Recap
Aoki runs past Ida to get to Hashimoto. In the library, Hashimoto recounts confessing during the camping trip and how Akkun didn’t even remember the pivotal moment she fell for him.
What she wants to do now is get a pompadour haircut. Aoki is horrified.
Aoki tries to get Akkun to intervene and reveals to Ida that he once had a crush on Hashimoto. Aoki explains to Ida that he’s the one who matters now, which flusters him more.
Ida wants to know what they should do now that they are dating. Aoki doesn’t want other people to overhear and imagines them nearly kissing and is a mess. Then he remembers that he wants to eat together, just the two of them, on the roof. Ida agrees.
Aoki gets a text from Akkun that he ‘remembered’ and goes running again. But what Akkun remembered is Hashimoto leaving him with a bad impression. Hashimoto overhears and they fight.
On the roof, Ida is quiet and Aoki thinks he isn’t having a good time. Ida is waiting for Aoki to tell him what’s going on. Aoki tells him the whole story, which he was hesitant to share because Ida now knows he used to like Hashimoto. Ida reassures Aoki and pats his head, and Aoki freaks out when other students come up and nearly see them.
Both Akkun and Aoki leave school to stop Hashimoto from getting a pompadour. Akkun gets there first and gets slapped again. She listens to Aoki though, and just gets her hair styled.
Afterward, Akkun explains that he got a bad impression of her because he said something and she ignored him. She says she was embarrassed. He can’t see them dating but wants to be friends and likes learning about her. Hashimoto asks if she can put in more effort so he gets to know her. When he agrees he’s touched by her smile.
Hashimoto tells Aoki she’s inspired by him to be herself around Akkun so he really knows her. Ida comes in with a pompadour to support Hashimoto, which is thankfully a wig.
Ida tells Aoki he should tell him when something is troubling him, so they can help each other. And they have a date on the roof later. Aoki smiles.
Thoughts
Not my favorite episode, the pompadour thing is a little too silly for me and distracts from Hashimoto’s real feelings of disappointment. But it is what happens in the comics and it is an important part of the story. So I can live with it.
Also, Aoki and Ida seemed to agree they weren’t dating last episode and Ida’s asking how they date this episode. Again, I think it’s probably a language nuance thing that I don’t understand and the translators didn’t make clear. It’ll haunt me forever but it’s fine.
I enjoy watching Aoki flail all over the place while Ida warns him not to hurt himself and tries to figure out what’s going on.
Akkun and Ida have different reactions to essentially the same issue. Akkun was typically Akkun-insensitive in his reaction to Hashimoto’s confession. But when he explains later that he doesn’t know her well and doesn’t see them dating, that’s a fair reply. Ida struggled with the same thing with Aoki.
Both couples land in a similar place, but Ida and Aoki are going to get to know each other while dating, and Hashimoto and Akkun are going to work on their friendship.
It’s also interesting to see Aoki struggle with what he really wants now that Ida has agreed to date him. I like seeing what a relationship is to different people, and how that can change over time. Right now all Aoki is ready for and knows he wants is lunch together on the roof, and that’s a sweet place to start.
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