Recap
Hira is alone and depressed in his house the next morning. When he’s with Kiyoi he’s so afraid of it ending that he wonders if it’s better to just give up.

But he finds Kiyoi asleep in his living room. Hira thinks he’s back to punch him. Kiyoi instead cradles Hira’s cheek, almost kisses him, and stops. He won’t kiss Hira again until Hira takes him seriously.

Their important relationship conversation is interrupted by a class reunion and an invitation to celebrate the wedding of Shirota. The guy who would have bullied Hira mercilessly if not for Kiyoi, and then later turned on Kiyoi and dumped tomato sauce on him.

So they go and Shirota is nice now or something. The point is Hira feels like he’s falling behind in life compared to his classmates.

After that, Hira and Kiyoi walk through the park where they had an important talk last season. Kiyoi realizes he needs to be the adult and talk with Hira. It’s tricky, and Hira stutters so hard Kiyoi has to rub his back, but Hira admits to feeling like a worthless pebble. He can’t get a job and failed the photography contest. 

Kiyoi leans in the way he did last season and reassures Hira that he likes him. Kiyoi makes enough money to take care of him anyway. He takes it back and says Hira better work hard or he’ll throw him out. This makes Hira smile and Kiyoi call him gross.

Koyama sent photos to Noguchi, but Hira’s wasn’t included, and now Hira has to apologize to Noguchi. 

Anna and Kiyoi talk on set. Kiyoi opens up about living with a weird boyfriend who he keeps fighting. Anna has a lover in the industry she doesn’t see enough. They bond over the uncertainty of relationships.

Hira shows up to apologize to Noguchi, but he just wanted Hira to come to his studio. Noguchi is looking for an assistant, though Hira doesn’t get that he means him right away. He critiques Hira’s picture that failed the contest as childish, coming from someone who hates the world and protects themselves with a shell of self-belittlement. Hira feels seen and confused. Noguchi explains he’s reminded of himself.

Hira tells Kiyoi the good news and Kiyoi is excited for him. He gives Hira a rubber ducky for Valentine’s day that Hira wants to photograph. Kiyoi feeds Hira chocolate and Hira can no longer wait, he goes in for some real kissing.

Time passes on. Hira struggles with a light reflector at a shoot because he’s a comedic character now. He sends Kiyoi a chocolate robber duck to his agency. They sit by the river and Kiyoi tries to grab the camera when Hira goes to take his picture. There’s a duck-shaped cloud in the sky.

Thoughts
That felt like a special more than a season. With a dose of fan service for those who were dying to see more of Shirota and Yoshida. Must have been nice for the actors to get to hang out together.

The comedy-ification of Hira only got worse in this episode. This is probably the thing that annoyed me the most out of the whole season. Hira’s emotional extremes can be funny, but they’re balanced out by his underlying strength. That strength felt more evident in the first season and mostly gone here. I’m planning to rewatch and recap that next week, so I’ll see if that still holds true.

Other than that it was a lot of quick scenes and references to stuff from the first season (the whole scene in the park) or the books (Hira’s factory job, Shitara, Kiyoi’s play ambitions). There were hints of conflict and character arcs that never really felt like they got off the ground or developed into much. This is what made it feel more like a special than a season to me. 

At least this episode we got to see Kiyoi and Hira talking and trying to work together as a couple. Hira’s delight at Kiyoi’s threat of forcing him to work or toss him aside is the kind of weird that I like seeing from them.

I also appreciated the sentiment that these are young men in their first relationship, both of them with complicated and complex personalities. They don’t get everything right, they make mistakes, they hurt each other, and they learn how to be a couple together. It’s about communication, between these two who both struggle to communicate. Sometimes I like that more than seeing a couple fall in love, but I also think it’s harder to write.

And it did make me eager to see the movie. The biggest parts of the second book have only been hinted at here, and I wonder how close they’ll stick to it. I’ll definitely be back to recap it.