Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi – 02

「うどん、ときどき満月」 (Udon, Tokidoki Mangetsu)
“Udon with the Occasional Full Moon”

Despite all the boob talk this episode, I still found this to be quite a seasoned show that wants to talk about Futaba’s insecurities in a fun and mature way. Starting right off from where we left off last week, Futaba is dealing with the moral hangover of having told his senpai. Why she can’t be his wife?! To which Harumi just sort off nonchalantly brushes it off, whether he’s a complete simpleton or he did it in order to save Futaba from the embarrassment, is yet to be known. Harumi deals with this mishap in a completely professional manner, I really liked that about him. I already have a soft spot for big dumb bimbos, so it’s hard for Harumi not to grow on me when he’s so cordial and takes everything with stride.

Let’s not forget about Buchou (Aoyama Yutaka) the CEO of the company, he’s the true MVP, Futaba just had to mutter one word, for him to ‘remember’ that he actually had an urgent meeting with some of the higher-ups, or something made up like that. It seems Buchou knows about Futaba’s secret feelings before even Futaba herself knows about them. Futaba and Harumi do make a great couple, Harumi can ease Futaba’s insecurities because he’s not the type of person who would judge women based on their appearance, unlike some of Souta’s friends.

These types of men idolize women, putting them up on a pedestal, it’s honestly shallow, and when they meet the real person behind the flesh, it’s disappointing and their whole ideal about the other person comes crashing down, it’s a vicious cycle, that puts them in an eternal loop of disappointing dates and relationships. A made import from the male gaze. Souta thankfully is not like that, there’s more to him than just googling other women (Even if he does stare in the OP). When Touko is cited by another coworker, relentlessly trying to get her to come out and have drinks with him, not taking a no for an answer, clearly making her uncomfortable. It’s Souta the one who calls the company asking for her, in essence, freeing Touko from that awkward discussion. She notices, but Souta shy’s away, not knowing what to say. Making it all seems like a weird wrong number call. In the end, his intentions were wholesome, and he didn’t ask for anything in return. But because of that, Touko decides to invite him out to dinner, and they elect to get Ramen. Both parties sparkle in their eyes as they realize each other’s intent.

In this episode, we also got to meet Natsumi Kurobe (Aoyama Reina) an old friend of Futaba, a man is harassing Natsumi, but she pays him no mind, thinking that maybe he’ll leave, they usually do I bet. Futaba arrives on the scene, only for Natsumi to kick the man in the shin. I found it interesting that the man used onee-san (お姉さん) and the subs translated it as gorgeous (素敵). I guess in this context it does apply. Futaba and Natsumi do some walking around finding a stand that is giving out cute teddy bears, which Futaba later uses to stack up against her chest. Natsumi takes some candid shots, of course. But when Futaba boards the train to go home, she bumps into Harumi and Souta. This is why I think Harumi is completely clueless, or just simply doesn’t look at other women the same way Souta does. Souta clearly wanted to address the situation, but it’s a hard topic to just bring up in a conversation. So he instead casually asks ‘did you notice anything different?’ to which Harumi responds ‘not really, why?’ I think Harumi is just clueless about stuff like this, and instead is looking for a real connection with someone else. He already treats Futaba like someone close to him, teasing her by touzling her hair. Does he do that with everyone or just the people he likes? It’s funny because they do look like father-daughter together.

I fancied how this episode addressed very mature topics in a way that is digestible for even the most prude of a person. Without being gross, or fanservice-y, it feels like it genuinely wanted to talk about these things, and I feel like it achieved its original intent. I’m looking forward to Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi addressing even more topics related to sexuality and how they come into relationships. It’s reminding me a lot of Ase to Sekken. I relish the unusual pairing’s here, a judo master who falls in love with a petite girl, and a shy boy who falls in love with a scrumptious and extroverted miss. Can’t wait for more! Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi is certainly turning into a higher-brow show than Uzaki or Nagatoro but still an entertaining drama about unusual love pairings.

P.S. Look it’s the Shiro Ghost! Shiro Manta the original mangaka uses a ghost figure with a shield and sword as his author profile.

P.S. 2 Why does Souma look like Taichi from Ao no Flag?!

ED Sequence