So they are in high school after all , I guess – which really shouldn’t change my opinion of Tsurezure Children, but kind of does. I mean, generally speaking I think the sort of tone-deaf miscommunication we see here is more consistent with middle-schooler behavior, though lord knows there’s plenty of awkwardness in high school too. In the end I think it just makes the show feel a tiny bit less authentic – more like the legion of romcoms which feature high schoolers who look and act like middle schoolers than something truly original.
Taking that as read, the relationships themselves are still pretty authentic for the most part, and a clever premise is still a clever premise. The Prez and the Banchou have never been my favorite pairing here – I don’t the implication of the girl sticking with (and much more, by the looks of it) a guy who treats her in such a humiliating fashion. Much better is the osananajimi couple, whose supreme awkwardness couched in a comedy routine is quite winning. It’s sort of ironic that his mom ended up cockblocking them when she was rooting harder than anyone for them to hook up (I guess being in high school does make that a little less creepy) but seriously – what teenaged boy could get it on with his childhood friend right after his mother (who’s still right outside somewhere, mind you) just walked in on them?
The chivalrous boy on the groper bus is back, and the girl he saved is still trying to get closer to him. The scene between he and his “no girls allowed” comrade-in-arms is a pretty funny one – as in most cases like this, you know either one of them would gladly toss aside their vow of chastity if a girl would look twice at them (as indeed, one now has). I suspect the girl is not going to be so pleased to find out that her knight has invited a buddy on their date, as I very much doubt she’ll have done the same – but he’ll learn soon enough.
Finally, it’s the winningest scene of the week, as the Namikawa Daisuke blonde dude makes a reappearance. He’s a ludicrous popinjay, but he has all the right moves as far as this girl is concerned – right from saving the kitten in the tree onwards. This whole chapter is nothing but silliness incarnate, but it totally works because it totally sells out for the gag. I hope we get to see a lot more of these two in the weeks ahead.
