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Last episode, we learned more about Kamiya and that there’s more to her than meets the eye. This time, we see what that is.

My Thoughts

If there were any questions as to why Kamiya having Izumi’s number was a big deal last time, the beginning of this episode beautifully clears that up with some really nice art that’s anime original, I’m pretty sure. The whole dance and ballroom thing is a way to tell us pretty much that Kamiya is in love with Izumi, but Shikimori ended up stealing him. Well, you can’t really say that because she never told him about her love, but still, to her, I’m sure it feels that way.

This is why I was saying this is the heaviest episode when it comes to drama. Kamiya hands her number over to Shikimori pretty easily because she’s not really the type to try and keep them apart or do anything like that, but her inaction is part of what causes her trouble. This is the Kamiya arc more than anything, and the whole episode just feels really moody in a very good way that I don’t think people were expecting from the series to this point. This episode might actually make some believers.

We see more and more of how Kamiya has to put up a front and never show her emotions, all the while everyone around her worships her for being perfect and all of these things she’s not. It completely changes the tone of everything we’ve learned about her to this point, knowing that the smile she wears is really just to hold herself together and that nobody really seems to understand her at all. Not even Izumi. Only she really does, but she can’t do anything to change it now.

At her core, Kamiya just wants someone nice who won’t think she’s more than she is, and that’s exactly what Izumi is, but she had some bad luck. Her RNG didn’t work out this lifetime, the poor boy was already taken, and that’s not working out too good for her. But luckily, Shikimori is about the kindest person in the world in this scene for some reason and realizes that she does have feelings for Izumi.

Instead of getting in a fight with her or something useless, she apologizes for making her lie about her feelings by trading numbers and tells her that she needs to cherish them. Basically, telling her rival, hey, go get ’em, just to be considerate of her feelings. Kamiya obviously doesn’t act on this because she is a good person that doesn’t want to ruin what they have, but this is one of the more mature scenes in a romance story coming from a surprisingly fluffy rom-com.

So Shikimori gives the Kamiya the TKO with her signature pull-in hug she gave to Izumi, and the two share a sweet moment, and there are no hard feelings anywhere. Cute all around and very sweet. Maybe a harem is a good option, but at this point, I think Shikimori would probably be the one at the center of it.

That’s pretty much the end of the Kamiya stuff, but Shikimori isn’t a superhuman. She still has her own worries, and believe it or not but finding out that one of your boyfriend’s close friends really has a thing for him probably isn’t the most reassuring feeling in the world. So at the end of the festival, which is also Shikimori’s birthday, she has a chat with Izumi. 

By chat, I mean Izumi gives her a present and says something really sweet, causing her to cry like crazy. Again, this is a two-way relationship, even though people really like to put Izumi down. They reaffirm their love for each other, and that’s about it. We end things there. We had some good character drama, but it’s still the same show with the same formula, after all.

This is the episode that I think would turn some people into fans of the series. The problem is that the series really doesn’t have drama like this that often, and this is a few volumes into the story at this point, so most people who didn’t like it would have stopped by that point. The main purpose that this arc shows is that Shikimori isn’t afraid to occasionally be very serious, and despite the cutesy stuff, it knows how to write good character drama that can be really impactful, even coming out of nowhere. It’s good stuff.

I just do wish this type of stuff happened more, but I will tell you that the series continuously gets better from here. The moments between Izumi and Shikimori get much, much sweeter, and the stories are a lot more coherent as time goes on, so I do believe these last four episodes will probably be the best. I also have a pretty good idea where the show might stop, and I’m thinking it’s the “boat scene.” We’ll see if I’m right. It lines up pretty well and is probably my favorite scene.

Thank you very much for reading

Again, be as good as Izumi. The guy’s a hero.