My facial muscles really get a workout watching Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, I tell you. It’s a full-on morning callisthenics routine every week (I watch this one with breakfast on Saturdays), but an episode like this one… Woof. It was certainly the most “serious” so far, and that’s always a risky move for absurdist comedies. But somehow you just knew this one had the chops to pull it off, and it’s not like it hasn’t been building towards this development all along. Not to mention there were plenty of gags along the way to ensure things felt consistent.
Aharen-san is about nothing if not putting its own spin on school/romcom manga tropes, and the camping trip is certainly a chestnut among those. But there’s an ulterior motive behind Ishikawa suggesting this one. Ishikawa and Satou are very much background characters but there are interesting hints at more even with them. For example Ishikawa continually calling her “Hana”, and her freaking out about it. Is he just dense and very casual or is he trying to have some intimacy with her? Is her reaction just the normal trope embarrassment or is there something more behind it?
Reina volunteers to bring the ingredients for the traditional cookout (presumably it would have been curry) but – though she packs like a sherpa – she forgets them. This gives Raidou (he does have a first name after all but as the anime hasn’t revealed it yet, I feel like it’d be a spoiler) to show off another hidden skill. No, not spear-fishing (Stalker-san has him beat), but mycophilia. I’m surprised we didn’t get a “never collect mushrooms unless you’re experienced” warning message there, but this is one of his areas of expertise (unlike the stars). Dinner winds up being rather a feast.
Ooshiro’s role here is pretty clear – she has feelings for Reina but she’s also smart enough to see how Raidou makes Reina feel. It’s notable that the only times Raidou’s creative takes on reality turn out to be accurate seem to be when he imagines terrifying things about Stalker-san, but at least she only thinks about doing terrible things to him (so far). Ishikawa (does he have a first name?) reveals his true colors when he suggests a moonlight stroll after Ooshiro turns in, then ditches Reina and Raidou to give them some alone time together. Raidou’s interpretation of this is hilariously nonsensical (they didn’t bring any valuables to steal and Hana and Ishikawa don’t have a car) but truthfully – our lives would be a lot more interesting if we saw the world the way he does.
I was very curious to know whether the anime was hurrying things along here, or whether it played out this way in the manga (you can check for yourself if you wish). But truthfully these two have been a couple in all but name since the second episode, pretty much. Nevertheless this is a quantum leap – delayed by the arrival of Nui the Wonder Dog, but only by a few hours. It’s over a shared late-night cup ramen (oh to have a 16 year-old digestive system again) that Aharen finally manages to get the words out. It’s beautifully staged – both Reina and Raidou’s words drowned out by the wind – but what she does next leaves no doubt about what was said.
Stalker-san’s perspective isn’t overlooked here – this is clearly a body blow for her. But she had the chance to discourage Reina from confessing when she was clearly teetering, and she pushed her in the other direction so kudos to her. If you love something set it free, as the old cliche goes – and AhaRaidou is a force of nature that can’t be stopped. Reina shows up at school and pretty much exemplifies the nesting doll analogy I used last week (onion works too). Even if the innocent eyes of Ishikawa and Hana see no change between them, things are clearly not the same (linking arms levels up to holding hands).
Closing with Toubaru-sensei and Miyahara-sensei makes sense, because the two of them indeed have the life experience to pick up on the vibe. The scarf thing was both hilarious and adorable, and Miyahara totally misreads Toubaru-sensei’s reaction (and eventual kabedon). All-powerful aware aside, it seems as if Miyahara-sensei is destined to join Ooshiro-san in disappointment – but as for our main couple, the future is just beginning. We all need someone who looks at us the way Reina looks at Raidou.
sonicsenryaku
June 4, 2022 at 1:02 pmHere I was afraid the anime would back-pedal; then this episode comes out, slaps me with a week old baguette and sternly says to me: “Oh you silly man, your faith is weak.”
Guardian Enzo
June 4, 2022 at 1:13 pmMy faith is inexhaustible at this point. Any anime that can make a stalker girl tolerable can do little wrong.
Marty
June 5, 2022 at 10:47 amI am 90-100% sure they’re an official couple. I absolutely refuse to believe Aharen would be flustered enough to run back in her tent in nervous tears after giving Raidou a smooch and then hang out with him like nothing happened The next day.
Looking back at it, if Aharen is part of what I’d like to call the “girl with speech impediment” genre, I’m confident in saying it’s the best in the bunch. Senryuu Shoujo was likeable but relatively short, and Komi is pretty overrated as a show in my opinion.
Aharen has not only great comedy, but shows restraint in its small cast (quality > quantity), and has showcased a thoroughly likeable couple with no weights of melodramatics. What more can one ask for?
Guardian Enzo
June 5, 2022 at 4:03 pmI’m telling you, the symbolism couldn’t be clearer. Walking off into the sunset holding hands? Come on. Aharen was just crying because of embarrassment (and probably relief).
Yeah, for me it’s easily the best. Komi has something seriously disturbing in its worldview if you ask me. Senryuu Shoujo was sweet and fun but as you say, a trifle.
sonicsenryaku
June 6, 2022 at 7:09 amThis is the perfect example of ambiguity’s use as a powerful, cathartic, storytelling tool; though one can argue that the aftermath of the confession isn’t even really all that ambiguous if you know what to look for. Anyway, it was such a smart storytelling move to not have the audience know what Raidou and Reina said to each other underneath the stars because honestly, it doesn’t matter that we heard it, which is the entire point of why we don’t. We already know how close these two already are to each other; they were practically dating before the confession, which is why nothing seems to have changed afterwards because these dorks were already in love and showing that to each other to begin with. The fact that we don’t hear the confession enhances that idea that we as the audience should already know they’re in love and that whether or not they outwardly put a label on it doesn’t matter as they’re just gonna keep showing their love towards each other in the same quirky, humorous way they always have. It’s practically the shows way of saying: “Are you asking if Raidou likes Reina back?? Wattaya think, ya Melvin?”
Reina is quite the empathetic and emotionally sensitive person, so when we see her running off crying, to me, it clear that she wasn’t rejected; she was just moved to tears by Raidou admitting to her he felt the same. Raidou reciprocating her love was one of the most loving and thoughtful things anybody on the planet could possibly ever do in Reina’s eyes; so much so that she was overwhelmed with emotion, and given how deeply appreciative Reina has been for everything Raidou has done for her up until this point, it should be no surprise this would be the thing that would send her over the moon. Reina’s tears are that of surprise, happiness, comfort, relief, bliss, and love and I absolutely adore how the show went about communicating the impact the moment had on her with just her reaction alone. Its funny: this is one of the most genuine confessions I’ve seen in anime this year and we didn’t even get to hear it lol.
Guardian Enzo
June 6, 2022 at 8:28 amThat was doubly clever because the original conceit of the story was that he couldn’t hear what she was saying (though it obviously moved past that superficial gag as a MacGuffin very quickly).