Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru Kan. – 04

「ふと、由比ヶ浜結衣は未来に思いを馳せる。」 (Futo, Yuigahama Yui wa Mirai ni Omoi o Haseru.)
“By Chance, Yui Yuigahama Thinks of the Future.”

After Re:Zero threw out that excruciating episode, looks like Oregairu didn’t want to miss out on the pain train. So let’s do a post-mortem of various happenings.

Prom is Cancelled?

Prom is in jeopardy – with the current plan being to outright cancel it, in spite of Yukino’s efforts. No doubt because it’s too difficult for the school to refuse her fearsome mother. Her negotiating skills were extremely impressive. Even with Iroha putting in her shift to debate in favour of prom, calling upon the forbidden technique of hand motions, everybody got steamrolled by Mrs Yukinoshita.

Hiritsuka-sensei will also be leaving – a blow to the Service Club members considering the pillar of support she’s been for them this entire series. This was hinted at in the previous episodes, where she would give wistful sighs while smoking her cigarettes. For now, she will be able to continue watching over them like a guardian spirit – continuing to guide them. And she also helps Hachiman arrive at his conclusion – which comes at a great personal cost to someone else.

The Harsh Reality Dawns on Yui Yuigahama

The SS Yui is basically all but sunk. And the solo ballade outro was some truly hearbreaking stuff. To be honest, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen for Yui. With all her talk about how she could be a good housewife, something didn’t quite add up and I could feel the writing was on the wall. At first I speculated that she’d make cake at Hachiman’s house – only to discover the uneaten biscuits she made left in his drawer since Christmas, since we know she has a habit of snooping around people’s bedrooms. That didn’t quite happen.

But suffering founds its way regardless. Hachiman flakes on their arrangement after hearing that the Prom has been cancelled – because Yukino is a higher priority to him despite the fact he made prior plans with Yui and Yukino’s made it clear she doesn’t want to rely on Hachiman’s help. Yui puts on a brave face so that Hachiman won’t stop for her – and proceeds to cry inconsolable tears once he’s out of sight. As someone who has been in her position before, with regards to feeling utterly helpless in a close friendship where love went unrequited – it was extremely difficult to watch.

Concluding Thoughts

To surmise, I’m glad that Hachiman isn’t oblivious – which makes a refreshing change from your typical harem protagonist. He’s acutely aware of the love triangle that’s shaping out between himself, Yukino and Yui. With Yui having found out in the first episode of this season, and Yukino being no idiot, I’m pretty sure all three of them are now aware of it. Yet none of them will speak up – with Yukino suddenly vying to break the status quo of their codependency on one another of her own volition. And before that, for a long time – Yui ran interference which continued delaying the inevitable. But I think the final destination is pretty clear at this point in time. Because he’s unable to let her go, even when she’s pushed him away, then I can only conclude that Hachiman fears losing Yukino and wants to be something more than friends with her.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you next week to see whether Hachiman and Yukino can come up with a plan to save prom.