「漫ろ雨」 (Sozoroame)
“Gentle Rain”

Boy, compared to the last few episodes, this week’s episode felt like it came completely from left field.

General Impressions

God, where do I even begin with this one? Looking at things from a holistic perspective, it’s almost like we were watching two different shows. With the first half of the episode giving off some super dark vibes (it reminded me of something we’d see in Kuzu no Honkai or something) and the latter feeling so damn awkward because of just how close to home things started to feel, it was actually kind of amazing just how much the show managed to pack in one single episode.

Starting with the jerk of the episode, let’s dive into Kase and just how much of a “bad boy” he really is. First off, who would have thought that a simple kitchen hand like Kase would be hiding such a dark side beneath those white chef clothes of his? As someone who I thought would be relegated to background character duty, it’s kind of amazing how he managed to carve out a space just for himself. Or rather, it’s nice to see the story introducing some type of conflict to the story since it’d be difficult for things to keep on going with the only conflict being a societal one. Now don’t get me wrong — I’m not a fan of creating conflict just for the sake of creating problems. However, when it’s done tastefully and in a way that manages to help flesh out multiple characters, I can get behind it entirely. Plus, if we’re being honest, I’m sure the story would probably run into some trouble keeping things interesting if it kept going down the path it started on prior to this week’s.

Switching sides, boy was it a totally different experience watching Tachibana go out on a date with Kondou. Besides being an overall pleasant experience since there was a mutual respect from both parties, can we take a few minutes to talk about being old please? While I wouldn’t consider myself “old”, I can agree that I’m no longer a spry spring chicken. And honestly, I can’t help but feel that I’m going to go through the same feelings that Kondou went through when I have to admit that I’m.. old. Watching him try to sort through his emotions while simultaneously deal with the reality in front of him was something that I didn’t know I wanted to watch but found myself loving every moment of.

All that said, at the end of the day we had another great episode that managed to use contrasting situations in an amazing way. With the story moving along quickly and problems quickly beginning to pile up in-front of Tachibana (and I’m assuming Kondou soon), I can’t wait to see how things go from here. See you guys next week!

P.S. I too drink my coffee black in an futile effort to try and impress girls. God, just kill me now.

Full-length images: 5.

16 Comments

  1. The eternal failing of Shoujo Anime/Manga: the need to include the predator character that the otherwise amazing girl is helpless against. Gods, this is up there with amnesia for my “Most Hated Subplots”. Hope Kondou punches that pretty-boy in the face soon before we have to go through the cliche of him thinking he should step aside even though Kase is an asshole.

    At least we got to see how much further Tachibana will go when she’s actually interested (loved that dress!) even if the overall date wasn’t that great. I’d say Kondou needs to get out of his own head, but under the circumstances I can’t be too mad at him. Just a little. >.<

    Aex
    1. Thinking about this some more, though, I don’t really see Kase as the stock baddie. He’s more a plot device that lets us see Tachibana having her own little “groundhog day” experience (albeit airing a day early) as she goes on the same date twice with two different people.

      Angelus
  2. Kase doesn’t come across as malicious, but more like he’s just blunt or kind of does things. Such a big reaction from people is probably why they immediately start off with Kase looking at Akira and imagining her in a more , but then immediately brushing it off as “not gonna happen” – in hopes that people won’t immediately jump on a hate wagon for him later. From what I saw, it seemed more like he was just trying to convince Akira that it would be better to try to date someone closer to her own age (NOT himself necessarily) rather than pursue an older man like Kondo.

    Definitely could have done it better, but yeah…

    https://randomc.net/image/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2005.jpg

    <3<3<3<3<3<3<3

    https://randomc.net/image/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2014.jpg

    Even when pissed, her eyes are so beautiful.

    https://randomc.net/image/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni/Koi%20wa%20Ameagari%20no%20You%20ni%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2030.jpg

    <3<3<3<3<3<3<3

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  3. I was calling Kase disgusting the whole episode. Really wanted Akira-chan to punch him in the face when he grabbed her arm like that. I wish it was a different anime and when she looked at him so pissed off, his head would explode.

    neko_in_blue
  4. What makes the whole Kase situation notable for me is that Akira does to Kondou a lot of the same things Kase did to her. Pressuring him into a date, ignoring his clear disinterest in her, forcing a kiss onto his cheek… Of course, the show frames her actions much more positively than Kase’s, but the fact that Akira is overlooking this double-standard, whether intentionally or because she’s too infatuated to notice, is definitely worth noting.

    stardf29
    1. Indeed. At first, you think Kondo is taking Kase’s place on the second date. In reality, she is taking Kase’s. This is also noticable at the cinema, where she sits on Kase’s place, and Kondo sits on hers.

      Nayrael
    2. Much as I see what you’re getting at, I wouldn’t call that pressuring into a date – Kondou is just a bit dazed and confused by the whole thing so he needs a little gentle prod or two in the right direction. And Tachibana doesn’t force any kisses on anyone, it was in her imagination, just as much as Kase’s defloration of Tachibana was.

      The whole thing is difficult when there’s that sort of age gap. Even if the other person is being really up front, you try hard to dismiss it on the grounds that you must have misunderstood it somehow. (At this point Angelus takes the 5th)

      Angelus
    3. Akira might have been pushy with Kondou, but Kase was basically blackmailing Akira. I think that’s a fundamental difference. There was no implied threat from Akira, and Kondou went on the date entirely willingly. That’s not true of the Kase date, where he was going to blab about the textbook doodles if Akira didn’t go and she was really only there under duress.

      Puffles
    4. I believe Akira herself actually acknowledges this somewhat (but trying to deny it) at the end of the episode in sort of a double meaning with her saying how it’s “not the same”; not only how Kase and Kondo are different people, but also how her actions on the date almost perfectly reflected Kase’s. It might be what kept her from actually carrying out her wanting to attempt to kiss Kondo.

      HalfDemonInuyasha

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