, he feels like that’s not his home anymore, because he doesn’t think there’s really anyone left waiting for him.
And if that isn’t bad enough, while he and the others were sneaking out for some ramen, he ended up having an unpleasant reunion with his brother Shin. One that involved witnessing Shin beating up some dude on the street with his friends. So it sure seems like the state of his family’s affairs are quite a mess right with Shin to be getting into trouble, his dad’s hospitalized, leaving his stepmother stuck in the middle of all of this. We don’t know yet (and I legit can’t remember) what caused the tension between them, especially since Izumi seems to have a favourable opinion of his stepmother.
Of course, after Izumi told her how he doesn’t feel like there’s nobody waiting for him at home anymore, Mizuki couldn’t help but blurt out that she’ll be his home. Goodness, while that was super sweet, it was also cheesy but also super embarrassing to the point even I second-hand embarrassment. But hey, at least that made Izumi happy to hear.
Since they are on a school trip, can’t have a moment without Mizuki being utterly careless. It’s in her DNA at this point because GIRL, FOR REAL: WHY AREN’T YOU IN THE WOMEN’S BATH IF YOU’RE SO CONFIDENT NOBODY’S GONNA BE THERE EH? So now she only failed to read the signs, but this time she chose to go into the men’s bath!? Seriously. Count her lucky stars that it’s Izumi there and not someone else, let alone a stranger. Well if there was ever an opportunity for Izumi to basically ‘”catch her red handed” to out the fact that he knows she’s a girl, this would be it. As I don’t remember a thing about this scene, I’m just as blind as the rest of you who are watching the series for the first time. Is this the moment when they finally get on the same page? It’d be nice, but I feel like it’s somewhat more likely this whole he knows but she doesn’t know thing may drag out for a while longer. If not, well then we have something to celebrate: PROGRESS.
Speaking of progress, you know who’s not making headway? Nakatsu. Ever since he had accepted his feelings and confessed to Mizuki, he’s kind of being unpleasantly headstrong about it. He’s definitely in delulu land, thinking he can win Mizuki over, yet either choosing to ignore or is ignorantly blind to the fact that Mizuki’s heart is locked to Izumi. The guy doesn’t stand a chance, and yet he’s already picturing having all these lovey-dovey interactions as though they are already dating. Yeah dude, that’s not happening— especially now that he’s been upfront with his feelings. Mizuki’s now has some degree of self-awareness now (though no more than a pinch of salt) to know she needs to be a little bit more thoughtful about how she approaches Nakatsu to not do anything that might make him think she has feelings for him. For better or for worse though, she was blissfully ignorant (for her own good at that) of him blissfully imagining how nice it’d be to go in the baths with her.
Overall, things been rather simple and straight-forward. Julia hasn’t confronted Izumi yet, but there’s a good chance that she will before they return to Osaka. That being said, if Izumi’s knowledge that Mizuki’s a girl is finally out in the open, then this would make this conversation between the two more straight-forward than she probably expects it to be. Or even if Izumi manages to keep hiding the fact he knows the truth, I suspect he’d probably still be upfront with Julia that he has feelings for Mizuki.
Though I do have one more thing to point out, and that was the animation quality in episode 4. I was really getting thrown off with how different the art style was in certain shots because it’s one one style for one minute and then switches back to the usual we’re used to the next. It was very distracting. Thankfully this was a super important episode, so we can tolerate these inconsistencies right now. But I just hope this doesn’t become a pattern as we progress further into the seasons.
