One mystery (though not much of one, truth be told) solved and another one opens up on this week’s Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai.  There were definitely some amusing moments along the way, but on the whole this was probably the weakest episode of the first four.  Perhaps that’s an indication that it was focused on a couple of the weaker characters in the main cast, or perhaps it just wasn’t an episode that featured writing quite as sharp as the first three.

The characters in question are Pin-sempai and Hinako.  Or Hina, if you prefer – it doesn’t make any difference at this point.  I like them both fine as supporting characters, but sometimes what works well in a supporting role doesn’t hold up at the center of the narrative.  I’m neither pro- or anti- when it comes to the whole osananajimi trope but that being the case, it doesn’t do anything to stir my emotions for its own sake – if that’s your jam, I suspect this ep will have been right up your street.

Pin has won a photo contest granting him the right to a meetup with Hina (the idol, not the classmate) at a local signing.  Except he’s useless around girls (except Hinako, interestingly), forcing him to undergo some emergency training (with Hinako as practice partner).  Alec spills the beans (to us, not Pin) that Hina is really Hinako and vice-versa, though that doesn’t come as much of a surprise at this stage.  He shows up for the event in a hideous getup (despite Karou’s advice to the contrary), forcing Tada-kun to trade with him in order to avoid it turning into a disaster before it even begins.

There are two open questions here, I suppose.  First, does Pin-sempai know Hinako’s true identity?  And second, if he does, when did he figure it out?  I’m pretty sure the answer to the first question is “yes”.  As to the second, my reading of the tea leaves is that he genuinely didn’t know (above, perhaps, a faint whiff something was off) until Hina gave him the “Hito” tip at the event.  It’s also hinted that he may have known for a while, but I suspect not – though I’m pretty confident he has finally put everything together.

There’s also the matter of Alec’s having been in love to consider, which thanks to the last few moments of the episode we now know she has.  With who?  There are hints there too (though you have to watch the credits to find them), and given Tada-kun’s propensity to leverage the small world effect as a device for romantic fantasy, it seems a good bet that the person is closely linked with a person Alec is already closely linked with.