Arkaniet said:What an amazing season it was! And we're getting a second season as soon as january 24 I am beyond excited for it. The best is yet to come!!!
As previously expected, chapter 57 was the end point and it's a solid point to finish of the season as it is a very pivotal point for Kyos character development. The episode itself was once again jampacked in the beginning and mellowed out in the ending which was great. HUGE wall of text incoming.
- Yamada wanting to make a great first impression on Kyos parents was awesome. He even mentions that she's behaving quite adult but doesn't connect the dots on why that is in this particular scenario.
- The facial expessions of Onee are absolutely golden and him reflecting if he looks like that as well had me rolling. To be fair though... he doesn't hahaha
- The praying scene gave me diabetes. Enough said.
- Yamada immediatly stuffing her face with karage once the coast was clear is so on point I just can't. The VA is absolutely amazing.
- Onee was trying to keep Kyos expectations in check during the early episode (both cope with things they cant get by talking them down so not getting it doesn't hurt as much) but as the episode went on she couldn't keep going with that way of thinking anymore and just says "All I see it hope"
- Kyo is trying to hide the keychain from his sis. He is... not yet at a point where he can openly say what he feels for Yamada in front of his family because they would certainly push him to be a lot more proactive then what he currently has been. But Onee saw it anyways (while still commenting the Yamadas boob size ^^"")
- Onee and Yamada forcing him to say her first name was a bit much but being a bit pushy is part of their character types so I get it and it was cute. It's a cultural thing and I've gotten used to by now.
- The classic picture book scene. I've been there, I'm sure many have and it's a mix of awkward and cute at the same time.
- The school camp gets name dropped and the happy music stops and we notice a clear shift in energy and onee uses this to dip and meet up with a friend that was obviously planned before...
- Before Onee leaves Yamada tries to bond with her a bit more and Onee is pulling a face once again oh boy hahaha (Also she leaves the dog keychain so that Kyo and Yamada could have a matching pair.)
- Kyo is bringing his photoalbum back upstairs and Yamada just followed him and is now standing in his room. Quick check that there's no "evidence" of the night before anywhere. (While I do get that this might be off-putting for some it's important to realize that these are very hormonal teenagers in a strange phase of their lifes. If anything I feel that the anime/manga properly aknowledges this is a plus since most of us propably went through similar stuff)
- Yamada want's to show Kyo something in the album so he sits on the bed. But he sits down to far away and her pouty face that you can see for just a second is adorable and then she moves in closer (this scene is partially anime original and it's a great addition). She asks about his friends and he mentions that both of them went to a private school. Yamada want's to keep asking questions but notices his uneasyness and decides to pivot to another topic. Now that I think about it, being self conscious, as in being aware of the impact your actions have on your surroundings, is something that Yamada is lacking and this scene shows improvement in this department which is great.
- Yamada finds out about Kyo's interest in true crime stuff and isn't at all put of by it but is curious about profiling herself. She is obviously unaware of the extend of this but her initial impulse being curious is great.
- Yamada also grabs one of the magazines with her shoot in it and Kyo immediatly rushes to intervene. I don't think that she's fully seen what she grabbed there and his reaction is a clear indicator that she's been snooping around a bit to much for such a spontanous visit. They have their little moment and we get a squiggly eye shot of yamada that she gets when she's very flustered and a pov shot of hers focusing on Kyos colar bone which is what made her flustered. But neither of them are yet at a point where this could go any further so Yamada resolves the situation by gently pushing him off of her... apologizes for snooping around and Kyo starts spiraling because of what just happened but Yamada taking "some" pictures of the album snaps him out of it and before attempting to leave she promises Kyo to show her her albums next. No harm done everything is fine.
- And now we get the Kyo flashback that lead to him being the way he is. Ost in that scene was perfect. Him not being accepted into the private School. Loosing contact with his friends (important to notice that this is also self imposed. It requires the inaction of two people to loose tough. I guess he felt ashamed for not making the cut and decided for himself that he wouldn't want to be a burden on them). We then see him reading his murder books in school in an attempt to not let people get to close so that he wouldn't feel the pain of being left again. The fear of the pain of being left is standing in his way to actual meaningful connections
- His chad-self questions him if he's ok with taking these books since he might push people away again but he retorts that it's fine because he likes them. His chad-self wants to know if he wants to lay bare what's truly in his heart
- Kyos mom and sis rely on Yamada to help Kyo out with his broken arm and she happily accepts this task. She's asking why Kyo isn't wearing the keychain anywhere and he says that he has it with him. He's reaching for his bag and Yamada swoopes in with the assist of holding the bag. He says it's hard to attach with one hand so they move to a bit of a remote location so that she can attach it.... and she puts it front and center for the world to see. Her sight triggers a flashback of many key scenes that we've had throughout the season and we flash the Karte name of "I want her to understand me".
- He starts by saying that all of this is strange and that he didn't like going to school in the first year of middle-school. He skipped a lot of classes and didn't go to the school trip as well on purpose but school isn't that bad lately. And he thinks that's because of her. BUT before finishing her name she interrupts him and says that she doesn't think that anyone is responsible for it because he still went to school on his own and if he didn't he wouldn't have met her and talked to the others. I've been thinking about why she felt the need to interrupt him right there. My two cents is that she felt that he was going to put a lot of his positive development on her shoulders and she felt that this would be unfair to his own efforts because, as she said, even though he build walls around himself to keep people away he was still hoping someone would come and break them down. He also understands that this armor was an easy escape for him from the pain but also what kept him from getting warm with others.
- When she explains how she sees it he steps towards her and drops his armor... I mean books and she picks it I mean... them back up (not very subtle I know but it's amazing so I have to give it credit) and she gives it back to him. But she also sees the opportunity for a proper connection so she goes in a the hug and he finally drops the armor for good and is reaching in for the hug as well and finally understands that this is what he's always wanted.
- Moeka catches them going to class and is picking up on some vibes between them but leaves it be fore now.
- The season ends with Yamada giving Kyo some sweets and we fade into credits.
Fantastic ending and best rom-com in a long time. Propably because it personally resonated with some of my life experiences as well. It's all subjective after all. I absolutely love the growth of both of them and season two will have A LOT more on that front. The low drama is also great and I just know that I will miss the OP and ED already. See you all next season!