Recap
Hira Kazunari VOs over a neat animation. The world isn’t round, it’s a pyramid with him at the bottom, mostly because of his stutter. His parents gave him a camera and he looked for beautiful things to shoot, but nothing interested him.

It’s the spring before the final year of High School. His parents are moving for work and he’s on his own. He’s dreading introducing himself on the first day.

On his way there he sees a rubber duck floating in a dirty waterway and takes its picture. He feels a kinship with the duck, stuck against its will in dirty water, like him with his stutter and high school. 

In class, Hira’s introduction is right after Yoshida’s and he immediately gets stuck on his own name. Kiyoi shows up right then, beautiful with cherry blossoms floating around him. Hira is entranced. Kiyoi blows off the teacher and both he and Hira get to sit down.

A month later, Hira is invisible to his classmates while Kiyoi is the center of attention. Hira admires his kingly attitude. He tries to thank Kiyoi for rescuing him a month ago, and Kiyoi thinks he’s creepy. Hira is horrified when they both end up as Chemistry room monitors.

Hira is the only one cleaning. Kiyoi orders Hira to go save seats for dinner for him and Shirota and everyone else. He gives Hira his number to reach him later. Everyone is calling him “Hi-kun” as a nickname because of his stutter.

At the diner everyone thanks him, but Hira VOs it was all for Kiyoi. He overhears that Kiyoi was entered in a magazine talent contest. 

At school, Hira is sent to get Ginger Ale for Kiyoi and food for Shirota and the others. Yoshida spills water everywhere and tries to get Hira to clean it up, but Kiyoi aggressively stops it. He also gives Hira extra money if he wants anything.

Hira saves the leftover change in a glass flask at home and goes out to take pictures. He sees Kiyoi and follows him to a dance studio where Kiyoi is in class. Kiyoi sees him and is pissed.

They go out to a park where Kiyoi gives Hira time to explain. Hira has bought a sports drink in addition to Ginger Ale and when Kiyoi goes for it, Hira smiles. Kiyoi doesn’t want anyone to know about the dancing, leaning in close to Hira’s face. Hira promises never to tell anyone, at risk of death.

Kiyoi thinks he’s weird. Hira takes Kiyoi’s picture and calls him beautiful, irritating him again. 

At home, Hira prints the picture of Kiyoi and takes it to bed. Over a montage of Kiyoi, he realizes what he’s been feeling for him is attraction, but he can never tell Kiyoi. He pulls the covers over himself and the picture. 

Thoughts
To me, this episode is a good, strong start for the show and well adapted from the novel.

Hira’s backstory has been cut down to the bare essentials needed for us to understand this awkward introvert who finds safety behind a camera. I liked the way they still kept in his feelings about the social structure of the world.

In the book, Hira lives with his rich and doting parents even after he starts college. They gave his character some interesting depth, since around them he behaved like most teenagers, and they were a nice contrast to Kiyoi’s neglectful ones. It added to the complexity of our couple’s weird power dynamics because Hira had the better home life. 

But there’s only six episodes, so off the parents go to the missing-drama-parent netherworld.

At least we get a little of Hira’s personal totem, the Duck Captain! Hira’s relationship with the displaced bath toy is a nice way to illustrate both his helpless misery with his life and his creative way of thinking.

Hira and Kiyoi’s initial meeting in the book doesn’t involve Kiyoi ‘saving’ Hira by accident. But the way it plays out in the book, Hira just notices Kiyoi. It’s not that dramatic or visually interesting, so I appreciate what they did here. It’s a little strange Hira thanks Kiyoi for what wasn’t really a save, but in the book Hira feels that Kiyoi saves him from the misery of High School, so the scene can stand in for that.

Because they don’t have time to go into Hira’s treatment at school. Kiyoi blunts some of the worst of the bullying, which they show here with Kiyoi stopping Yoshida from turning Hira into everyone’s errand boy. Missing is further abuse from Shirota stopped by Kiyoi and Hira’s suicidal feelings over the situation. It’s better that they skipped the truly dark part rather than glossing over it. It’s more important that they kept in Hira’s admiration for Kiyoi being not just about his beauty, but his strength. 

And there’s grandpa’s flask! Hira’s deceased grandfather also appreciated beautiful things and the flask was his. A nice cameo.

Then, the park scene was so good that they re-did it in season two. It’s not the same in the book, it’s actually later and takes place at a family restaurant, but it works great. Hira’s obsession turns creepy but he shows bravery when confessing to Kiyoi that he thinks he’s beautiful. And Kiyoi is patient in a Kiyoi way, despite being reasonably put off. It’s an intimate moment between two intense people, visually shown in that awesome moment when Kiyoi sticks his face right up to Hira’s. 

I feel like this episode shows the Hira we didn’t see enough of in the second season. Here’s our strong-in-his-way, interesting Hira who hates his life, relates to a plastic duck in dirty water, loves Kiyoi for his selfishness and isn’t afraid to tell Kiyoi he thinks he’s beautiful. 

And nice job ending the episode on the masturbation scene from the book.