Tonikaku Kawaii Joshikou-hen – 03

「恋はたいてい難しい」 (Koi ha Taitei Muzukashii)
“Romance is, Generally, Pretty Hard”

Nasa is in for a bigger job than he initially signed up for, his teaching duties now extending to the subject of romance. For a teenage girl desperate to learn how to catch her crush, Nasa isn’t a bad option for a teacher, he certainly is kind, honest, and easy to talk to. The downside though is that Nasa’s love story is not a typical one, so results may vary. After witnessing Ginga’s machoness in rescuing Kurenai’s shut-in boyfriend (what an over the top scene LOL), Shirogane is head over heels for Ginga, which gets Nasa in the doghouse with Tsukasa when Shirogane accidentally sends her confession text to Nasa.

I can appreciate Nasa’s straightforward cut the games and tell them how you feel attitude towards romance- one way to get an answer one way or the other is to be direct. Tsukasa’s tactic is the total polar opposite- stalk them. I 100% agree with Nasa, that is a total double standard and a bit shady, if you ask me. However, Tsukasa was adorable with her gung ho speech. Tsukasa is right that getting intel on the object of affection is a good idea, but you can totally do that by hanging out/talking with them (I mean, she has his number, so no excuse there) or asking people who know him (she’s already got a few sources there). It goes without saying, there’s no need for being all stalky.

Tsukasa’s double standard is hilariously on display at the bathhouse when she warns Ginga about the danger of stalkers- when the said stalker is probably the one she created with her love advice. Much as I’d feel bad for Shirogane having a one sided crush (which are the absolute worst), I have to say that Ginga and Aya make the better pairing. The volleys they shoot back and forth are hilarious and I can sense some chemistry going there- they can even temporarily set aside the bickering for crepes (and who wouldn’t – those looked very yummy). I like any scene those two are together in and I hope we get more of them. It turns out Ginga’s a popular target, with not just one but two stalkers on his tail- how comical that he punches out the one stalker while Shirogane tries to give her confession in that back alley.

While Nasa’s got his hands full teaching, Tsukasa’s feeling a little lonely and jealous. Not that I can blame her- being newly wed and used to having Nasa all to herself only to now have to share him with a whole school. The conference of Tsukasas was cute- she’s usually very cool and collected, so this side of her is a nice change. Even more adorable was her waiting outside the school and catching some flirt time with Nasa.

The biggest part of the episode however was at the end when the two moon princesses finally meet in passing. Rather fitting that it would happen in a bamboo forest, a huge nod to the original moon princess story of Kaguya in the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Kaguya’s “has your journey finally ended” hints big time that she knows something about Tsukasa and with the numerous hints about the elusive Kaguya’s identity, it’s about time she steps into center stage. It certainly catches Tsukasa off guard. With only one episode left in this arc, I hope we can get to the bottom of the Kaguya and Tsukasa connection soon.

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