Episode 5

Episode 6

「その部屋には、紅茶の香りはもうしない。/つつがなく、会議は踊り、されど進まず。 」 (Sono Heya ni wa, Kōcha no Kaori wa mō shi nai./Tsutsuganaku, Kaigi wa Odori, Saredo Susuma zu.)
“The Scent of Tea Doesn’t Fill That Room Anymore./Without Incident, The Congress Dances, But Does Not Progress.”

My my, we’re already halfway through season two, yet it still feels like Yahari has barely scratched the surface of its potential. We are witness to a Hachiman suffering from the consequences of his solutions, where there is no real answer to fix it. Without his sacrificial card to play, navigating new territory has become a struggle for our protagonist. However, finding that correct option is proving to be troublesome, even if the best intentions are played out. Once again, it’s a lot to dig through, but let’s dive in.

Let’s begin with episode five. After the tense cluster of interactions that Hayama cooked up, Hachiman’s troubles just seemed to keep piling up. In that case, why start by fixing the bonds closest to you? That Komachi stare is big trouble. Thankfully, in one of the few solid victories in the season, Komachi and Hachiman make up efficiently and sentimentally without a hitch. After having to deal with each other for who knows how many years, it’s nice seeing that experience paying off. Komachi only wants the best for his brother and likewise, Hachiman knows when he needs to fess up and admit his mistakes. All is well that the Hikigaya siblings have made up and have full trust in one another, but alas, that is the beginning of a whole set of troubles.

I’ve seen the disagreements you guys in the comments have voiced in the previous episode, so please call me out again if you disagree with my interpretation. You see, it’s interesting that Komachi and Hachiman share enough trust and support for one another to prompt action, but its this sort of trust that can also make people blind to certain shortcomings due to increased confidence. In brainstorming the attack, the Hikigaya siblings and friends used their limited knowledge about the situation to maintain one goal: preserve the Volunteer’s Club. Their final course of action resulted in convincing Iroha to accept the presidency. At surface, this would alleviate both Yukino and Yui from taking up the post, saving Hachiman from sacrificing himself, while also maintaining Iroha’s image and allowing her to get closer with Hayato. However, as we see at the end of episode five and during episode six, this was probably one of the worst choices of action that could’ve been chosen, though paved all with good intentions and planning. While it was fairly clear that the plan would downplay the consequences this would have with Iroha (as evidenced by Komachi asking Hachiman his opinion of Iroha), how that backlash would affect the club in turn wasn’t taken into account. Now that Iroha has received help once before, nothing prevents her from seeking more assistance from the Volunteer’s Club once more. With Hachiman under obligation to assist Iroha for putting her into a mess she clearly can’t handle, the bonds between the club continue to worsen, as neither side is willing to open up to the other. On the other hand, with the student council president position out of Yukino’s hands, it’s clear this turn of events bothers her, as she voices herself in episode 5. With Yukino misunderstood, the distance between the three of them continues to grow. Even Yukino and Yui grow distant despite the smiles, since an aura of ‘maintaining the status quo’ seems to be in effect rather than one of enjoying one’s company. As for the interactions between Yui and Hachiman…my heart. I really want them to be a couple, but seeing how the course of the show is panning out, it looks like a beautiful train about to be a huge sprawling mess. Yui is so cute and adorable and Hachiman is so lucky to have her, but right now it looks like she’s fighting a losing battle, as Hachiman’s happiness right now is connected to righting himself with Yukino.

In the process of round two of fixing things, it looks like Hachiman will be spending more of his time with Iroha in a weird way to fix the Volunteer’s Club. However, at this point Hachiman seems to just be plugging holes he’s already made rather than making any real fixes, but who can blame him? During the start of episode six, Hachiman admitted something very personal to the audience: he really has no idea what to do. Thus, being the context-aware person that he strives to be, Hachiman looks towards others for the hint of an answer, even if it’s a group he doesn’t particularly care for. For Hachiman, this is the exploratory phase, a moment of seriously being lost and trying things in the moment. No longer can Hachiman simply rely on himself most of the time and receive a bit of assistance when needed–Hachiman is clearly reaching out to a lot of people, trying to find the best course of action in what seems a hopeless scenario. Of course, DIRECT SYNERGY between parties using a pre-agreed CONTRACT with HIERARCHIAL DIALOGUE could solve these issues, especially without the use of THIRD PARTIES who could possibly take away the INITIATIVE of the parties attempting CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. If only someone in the Volunteer’s Club could use INNOVATION to cause a PARADIGM SHIFT through PROACTIVE WIN-WIN TACTICS, then BEST PRACTICES could lead to a CONFLICT RESOLUTION that could CLOSE THE DEAL and RECALIBRATE EXPECTATIO–okay I’ll stop.

Really though, it’s a shame to see Hachiman lost, but hpoefully something good will come out of this arc, where he gains some sort of insight into what he needs to do. Considering how Iroha seems just as sly as Hachiman when it comes to different goals, an unlikely ally may appear in the mess that’s currently up and running. I just really hope that Iroha doesn’t become a third challenger in this entire mess–the battle between Yui and Yukino is going to be painful enough.

 

Preview

71 Comments

    1. I lost it when I saw the hand movements and random useless jargon, because that’s exactly what I see and deal with on a daily basis (IT industry).

      Ahhh, so many future non-technical project managers in this episode :).

      phatj
  1. The Last Idiot
      1. Well, aside from Hachiman’s single-minded fixatedness on Yukino, Iroha is his closest female friend, if the light novels are any indication. If the author decides not to sail the Yukino boat, it seems it’ll default to Iroha.

        SerRompalot
      2. i believe if hachiman is to end up with a girl, and that no other girl will be hurt (or if hurt, not too much) but still end up as close friends (and so the fan base of that girl will not go all “rage” LOL), is to have hachiman end up with a different girl which in this case, the most fitting right now would be iroha.

        The Last Idiot
  2. Croos
  3. Since this series can be pretty painful to watch sometimes because of poor Hachiman I really enjoyed the heartwarming moments in episode 5. Hachiman talking to his imouto and Yui petting/hugging Hachiman’s head.

    Too little Yui and Yukino in episode 6 since I really like both of them. What is Yukino hiding? I want to know.

    Shikamaru
  4. had my public speaking exam last week.

    Explain the geopolitical effect of religion to the phsychological mindset of the common man and its strained relationship with science and commonsense.

    (FYI: Dont bother trying to understand the question coz im pretty sure my teacher just splashed some fancy words to make it look complicated and smart)

    I did this:

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2027.jpg

    The Result: One of the highest graded oral presentation in my class!

    The moral of the story: Dont underestimate the power of fancy words and a whole lot of bullshlt.

    Ginobi47
  5. I’ve started to ship IrohaxHachiman, but the best is surely YuixHachiman, because only Yui’s character can change Hachiman, not Yukino that’s similar to him. So i ship YuixHachiman, Yukino is absolutely no-no!. Those two episodes are nice. But those hands of him…i was almost hypnotized lol ^_^.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Gianluca
      1. Info from Kyakka

        Show Spoiler ▼

        I hope for season three then, because i’ve read that the light novels

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Gianluca
  6. dammit! too many best girl in this show, I’m basically swimming from one ship to another endlessly
    here, but i must say Hachiman’s interaction with Iroha is the best so far, especially when he start
    using Iroha speak, lol

    lol
  7. Wait… Why is the fact that only Yui can change him a good thing? Dude’s a beast. He doesn’t need to change the way the world works does. The thought of “I can make him a better man” is so misguided and sad. I see it all the time. Irohax8man all the way. Yui just seems to want him to be “normal” in all the ways that matter, but still retain the parts of his personality that she likes. Everyone is different and people should respect the things that make us that way.

    Beorn4200
  8. Kudos for the outgoing student council president in episode 5 for nonchalantly saying the best solution for Iroha’s request, Yukino taking the helm of the Student Council with Yui as vice-pres and Hachiman as their handy adviser/handy man. I love how Hachiman inner facepalmed after figuring out his mistake. But nope, life cannot be redone from a loading screen.

    Imagine if it’s Yukinon who was in the meeting in episode 6 instead of Inoha. I think they would have already wrapped it up and made a solid plan of action instead of going in circles.

    Yukinon’s spacing out and sad eyes during episode 6 tells that she practically knew Hachiman have done something terribly wrong… And Yui’s relying on woman’s intuition for comforting Hachiman.

    Damn… I think it’s going to be a tear-jerker moving forward… 6 more episodes to go.

    Am I looking for a happy ending here LN readers? I think I’m watching a tragedy unfolding… that RomCom genre classification is a big sham!

    Reikakou
  9. I’m shipping HachimanxYui! Every time they share screen time together the creators are showing cutesy moments between the two.
    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2006.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2017.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2021.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2009.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2010.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2013.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2029.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2031.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2034.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2002.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Rabukome%20wa%20Machigatteiru/Yahari%20Ore%20no%20Seishun%20Love%20Comedy%20wa%20Machigatteiru.%20Zoku%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2007.jpg

    conyo985
  10. You’re correct that that decision by Hachiman is one of the worse options he could have picked.

    The reason Yukino was trying to run for president is because she wanted to change Hachiman, in a way that he will stop using himself as a sacrifice. She wanted to prove that she could do things in another way that Hachiman could, but Hachiman didn’t understand her efforts and did things his way anyway (even though Komachi told him explicitly to speak to Yukino first).

    And it all become that much worse when he realises that the club wouldn’t have changed much even if Yukino had become President.

    Yukino in Episode 6 has given up on trying to change Hachiman, as evidenced by her giving in to Hachiman’s suggestion that Iroha should try to handle things by herself. The old Yukino would have insisted they accept the request. Also, the fact that there was no longer the scent of tea in the room means that their relationship has become Hayato tier: just there for the sake of being there.

    lytterbug
  11. Makise Kuristina
  12. This i probably the only time I hope this happens but….Toma really needs to break that girls illusion of a personality (if you get my reference). I just don’t find the time to even remember her name; because seriously, there is something seriously wrong with her on a social level if she thought that Hachiman’s club deserved that LONG of a laugh, in mocking it.

    asdf
  13. Irohasu has a warped personality just like 8Man, but she’s also got her sort-of cute moments. And she has enough self-awareness that even though she seems like a shallow person, she’s not as shallow as she appears to be. She even has that fake “Protect me, sem-PAI” imouto vibe that pulls on 8Man’s strings. (Maybe she’s kind of scary after all. Really scary. lol.)

    Yukinon comes with a meddling, twisted, and some might say evil Harunon, so I’d say non to that. Harunon is scary as hell.

    Yui is a very nice girl, but 8Man said it last season, “I don’t like nice girls.”

    Orimoto is a troll. Always will be, it seems.

    TBH, I’m on the Hiratsuka-sensei ship, but that one is impossible. (Someone, marry her already!) So by process of elimination it’s Irohasu for now.

    s_w
  14. I doubt Irohasu will become the 3rd challenger, I mean she likes Hayato right? She better watch out for Yumiko though..
    I think Yui is the best character in the series, imo

    Blahto Blahtoto
  15. 8Man is so perceptive of things but has a total blind spot when it comes to girl behavior. I like 8Man got burned by the nice girl thing but at that time I was a very poor observer of human behavior. But though observation there are very clear differences in body language between a girl that is interested in you and one that is just being nice. Yui is throwing out tons of the I’m interested in you signals but 8Man is in denial but even more he for some reason is blind to the difference in signals watching other people when he is so observant of other things.

    The only problem with Yui is she is not in the same intellectual compartment as 8Man so there is a what do we talk about problem in that relationship. A ship with Yui still can work as couples like that can be happy they just have different circles of interests, Japan’s rigid work and social culture would help there as 8Man will be expected to hang out with workmates after work and Yui with females in her social group so they would not have that much time anyway to relate. And Yui will give the best unconditional love you can find when things get to much for 8Man.

    But I’m on the Hiratsuka ship. No reason it can’t work. After graduation 8Man arranges a meeting brings her flowers and ask have you found anyone yet, if not your beautiful and I could not get better than you and I think I will get along wonderfully with you. Please don’t let what others think stop you. Maybe they keep it on the down low in love hotels for a year or two and then get married when there is more time gap from when he was a student to lower the flack they will get. I love that the game has Hiratsuka as a bad end, but it is only a bad end for the families not for them in my opinion, and she looks good in that wedding dress. Timing wise I wonder if she’s over 25 yet, maybe if not get married as soon as possible after school as there is a social taboo in Japan about females getting married later. It a rational taboo in that to have a good chance of having several children a women needs to try to have them all by 30. (source 60 minutes and elsewhere) If over 25 get married anyway despite the flak but no need to rush then unless they want children.

    RedRocket
  16. Of course, DIRECT SYNERGY between parties using a pre-agreed CONTRACT with HIERARCHIAL DIALOGUE could solve these issues, especially without the use of THIRD PARTIES who could possibly take away the INITIATIVE of the parties attempting CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. If only someone in the Volunteer’s Club could use INNOVATION to cause a PARADIGM SHIFT through PROACTIVE WIN-WIN TACTICS, then BEST PRACTICES could lead to a CONFLICT RESOLUTION that could CLOSE THE DEAL and RECALIBRATE EXPECTATIO–okay I’ll stop.

    that shiver me
    are you really Zanibas?

    Shuraigan
  17. Say what you like about Orimoto, but even after the incident with Hayato, she still ran over to talk to Hachiman. I’m hoping they’ll have a little conversation now that they are alone on the bench. I’m curious as to why she came to talk to him. Supposedly they went on the double date to satisfy her friend Chika. So why bother talking to Hachiman now? It seems like Hachiman still has a bit of residual feelings for her. We keep seeing him look at her like he looked at Yukino in the first season. Sort of watching from afar when she’s not looking. The way she stopped and took note of Yui also bothered me. I have to wonder if she was just sizing up what happened or if she’s thinking of using it against someone later. She might make a valuable ally if she’s interested. Seems quite adept. I don’t see Hachiman getting together with Iroha. He likes efficiency. She seems to be the type of people he hates the most. A liar. She’d have to change a lot first.

    Breedo
  18. Hachiman didn’t do anything wrong, or rather he does nothing until he had a excuse from Komachi. Yukino seems to have wanted to be in the student council but needed a excuse, which Haruno and Iroha gave her. I think Yukino and Hachiman doesn’t know how to continue as she has accepted not changing so there isn’t a point to what they do in that club anymore. The student council was a way to better herself and separate from her sister’s path.

    Aoyu
  19. I´m loving Iroha more and more with each new episode and I´m ok with her joining the battle for Hachi. Yui is the complete opossite of Hachi; Yukino is similar to him but they differ too much in the way they address a problem; Iroha is a faker, a person that never show her true self to anyone but Hachi is the exception and I´ve noticed that does not bother to keep quiet when speaking to her. From where I´m standing I think Iroha is strongest candidate for a girlfriend for Hachi in the long, poor Yui had advantage before.

    haseo0408
  20. I was honestly impressed by the bro-sis scene. Their interaction felt… … I can’t even describe it. Genuine? I wouldn’t know cause I have no siblings, but it felt so fresh. Nothing like I’ve seen before. It’s even nothing like I’ve imagined what having a sibling will be like.

    It’s also nice to show a close to normal bro-sis r/ship. Most anime use bro-sis scenes as an opportunity to show ecchi, and very often the bro is a siscon. Get real.

    Djalaal
  21. I can totally imagine playing this as a visual novel, that one decision for Hachiman to make Iroha the president opened up an entirely new route: Iroha Route. He can still deter from it and steer towards Yui or Yukino as long as he figures out his personal answer before the next branching route :X

    chromenova

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