Adachi to Shimamura – 02

「安達クエスチョン」 (Adachi Kuesuchon)
“Adachi Question”

While this episode definitely left me more confused than it probably should’ve (feeding alien astronauts doughnuts, not even once), it’s hard understating the warm and fuzzy comfort received by knowing AtS is going to be all romance first and fan service second. Mostly. Yeah, the kissing is reserved for dreams at the moment, but you know it won’t last forever.

As mentioned previously AtS will be a slow burner of a yuri romance which takes its time to smell the roses as each new one appears. Case in point is Adachi this week, as the extent of her romance progression has been brief hand holding and some hilariously (yet adorably) awkward sitting that probably would’ve led to the right sort of things if the poor girl wasn’t so caught up in her thoughts. Or still wholly confused over just what she wants. Frankly the setup here is probably what I’m liking most about this series so far given the typical starting relationship – i.e. one girl quickly makes a move on the other that leads to the usual drama shenanigans – has been replaced by a more undefined void with the potential to yield what most of us are here to see. Adachi after all clearly has feelings for Shimamura, but her defining of those feelings and determining how to act on them will be where AtS’ meat and potatoes lie because there’s nothing here so far that limits the results to being a wholly romantic relationship. When it comes to teenage romance, the hardest part is often just figuring out what you even want.

What leads me to suspect AtS won’t be immediately jumping into pure forbidden love is the strong focus on jealousy and possession. Adachi’s musings on the matter and the repeated appearance of Shimamura’s friends more or less confirm that the two girls’ personal time will be the main point of conflict for the immediate future, and likely be what forces Shimamura into realizing how deep Adachi’s desires run. While this is the sort of theme that usually results in a confirmed pairing given the strong feelings involved, it’s important to note that right now Adachi doesn’t so much want Shimamura as much as she wants to be with Shimamura; for Adachi, it’s about being seen as special and important by the one person whom she holds in a similar regard. Over time I expect these feelings to fully sway into actual love (in part as a way of subconsciously solidifying that specialness through one-upping Shimamura’s other friends), but for the moment it’s all about maximizing time spent together and mitigating the appearance of party crashers.

Well, at least until Shimamura starts to think Adachi’s actions might suggest Adachi wants to be more than just friends.

Preview