Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi S2 Eps04-05

After a long break from anime (forced on me due to Real Life Things), I chose to get back into it with some BL. It was either this or Kimi to Boku, which is pretty borderline BL in itself. I just wanted feel-good without the slowness (Tamayura) and with a steady plot that didn't feel erratic (Un-Go).

This batch began with another Hatori-Chiaki-Yuu story, hopefully once and for all settling the Yuu matter so I can stop referring to them as a triangle (probably not, though), and then contained another heartwarming Ritsu-Takano story. I must say, watching ep04 was kind of irritating as I worried about all the possible ways it could go off into the dark side, but it ended as unrealistically cheerful as always. The Ritsu-Takano story progressed their situation by leaps and bounds, rekindling my hope that maybe they're finally out of the courtship and into a relationship.

What a ridiculously giant bed...

Ep04 began by showcasing Chiaki's dependence and attachment with Hatori; I don't understand why they don't just live together already. In fact, I don't understand why they didn't live together even before they got together; they were such good friends and Hatori was always over anyway. Seriously, people and their wasting of money on rent... Anyway, Chiaki obviously wanted more in the relationship, and the episode was clearly heading into the "confession" territory, which is a nice touch after the way ep03 ended. The matter of Yuu was always around, as Chiaki still thought of him as a friend and called him up to hang out in order to alleviate his boredom. I did empathize with Hatori quite a lot; it's sad that Chiaki seems to be walking into the danger zone that is Yuu so often.

What the hell? Have you never held a knife before?!

Chiaki's happiness and excitement for a date with Hatori was dashed when the editor turned out to be busy with work. In bitter retaliation, he decided to head out by himself, running errands (like buying manga) and trying not to feel bad about not getting to watch the new movie, Panda Warrior (is this supposed to be a play on Kung-Fu Panda?). I wonder if the general Japanese population still goes to theatres to see movies; I understand that it would be kind of weird if Chiaki talked about pirating given that this is an anime and the essential reason some studios are backing CrunchyRoll is to stop some of the pirating. Abruptly ending my tangent, back to the episode.

An uke protecting himself?!

Chiaki invariably managed to see Hatori with some random woman and felt insanely jealous upon realizing that this was Hatori's ex-girlfriend from high school. How coincidental! I live in a city, and I assume that these people do as well, and I've never really "ran into" people anywhere, especially not at such critical moments. I suppose Chiaki could have been near Marukawa when this occurred, increasing his chances... At any rate, Chiaki's anger drove him to yell at Hatori (on the phone) and then run to Yuu - again. I sincerely worried about this scene, as Chiaki began drinking and Yuu kept drawing him. When Hatori called Yuu's house, the scene took the typical turn of Yuu telling Hatori that he was going to steal Chiaki, hanging up the phone, and then returning to Chiaki in order to attempt some forceful touching. I was happily surprised to see Chiaki punch Yuu - surprised and satisfied, because too often in BL the uke is shown as a pansy.

Happyface.

Hatori arrived suddenly - of course - and attempted to beat up Yuu, who had just been thoroughly rejected by Chiaki. As Chiaki pulled Hatori away and the two left, I wondered if perhaps Yuu had given up. (It was a little annoying to hear that Chiaki would be calling Yuu later; way to pour salt on his wounds after the rejection. And really, at this point, wouldn't it be a good idea to stay away from him, seeing as how he tried to force you into sex? Ah, this stupid uke.) The make-up scene between the two really accentuated why I love this anime - there was no extended drama as everything came out into the open right away. The ex-girlfriend that Hatori had been seeing was actually working at Marukawa, meaning Hatori was working (despite the woman touching his face lovingly; I guess girls just do that?), and Chiaki announced quite clearly that he loved Hatori. As unrealistic as this scene was - in reality, too often the Chiaki-character would actually sleep with the Yuu-character, or the Hatori-character would actually be seeing his ex-girlfriend - it did make me happy about this pairing again. (I really hope Yuu can stop being a thorn now.)

I hate Valentine's Day too.

Ep05 returned to Ritsu and Takano, showing the situation in the department at the start of the year. Due to the special issues printed for Valentine's Day, the editors were extremely busy (despite being extremely busy before the Christmas break, too; what a tough job). The situation with Takano advising Ritsu on getting a mangaka to listen to the editor's storyboard changes paralleled with the personal Ritsu-Takano situation a little bit; Ritsu was obviously trusting and depending on Takano a little more. In similar vein, it was also nice to see that Ritsu has been advancing career-wise; whereas he used to need Takano's assistance in getting through a meeting with the higher-ups (where he'd have to justify his decisions), he was able to get through the one showed in this episode on his own. I can't tell if Takano was saddened by that - that Ritsu wouldn't need his help any more - or pleased by it - Takano seems to want an equal rather than a subordinate.

Wow, those are some seriously red cheeks.

The plot device for the week was Ritsu's fiancee (Kohinata An), finally putting my confusions and questions to rest. Apparently, Ritsu's parents got together with his childhood friend's parents and decided to have their children marry, but Ritsu never took it seriously. This makes it clear that Takano has always thought that Ritsu left him due to his fiancee (whereas Ritsu's reason for leaving was actually much weaker than that). While Ritsu grappled with his feelings about Takano, An showed up to give him a present. She wasn't overbearing at all and were I not on the Ritsu-Takano ship, I wouldn't think she was annoying. But I am, so I do. Women have no place in BL.

There's always so much pushing around in BL...

After a kiss on the train ride home, Takano seemed dejected to find An at the front of the apartment building. However, Ritsu (after walking An to the main street for a taxi) found his way into Takano's apartment and in a display of courage that was only shown before in their high school days, he confronted Takano with the full explanation of the situation. When Takano revealed that An obviously loved Ritsu, Ritsu said he had already rejected her a long time ago by telling her that he loved someone else. As if that was a confession (I wish Ritsu would be a little bit more like Chiaki...), the two seemed to have made-up and held each other to sleep...I think. It seemed like they would have sex, but they were fully clothed and falling asleep, so...

And yet I never see them cleaning up the messes they make.

The next episode seems to focus on Chiaki and Tori (I think...?), so I'm pretty annoyed with the shift away from Ritsu and Takano. I want to see more about them! I really can't tell how much of a couple they are at this point; they're still really skirting around the issue. Oh well; there's pretty much the entire season left to go.

~Aaro

Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi S2 Ep 03

I feel like the writers read my review of S1 because Yoshino (Chiaki) most definitely made a significant improvement between S1 and this episode. And Yanase! He had a lot more memorable screen time. I captured most of the screen where I thought he was being a total bishonen and ended up with two thirds of my captures featuring him.

Boys are always so much simpler than girls.

This episode has a very basic plot. Hatori asks Yoshino for a big favour. He needs Yoshino to create colour pages for the end of the month. This basically makes Yoshino (and everyone else involved) drive themselves to the bone to try to finish which seem impossible despite their enthusiastic effort. Yoshino wants to call Yanase for his help, but he refuses to forgive him for bailing on him at the hot springs. Yoshino, being stubborn and childish, tries to reach the deadline without Yanase's help. Hatori calls Yanase in as a pinch hitter who gives the project enough momentum to meet the deadline. Takano and Onodera make a cameo which made me happy despite it's shortness. The rest of the episode is spent developing the Hatori/Yoshino + Yanase relationship.

Ah~ These days...

Yoshino faints and Hatori takes a couple of days off to nurse him back to consciousness. He feels guilty for having imposed on Hatori and gets a head start on his manuscript for the next month. After the first art session with his assistants, Yoshino and Yanase try to talk through their recent troubles. Yanase gets agitated with Yoshino for not realizing his feelings and confesses. In this exchange, Yoshino densely says to Yanase "Well I like you too," after which Hatori walks in silently, leaves food on the table and leaves. Yanase confirms, probably after he's certain that Hatori is out of earshot, whether Yoshino realizes that Yanase likes him in a romantic sense.

This redeems Chiaki in my eyes.
Haha - Aaro, how guilty are we of this?

Hatori begins to only communicate with Yoshino via email and fax and after a while he shows up at his house asking Hatori to spare some time for him after work so that they could talk. Hatori, unexpectedly (to me), starts emo rambling about how he's been expecting Yoshino to break up with him. I think this miscommunication and running in a depression hole is a common character trait for Hatori which makes him very human given his otherwise suave, cool character. It was probably the alcohol helping, but Yoshino becomes very upset with Hatori for constantly bottling himself up. The outburst surprises Hatori, but suffices to fix the situation for now.

Haha - Hatori asks if Yoshino's outburst is a confession of love.

The episode ends with Yoshino telling Yanase that he is an inportant friend but the line is drawn there. Yanase comes back with a "Hey, if I stick around as  friend I get to show you how cool I am. Maybe you'll change you mind." To prove that Yoshino is still a ditz, he says "Huh, I didn't think about it that way." Of course, Hatori is within earshot. At least this time he comes in full force with a jealous face telling Yoshino that this will be discussed later. I like this change in Hatori. The next episode stays with Hatori and Chiaki. Normally I'd be sad because I'm really craving some Yukina/Kisa. But the development with this pairing in this episode were all to my taste. So, I guess I can live with the delay.

/Envy

Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi S2 Ep 02

I was really happy that I had procrastinated these reviews (2 & 3) for so long. I really enjoy watching and reviewing this series and it is just the show I need today. Achieving happiness can be such a simple thing; why do some of us over think it so much?

The favouritism just keeps increasing!

It's Christmas crunch time at the publishing house and everybody is frantic. There is a lot of yelling and screaming and flailing as the boys run around trying to get everything done in time for the printers before they close for the Christmas-New Year season. Takano entrusts Onodera with delivering the manuscripts to the printery with passing words like "be careful" which turn Onodera's insides into pudding. Upon returning Onodera is faced with Yokozawa and Takano who are going over to Takano's house. Onodera gets emo and jealous and takes his leave before the two; but not before Yokozawa berates him some more and reminds him that Takano's birthday is on 24 Dec. This episode made me realize that Yokozawa is the personification of Onodera's past decisions. Yokozawa constantly tells Onodera that he's not good enough for Takano, which is a natural thought when reflecting on their past.

Takano would not leave him alone until he answered his door.

Although Onodera can rationalize the fact that he forgot Takano's birthday, he mopes about it. At the department Christmas dinner, when everyone piles on Takano for being a playboy, Takano shifts the tease to Onodera by telling everyone to ask him to vouch for his personality. I find Onodera's tendency to blush from nervousness really cute. While I can relate to the massive discomfort of being put in this situation, it is fun to watch it happen to someone else. (Sadism? - Probably.) On the train ride home, Onodera wishes Takano a happy birthday a day earlier than his birthday, which falls on a weekend. Takano immediately asks for a present much to Onodera's dismay. Upon discovering Onodera is empty-handed, Takano asks him to go for a scenic drive with him on the 24th as a replacement gift.

I apparently use a voice sometimes which makes people look at me like this....XD

During the drive, Onodera reflects on a dream he had last night where he remembered his excitement at wanting to spend Christmas with Saga (now Takano) when they initially dated ten years ago. Takano tries to make small talk by asking Onodera about his New Years Plans. It turns out Takano's parents have divorced and have new families and it's hinted that he will most likely be spending it with Yokozawa unless Onodera manages to change that. Reflecting on their relationship, Onodera falls asleep and Takano does not wake him.

I waited 13 episodes for this. So. Worth. It.

The destination is a viewpoint overlooking a pretty cityscape. It's beautiful and an ideal date spot. Onodera, after much over thinking, wishes Takano a happy birthday again and they share a heart-warming moment. They discuss Takano and Yokozawa's relationship because Onodera refuses to comfortably let his guard down around Takano because of all the things Yokozawa says to him. When Takano finally yells at Onodera to believe him instead of Yokozawa, it finally sinks into Onodera that this relationship he had needs a serious revisit.

Even though the present is so unsexy?

After some of this and that and this and that, I think Onodera has finally come to terms with the fact that it is okay for him and Takano to pick up their relationship where it left off. While I'm not an advocate for getting on and off the relationship train, I can understand and am happy for second chances. Reconciling with your past and taking big risks for your future requires a lot of courage, especially for over-thinkers like Onodera. Although the world is fictitious, I'm happy he took that first step and I look forward to seeing where it takes him. Since this pairing has been so heavily focused on the courtship so far, I'm looking forward to their development now that Takano has secured Onodera's commitment.

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi S2 Eps02-03

So far, the subs I'm getting from Sage (CR rips but touched up a little) have not been that bad. The moment that "-chan" gets translated as "-poo" again, I'll probably just cry in frustration.

This batch included a focus change, wherein ep02 was about Ritsu and Takano and ep03 jumped to the Hatori-Chiaki-Yuu situation. Seeing how ep01 went, I would have been incredibly angry with this switch had ep02 not gone so well. The way it was described by Envy (how dare she spoil the plot for me; I should return in kind) was that Ritsu and Takano were finally together. After getting over my rather embarrassing girlish squealing manly happiness, I actually watched the episode and, more or less, she was right.

I'm sure the printers know clearly what's going on.

The plot point of ep02 was that, despite it nearing Christmas, the editors at the Emerald Department were incredibly busy due to the inconveniencing deadline changes posed by the fact that members of other departments (like the printers) were going on holiday breaks. Even with these busy days, the relationship between Ritsu and Takano could still grow. The aftermath of their night together was downplayed, since Takano seemed to be able to leave Ritsu alone instead of getting immensely pissed off that it was forgotten, but Ritsu still internally thought about it. These kinds of thoughts, around since the end of Season 1, made me pretty excited for the episode, Envy's spoilers aside.

That is a little shameless. But Takano probably sees Ritsu in a personal light.

After a particularly difficult day, Ritsu (thoroughly saddened by the fact that Takano had slept with him despite dating Yokozawa; to my relief, this misunderstanding didn't continue for much longer) came back to office to find out that work for the day was done and Takano and Yokozawa were just leaving. After Takano headed back up to grab something he'd forgotten, Yokozawa mysteriously took it upon himself to ask Ritsu if he was doing anything for Takano's bitrhday, occurring on the 24th. When Ritsu opted out, he also asked Yokozawa if the two of them were dating, and Yokozawa once again confirmed it. I guess it's not hard to have a misunderstanding when one of the guys is earnestly affirming it...

You probably could have done this a few episodes ago...

The full brunt of the fact that Takano had slept with Ritsu despite being in a relationship sent Ritsu into a spiralling emo world, where he tried to avoid Takano, but he seemed to shape up a little by the time the department headed out to dinner together after work one day. On the train ride home, he maturely wished Takano a happy birthday - an opportunity that Takano took to almost "guilt" Ritsu into hanging out with him on the day itself. Despite his attempts to get out of it, the 24th saw Ritsu getting picked up by Takano for a long drive. While there, the two really did seem to bond - and by that I mean that Takano really just yelled at Ritsu.

So he's dealing with a tsundere lover. Good luck.

It's difficult to summarize such an important scene. Takano seemed to finally get through to Ritsu, asserting that he and Yokozawa had dated in the past (though it was more of a heartbroken daze for Takano, as it occurred during college and he was still getting over Ritsu), but there was nothing there any more. As they headed back to car, Takano shared that, while the two had still been dating back in high school, he used to imagine the things they could do for Christmas - a story that really seemed to affect Ritsu, as he had been thinking back to those days at the very beginning of the episode. The idea that they slept together (in the car, I assume) was pretty obvious, but I'm not sure what to make of the end of the episode. They're not particularly "dating", as far as I see it (unless ep05, which I assume to be their next episode, proves me wrong), but it's pretty clear that Ritsu is a lot more open to the concept instead of being so heavily in denial.

Having seen the OVA, this is only a re-statement.

Ep03 began with Chiaki hard at work on the manga, along with Hatori at his side. It was a pretty cute scene when Hatori begged Chiaki to provide a full-colour spread for that month's publishing since the mangaka meant to do it was in the hospital. Chiaki was having a hard time getting it done, despite trying his best, and a big part of that was because Yuu hadn't really spoken to him since the time Chiaki ran away from the hot springs trip (to Hatori, of course). However, Yuu did come through and showed up, rallying all the assistants together and taking some of the leadership role so that Chiaki could focus on his own tasks. As he said later, Hatori had actually called him for it.

In some shoujo, this would blow up a lot more rather than be settled right away.

When Chiaki fainted (due to overworking and not sleeping), Hatori spent two days taking care of him (and not going to work). The day that Chiaki finally woke up, he came to the realization that he had really begun to love Hatori (whereas before, he was most likely not so open with his feelings). This kind of warm and fuzzy scene made me really worry about the next one, considering that the situation with Yuu was pretty clearly there. When in a later scene, Chiaki tried to help out one of his assistances by talking her up to Yuu, the truth finally came out: Yuu was in love with Chiaki. I can't really remember if Yuu knows that Chiaki and Hatori are going out (as a definite thing, not just suspicions on his part), but the point of this scene was not for Chiaki to suddenly get feelings of confusion.

There's a lot of themes of drinking yourself silly...

Hatori heard Yuu's confession to Chiaki, and his jealousy kept him from hearing the full extent of Chiaki's response. It was nice that Chiaki was so resolute with his feelings; I worried for a moment that he would actually waver. At any rate, the consequence of this conversation was that Chiaki and Hatori didn't speak for some time (other than for work, which wasn't that big of a difference), so Chiaki took it upon himself to set a time to talk one day. Hatori showed up with lots of emo, as he had apparently been avoiding Chiaki because he thought a break-up was imminent. It was pretty emotional to see just how deeply disconnected he was with Chiaki, despite being in a relationship with him.

Ah, no one ever comes out and says things clearly...

Chiaki finally had enough of Hatori's "accusations" and fought back, essentially yelling out that he loved him. While embarrassed, he did manage to say what he wanted to say - that he was in a relationship with Hatori out of choice, not out of force or anything like that - and this scene probably culminated in off-screen sex. I was really glad that this episode solidified the relationship more, instead of causing some drama, and I'm not surprised that the situation with Yuu isn't over yet. As his parting lines reveal, Yuu is still aiming for Chiaki, despite knowing clearly that Chiaki doesn't have feelings for him; I don't find this to be a bad thing because it's really only helped out the Chiaki-Hatori relationship every time. What a convenient plot device~

Hatori's jealousy seems to lead to good things these days.

The preview of ep04 shows that the focus will stay on Yuu-Chiaki-Hatori, with perhaps Yuu being more aggressive. Knowing this mangaka, though, I have hopes that it won't turn into "traditional shoujo" with forced kisses and wavering feelings. I'd prefer the happy kind of realism.

~Aaro

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi S2 OVA + Ep01

My initial intention had been to watch the first episode of S2 and then write the post leisurely at a later time. Honestly though, after the first episode of S2, I had no hope of not writing this tonight. I also had no hope of not eagerly awaiting the next episode, but that's besides the point.

Before getting into S2, here's a little about the second OVA, which was released some time back by aarinfantasy. Given the questionable quality, I wonder when it was actually released. (It just might be that aarinfantasy didn't want to release a higher quality version, but that seems like a weird idea.) Anyway, it takes place one year after the occurrences of the first season, and focuses on Hatori and Chiaki in their relationship (with nary a mention to Yuu; ha).

Siblings through and through.

The OVA was essentially just a slice-of-life story with very little really happening. Hatori came home to find Chiaki sleeping in his bed, as if it wasn't a new thing, and the next morning saw the two going about a morning routine (along with discussing work; it's such a bad habit to not separate work and personal times). The next part of the episode had to do with visiting Chiaki's mother, who demanded that the mangaka come home every once in a while. While there, it was obvious that Chiaki's younger sister likes Hatori - either on a deep level, or in the sense that he's a man and she's a woman - and such a thought made Chiaki very jealous.

Casual proposal?

It was a little sad to see the lack of development. It's not as if the two have been stagnant in their relationship, though; Chiaki clearly mentions that he thinks they'll be together forever, so I'm sure they're a lot better than the point of just hanging out together. A part of me wishes they would tackle the difficult issue of telling their parents, but I think it would either be unrealistic or ruin the mood of the series as a whole. I was also curious to see why there wasn't a more risqué scene; there usually is in OVAs. It faded away at Hatori being pleased that Chiaki was jealous at the thought of Hatori belonging with someone else (and a girl, at that). The final scenes of the OVA had Hatori questioning why Chiaki hadn't submitted the character plan for the new male in his manga (based on Hatori), and Chiaki indignantly revealing that he didn't want to draw Hatori in love scenes with other characters. His jealousy seems to be shaping up quite nicely.

The new guy is still getting hazed...

The first episode of S2 began with Ritsu doing what felt like a re-introduction, but it really wasn't. He had recently been promoted to dealing with the printers, which served as a reason for him to explain the inner workings of the manga editing world. It was very cute to see Hatori and Chiaki (although the latter only showed up in voice); it was equally amusing to see that Chiaki thought writing a shifty letter to Hatori as an excuse for why he was late with the deadline would actually work. Either way, Ritsu headed home feeling dejected that no one had done their work on schedule and happy that his first published work as an editor had just been released.

Whatever helps you deal.

It was nice to see that Ritsu hadn't completely forgotten how S1 had ended, and pretty hilarious to see him try to imagine that Takano had been forcing himself onto Ritsu again. I do wonder if anyone could possibly have taken this seriously. At the end of S1, I became aware that many people had seen the entire series as some sort of vehicle for abuse and victim-blaming (probably due to what had happened at the end of ep04 in S1). This really startled me. Ritsu never saw himself as a victim; he was always at a crossroads about how to feel about the assertive Takano and what he himself wanted to do. Other than that one scene - of which my only comment is that Ritsu didn't see it as a horrendous occurrence - this series was actually pretty low-key. I'm hoping that less forcing happens this series, nonetheless.

That's actually a good book. I want it.

Getting back to the episode, Ritsu found himself visiting the bookstore (where Yukina works) in order to check out the first day's sales. Upon being found by Yokozawa, he was chastised for getting in the way of the Sales Department, but still allowed to tag along as Yokozawa did his sales work at the bookstore. Upon leaving, Yokozawa once again proved to be the thorn in the budding relationship, telling Ritsu to move out immediately and that his presence bothered Takano. After one thing or another, Yokozawa essentially just told Ritsu that he and Takano were dating, thus sending Ritsu into an emo nosedive.

He's just presenting at this point.

After another day of the manuscripts not finishing, Takano took it upon himself to make a step-by-step manual on how to deal with the printers for Ritsu. He also decided that they would all celebrate the fact that Ritsu's first publication was doing so well (such that another run of copies had been ordered) and, despite Ritsu's refusal, went ahead with it anyway. This part confused me a little; I thought the entire team was going to celebrate, but those scenes were never shown. Ritsu was heading home on the last train, which could mean that a party had already happened. Either way, Takano accosted Ritsu on his way home and they headed over to the apartment (I found out later that it was Takano's place) to celebrate in a very chaste way.

The aftermath is painful.

I'm still sticking to my decision from last season to keep the BL content to a low, especially with pictures, so let's say the evening went well. Ritsu got ridiculously drunk, fell on top of Takano, things happened here, accused Takano of playing him, Takano told him in slightly unclear wording that he loved only Ritsu, more things happened here, Ritsu called Takano "Saga" (his old surname from back in high school), a lot of things happened off-screen here, and Ritsu woke up in the morning covered in terrible "bug bites". I can't lie; this development was sudden and enticing. What does this mean for this series? I've been over the "courtship" process for a few episodes already, but I don't think it'll jump out of that so soon despite everything I wished for. I mean, Ritsu didn't even remember what had happened in the morning. (If I were Takano, I'd probably have gone crazy already.)

The yearning!

I'm really, really eagerly waiting for the next episode, and the preview makes it clear that it'll still be about Ritsu and Takano. I definitely couldn't have handled a focus shift to another couple at this point. I wonder if there will be closure, development, or absolutely nothing at all. It's agonizing!

~Aaro

Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi S2 01

The cute first episode warrants a cute first picture in the first review!

The first episode of S2 pleasantly surprised me. I was reluctant to watch the episode knowing that I would be faced with the primary pairing, but the episode left me smiling, happy and expecting more. Expectations are always scary but I will not curb my enthusiasm just to avoid disappointment. After all, I have been promised (promised) a good ending.

Ah, the anticipation.

The episode has more depth which I found lacking in Onodera in S1. It seems that he has invested in introspection following the finale of S1. I enjoyed the fact that he has not changed his outwardly behaviour but has slowed down on the self-satisfying lies. I must say Onodera wears jealousy beautifully as you will see later in the episode.

Takano's serious yet well-intended statements guarantee a comedic follow-up

The episode begins with Onodera chasing everyone down for manuscripts. He's the process planner for the month, a daunting task requiring lots of scheduling and liaising with the various other departments of the publishing house. Being new and the workplace pushover that he often is, he is comically jerked around by everyone much to my amusement. Takano helps him out here and there, injecting serious comments about his sincere feelings which send Onodera further into the comedy deep end. This segues well into his jealously of Yokozawa, who continues to badger and taunt him mercilessly.

Why can he look more delicate and graceful than most girls?

While Onodera struggles to coordinate between the editors and the printers, his mangaka's manga debuts and does very well. In order to celebrate, Takano offers to rally the troops for a night of celebration. Being the idiot that he is capable of being, Onodera dodges the invite by working very late. Of course, because nothing goes as he plans, he's dragged over to Takano's house for a celebratory soiree. Onodera spent a bulk of the episode simmering in jealousy with dashes of honesty here and there. This set the stage well for an entertaining and progressive evening.

Of course, alcohol always helps!

A drunk Onodera is an amusing Onodera. He rambles and raves without thinking. If you've every taken care of a disgruntled or angry drunk friend, you know the joy of such moments. Takano does well to control himself despite the heavily suggestive behaviour. Push comes to shove and Onodera gets too close to Takano for any self restraint to work and they share their first kiss of the season. Yes, share. A good start, and by proxy the promise of a good end.

See, jealously, it looks good on Onodera. 

The post kiss ramble is heavily focused on Yokozawa and how Takano should not lead Onodera on a string because he's fragile and attached and doesn't understand himself. He is unbearably cute and foolish as he rants which made me like Onodera a lot more as a primary character. All through the first season, I was waiting for him to be honest with himself. All it took was 12 episodes and some beer. Eventually, Takano can't stand Onodera jumping to conclusions and still denying how he feels and forces him to listen by sitting on him. This was animated in a much more sexy fashion, and my words do it no justice, so I'll leave you to watch the scene. I would not call it touching, but it has merit. It is the moment that Takano broke through to Onodera for the first time since they were reunited.

We all know what first names lead to...

The ending of the episode was very amusing. I could elaborate but I've been told a picture says a thousand words. So I'll give you two.

And so, in part, the story is reset, and Onodera is back to his denial. However, Takano now has something in his arsenal and I have faith that Onodera is not so unrealistic to string me along for another whole season. I look forward to seeing how their story develops.

P.S. Why is Takano such a bishonen when he's serious?

/envy