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「友達の彼女」 (Tomodachi no Kanojo)
“Friend’s Girlfriend”
Not the downtime I was expecting, but hey, guess I’ll take it. With only two weeks left for Kanojo Okarishimasu to make us remember why adaptations of ongoing romance series are a fool’s errand for resolution (gotta hawk those manga sales no matter the weather!), it was all about confirming one pairing while prepping the ground to start tearing it down. And if there was some good in the message too, well that’s all the better.
Considering how much Kanojo Okarishimasu has focused on the walking cringe which is Kazuya, I must admit having him do something remarkably endearing is a pretty big surprise. While there’s something to be said about the emotional whiplash (or just illogic) of damn near all of Kazuya’s actions, it’s stuff like helping Kuri out of a mental ditch which really lends credence to the idea a nugget of realism lies at the centre of this story. Is Kazuya an idiot? Yes. Should he have already ended his shared lie with Chizuru in a similar manner to that with Kuri? You’re damn right. Yet it’s steps like these which arguably show it’s not so much Kazuya holding back needed actions as much as his perceived expectations—i.e. plot. Remove grandma from the picture and I’d wager the runaround would already be over, yet because Kazuya refuses to bite the bullet (the same as Chizuru) we are continually swimming in circles. It’s not good for the heart, but hard denying it does wonders for keeping the Kazuya-Chizuru dream alive.
What is likely to wipe the board though are little things like Kuri voicing Chizuru’s feelings that force Chizuru to confront the things Kazuya has already realized earlier. Right now Chizuru can pin everything on a lie and her espoused professionalism, but as soon as that falls away into the crushing phase, expect things to start getting a little hairy. Between Ruka making the play for first spot and Mami looking like she’s ready to throw her wrench back into the machinery, it’s all about who makes the first major move – and that’s before touching on new girl Sumi ready to make her grand debut.
The next arc might only be supposedly about providing rental girlfriend practice, but as any romance afficionado can tell you, no new girl ever stays platonic for long.
Preview
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Ruka: “Boss, I’m being bullied! I demand you dock his pay! That way, he can’t afford rentals.”
Me: “Goddamnit Ruka, I’m gonna dock your ‘best girl’ points if you start acting like Mami!”
Hiring Chizuru to date a broken-hearted Kuri. That would have sounded like a good plan, Kazuya…if not for the fact that Kuri already knows her as your girlfriend! Not to mention that basically put your “cover story” at risk. And then there’s that uneasiness seeing someone who has grown close to you being with someone else.
*Watches more* Wait, what? Kuri now knows Chizuru’s a rental girlfriend and Kazuya’s circumstances with her? And he’s fine with it? Well, if it’s stupid but it works, then it’s not stupid. And it’s pretty obvious with this scene why Chizuru is best girl. (Though I’m looking forward to seeing Sumi try and charm the audience in the next couple of episodes.)
Other thoughts:
– Chizuru mentioning that some of her clients included men who had trust issues with women. I would have loved to hear her stories about them, and whether those clients averted that self-destructive slide into inceldom. (Or at least made a conscious effort to improve themselves.)
– *Sigh* Twitter ranting. And considering that content, no wonder Kuri’s tweets are “protected.” However, if Miyajima-sensei‘s portrayal of Twitter in the manga (and in the anime) is similar to real life, does this mean friends who have followed (and given approval by) a “protected” account can still read and show that account’s tweets on their phones to other friends without Twitter? And even take screenshots that they can make public if they wanted to? So much for “protection”… (Damnit, I actually spent more time pondering about the inner workings of a “protected” Twitter account rather than actually watching the episode.)
– Mami’s returning? Cyka blyat!
>not trusting whamen
>self-destructive
Found the simp, lol.
^
Hate speech right here…
What, you’re one of those militant incels? Guess what: I want NOTHING to do with your warped interpretation of MGTOW, nor do I side with those militant Twitter feminists who love nothing more than to simply out-REEEEE, if not downight “cancel” their opponents (and are probably full of those manipulative types anyway). Both sides are just as rotten at this point.
I already know I’m a goddamn degenerate weeb, but I take care to keep fantasy/fiction and real life separate.
Unfortunately, it’s people like YOU who go and ruin it for the rest of us.
Must be sad to a chara that appears only 2 eps before the series ends though ;/
I don’t think they can wrap it put with only two eps, unless there will be Se2, still showing Sumi on many posters and covers when she had that small screen time really reminds me of other misleads ads jap did for various things over the years (one of them is Alishea from Tales of Zesteria, hope I’ve spelled the names right cause it been 4+ years and I don;t care about it anymore tbh)
Oh this one won’t be wrapped up in the next couple of episodes. The manga is still ongoing so at best we’ll get a half-decent ending, but more likely is the usual lack of conclusion that screams go buy the source material lol.
Kazuya being a pretty good friend there admitting the “truth” to Kuri.
It’s what makes him so bloody annoying IMO, he pulls the greatest mental contortions and does the most ridiculously cringe-worthy stunts, yet still finds the time for such moves like with Kuri this week. Half the time I’m unsure whether to absolutely loathe him or begrudgingly approve of him lol.
AAAAAARGH!
Paraphrasing one comment last week:
Kazuya seems to be so good at digging own grave it can fit now, him, Chizuru and Kuribayashi. I am fully expecting entire cast will fit by end of season…