Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu – 25 (END)

「僕と私の恋心」 (Boku to Watashi no Koigokoro)
“I, We, Fell in Love”

Moe’s “Adults let things brew until they find themselves in that kind of relationship” “Confessions are childish” LOL. Moe’s always one step ahead of the others when it comes to thinking about relationships. Anna doesn’t know how to “let things brew”- as expected of the girl who generally doesn’t shy away from the straightforward approach and doesn’t let sleeping dogs lie. She’s certainly not afraid of dropping some huge hints for Kyou. In this case, the sleeping dog (or cat…ahem) is Kyou who gets caught between a rock and a hard place there after becoming privy to the girl talk on the three letter sport engaged in my adults- on top of being squished in bed next to Anna. That certainly would be enough to make most anyone burst.

Kyou seriously deserves a gold medal for strongest fortitude. What a guy, to somehow mentally pull himself out of the situation to focus on the most important matter at hand- Anna’s audition. Though it doesn’t happen without mishap. Interestingly, it was pointed out to me by Guardian Enzo that the anime made a slight modification here. In the manga, Anna gets startled by what Kyou does (or rather what his body can’t help doing), whereas in the anime, the scene zeroes in on their faces so it looks like she freaks out over what Kyou says more than anything else. A subtle change, but it reflects what the center of this episode was- Kyou confronting Anna and himself, showing the courage to say the words he wouldn’t have been able to formulate much less have the courage to say them last year, or say, even several months ago.

Having escaped the jaws of death thanks to a hilarious save by Kanzaki (once again, rescued by his bros), Kyou now has another problem- what to say to Anna. When we see the hair move aside and the eye come out, we know some pretty hard hitting stuff is about to follow- which happens twice this time. Once when he maps out his confrontation to Anna, and another time during their rendezvous in the library. Kyou’s had plenty of practice opening up to Anna and he gets it totally right- just tell her how he feels.

There was a lot of symbolism in that scene at Fushimi Inari Shrine. Firstly, this scene. Kyou is caught between two worlds, the one with his friend group and his relationship with Anna. The two aren’t mutually exclusive and they certainly do overlap, but there still exists this space where sometimes one or the other don’t belong. Sometimes they feel on the outside of each other’s friend groups and their friends certainly are on the outside of his and Anna’s relationship in some respects. It reflects what Kyou gets to in his conversation with Anna. He’s learned to enjoy school because of her and because of her, his world expanded, so that now, it’s not just her. She doesn’t need to be solely responsible for his happiness. She has to follow her own path too. That’s a pretty healthy attitude, to revolve around each other while still finding other groups to orbit in a part from each other. That makes it a relationship, not an obsession.

Then we have Anna’s literal mask. She’s been putting on a false front for her friends the whole time and no-one close to her is fooled. Anna can’t even fool herself and needs a fox mask to hide it. Contrary to what Kyou thought, Anna’s not doing this for him, she’s doing it for herself. She wants to enjoy her school trip and she was relying on Kyou to help her do that. That’s a totally normal sentiment- you only get to live through middle school once. But likewise, she only gets one chance at this audition. When you find something you love as much as Anna loves modelling, you have to hold on to that, don’t let it go. I’m glad that Kyou pushes her to take that step.

Now, Kyou gets a turn with the mask. The way he owns his growth and his relationship to Anna to himself and to her is so raw. He can’t hold it back anymore and neither can the mask. I love how Kyou’s confession to Anna parallels the lyrics of the OP- the OP was foreshadowing this scene all along. Truly elegant.

What a lucky girl Anna is to have such an amazing supportive cast of friends by her side. That’s what friends are there for, to push you when you need it most. What a sweetheart Kyou is, stockpiling all those snacks in his backpack for Anna because he knew she’d need it. Kobayashi brings along the Kimi Iro Octave manga and acts like such a mom, packing Anna’s backpack for her. I’d say Kobayashi expertly fulfilled the role of group leader in looking after Anna.

Anna’s not giving up on her dream, and neither is Kyou. They spur each other on in this beautiful feedback loop. The trauma of the failed exams has been hanging heavy over Kyou this whole time, but thanks to Anna, that’s about to change. The cram school ad and ema plaque at Kiyomizudera were small scenes with huge import- Kyou’s not going to be held back by insecurities any longer.

While Anna and Kyou dodge the Kanna bullet, Hara and Kanzaki become the sacrificial lambs to sate her appetite. But even then, it’s not enough for this girl if they’re not in the same class. Don’t mess with the quiet ones, seriously. Hara’s not putting up with that shit and someone needed to put a stop to that, so I’m glad Hara put her in her place.

The part with Adachi and Kyou sword fighting in the omiyage shop was great. As mature as Kyou is in carefully considering everyone’s feelings, at the end of the day, he still is a normal middle school boy. I’m glad that Norio Sensei never lets us lose sight of that.

In the end, Anna makes it to the interview, but unfortunately, doesn’t get the role. Even though she left early for something that didn’t pan out in the end, I think that was still the right decision. If she hadn’t gone, that would have been a regret hanging over her for a long time to come, never knowing what could have happened.

Anna trying out this opportunity, failing, and picking herself back up again is a huge growth for her as someone who used to flee from failure. That she can now look it in the face and embrace her weaknesses would not have happened were it not for Kyou. Because now, she can see herself through his eyes, just as he sees himself through hers. Ultimately, this is what their journey, and by extension, all of our journeys are about. Learning to accept and love yourself, all of yourself, the way you would embrace those closest to you. In the end, we are (or should be) our own best friend, as much as we are someone else’s. Anna and Kyou learn this through each other. The final scene with Anna’s confession in the library was simply gorgeous. The build up with Kyou running to find her, Anna’s little speech, the sunset-filled background. Ending it off with the awkward first attempt at a kiss was also heart warming. The decision to end it with the OP from season 1 was a nice throwback as well.

What a magnificent season this was for Boku Yaba. Anna and Kyou are the world’s best couple and the anime crew put their all into seamlessly brining their story, and in a way, many people’s story of adolescence, to life. I sincerely hope that we will get a season three. The popularity of the series has been skyrocketing, at least here in Japan, with multiple collaborations, all the manga sales, and winning various polls, so the demand for it is there. And who wouldn’t want a continuation of this story? The way Anna and Kyou complement each other’s worlds and help each other grow bit by bit is truly heart-stirring, a journey I will forever be grateful to Norio-sensei and the anime staff for bringing us along on.