Things are certainly moving quickly here.  Whenever that happens with a one-cour adaptation of an ongoing manga, I wonder if the anime is hurrying things along in knowledge of a one-and-done adaptation.  But it’s certainly possible that this is how things develop in the manga.  And these are teenagers after all, 15 or 16 – it’s not like feelings don’t develop at breakneck pace at that age.  It’s certainly not a bad thing but it is sort of interesting element to keep an eye on.

I would say this episode addressed some of the concerns I expressed after the first episode.  Nagisa was much less pushy where Junta was concerned, though that’s hardly surprising since she already seems to be head over heels for him.  That’s not to say she didn’t push him out of his comfort zone (a lot) but it was in the normal nature of a girl being familiar with a boy who’s not ready for that sort of intimacy.  A lot of boys Junta’s age wouldn’t be, and his peculiar circumstances can only have added to that.

This kind of one-to-one teasing (for lack of a better word) with Shirashi-kun is less disrespectful of his space than the stuff in the premiere, and I’m guessing probably a lot more typical of the series.  It starts with that sniff after gym class (honestly, that was about as subtle a hint as a kick in the solar plexus) and just builds from there.  I wouldn’t use the term “stalker” for Kubo-san but she was acting a bit obsessive here, like spying on him as he struggles with the automatic door at the bookshop.  And then for “no reason” asking him when he leaves for school in the morning and staking out his block the next morning.

Ah well, Kubo is clearly a girl in love, and thus bound to be rather impulsive.  As I said it sure happened fast, but who’s to judge the ways of the heart?  Asking to borrow the manga was another obvious tell (she got herself invited to his house after all, though it looks like he made her wait outside).  The mud incident was pure luck (though Kubo always seeming to be around to witness Shirashi’s travails may support the stalker theory), though credit where it’s due, Kubo was all over it.   Shirashi as always needed a little push – like a stray cat you’re trying to lure indoors in the rain – but in the end she got him naked in her bathroom just like she wanted.

I’m a little bit torn about all this if I’m honest – or at least undecided.  Nagisa and Junta are rather sweet, and if not exactly groundbreaking their romance has charm to it.  As a whole though Kubo-san wa Mob o Yurusanai is a little on the sleepy side so far – I like it but I want to feel more engaged that I do at this point.  I also find the whole conceit with Junta’s “invisibility” to be a bit tiresome (like the door thing), and I think the relationship and the series as a whole would be better if that wasn’t even part of the equation.  The desire to like something isn’t enough, but it’s not a factor to dismiss too easily – this series does have that going for it, if it can only fill in the rest of the picture.  We’ll see.