Recap

Yoh struggles over the rainy season and its effect on his sex life. When Mizuki is home Yoh VO’s angrily about just being a servant. Then Mizuki works several late nights and Yoh gloomily watches Mizuki forecast weather with a young, sexy new co-host.

Yoh’s artist friend expresses her own annoyance at the new cleavage-rich host. Yoh crosses out a portrait of Mizuki he’s been working on and declares he can’t do this anymore.

Mizuki meanwhile, turns down a work dinner invite (which included the hot-co-star) so he can go home early to Yoh. 

Yoh though, is drunk and dissipated and clearly took things into his own, er, hands. Mizuki is bemused, but Yoh shoves him away when he goes in for a kiss. Mizuki cleans up, including the gross tissue, while Yoh makes excuses about jerking off for his art.

Yoh gets belligerent, wanting to make money and leave because Mizuki doesn’t even like him and should sleep with his co-host and Yoh hates him. 

Yoh eventually lets Mizuki stroke his hair and finally asks what has really been bothering him: Why don’t they have sex when it rains?

Oh, because the first time they had sex Yoh worried about cleaning the sheets because he only has one. Mizuki didn’t want Yoh to worry about laundry.

Yoh still won’t admit that he wants to have sex and is startled when Mizuki calls his original offer a proposal. Mizuki drags Yoh onto the bed and tries to initiate sex but Yoh pushes him away again. Mizuki asks if he really hates him. Yoh can’t answer and Mizuki leaves the room without looking particularly troubled.

But he looks troubled when he sees the crossed out portrait Yoh did of him, sticking out from under Yoh’s door. 

Yoh hears the door close behind Mizuki and growls in frustration.

Thoughts

Random cultural/language notes first though.

The thing Yoh was making by twisting tissue together is a てるてる坊主・照る照る坊主・teru teru bōzu. It’s a talisman for good weather, which is why he was annoyed at himself for mindlessly making one. I think they look really cool.

During their conversation at the end, Mizuki uses the word プロポーズ to describe his offer to Yoh that started their whole relationship. This is an English-turned-Japanese work pronounced “pu-ro-po-o-zu”, and I think has connotations of being a marriage proposal. This is why Yoh was so stunned.

Now for my thoughts.

Wow, a whole episode about sex. 

One of my favorite things about East Asian dramas is their focus on emotional and romantic intimacy over physical fluid swapping. That said, it is refreshing to see an episode like this which tackles physical intimacy but stays focused on the emotional aspects. 

Poor Yoh, he wants sex but doesn’t know how to ask and seems to want to have it without having to ask at all. He throws a drunken fit rather than just honestly confront Mizuki about the situation.

Not that Mizuki isn’t a big part of the problem. With his cool attitude and tendency to get physical rather than use words, I understand why Yoh is confused. To give Mizuki credit, he did ask Yoh more than once what was going on.

Part of what frustrates me about Western media is how it often presents sex as this uncomplicated thing. People who love each other have great sex and no worries or conflict about it ever. This could be entirely true of some people, but I think for plenty of us it’s confusing and embarrassing and something we want but don’t always know exactly how we want it or when or how to ask for what we want or…

So I sympathize with them here and appreciate the series for showing how NOT straightforward intimacy can be. Also, they are both young, only a few years out of college, and not terribly experienced. Not that I haven’t seen older, experienced people be ridiculous about relationships and sex too. 

And Mizuki eagerly coming home early to post-masturbation Yoh just cracks me up.

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