Akane in pigtails?  I’m all on-board with that.  And so is Taiyou, of course, though I suspect she could show up at school in a mohawk or with a dead muskrat on her head and he’d think it was cool.  One thing bullying victims know is that anything different, any change from the routine, can be a trigger.  So the truth is, Akane had to know that Kitagawa and his flunkies would be all over her like ugly on an ape.  But if Jijou o Shiranai Tenkousei ga Guigui Kuru is anything it’s a testament to the power of positivity in the face of cruelty, and Akane has full faith in her knight in shining armor.

It’s always fun to guess how Taiyou will twist Kitagawa’s logic (and Kitagawa) into a pretzel to prove his point.  So when he says that Akane’s twintails don’t suit her, Taiyou’s response is “Wow – that’s proof of how cute she is, because even with a haircut that doesn’t suit her she’s adorable!”  At some point you’d think Kitagawa would just pack it in – hell, he’s already reacting with abject despair whenever Taiyou shows up – but he’s nothing if not dedicated to his bullying ways.

Next up, the class rep “elections” – which in grade school generally amount to whoever gets roped into taking a thankless job.  Kitagawa again intervenes here, trying to get Akane captured – though his ulterior motive is that the teacher won’t dismiss the class until two people are condemned.  Natch Takeda-kun volunteers to join her, but this sets off Kasahara-san – who’s no better able to spot a lost cause than Kitagawa.  Seizing on this seeming chance for alone time with Taiyou she volunteers herself – which wouldn’t be so bad if she hadn’t said some incredibly mean things to Akane in the process.

Karma is served when it winds up being the two girls.  Taiyou lets himself out because he’s too dense, but he and Daichi end up helping anyway.  Daichi’s childhood friend Adachi Umi (Kondo Reina) has noticed he’s spending a lot of time with Akane, and asks Akane to find out what Daichi wants for his upcoming birthday (which, frankly, I wouldn’t have thought would be tough to guess).  Adachi is no ringleader but she’s never taken the initiative to stand up in Nishimura-san’s defense.  Akane, though, always takes the high road and agrees to help.  In fact, she later apologizes for Adachi being called her friend (also “minion”) by the Kitagawa trio.

Umi turns out to be a pretty nice girl in fact, and she’s very open about her feelings – she’s in love with Dai-chan.  Akane makes sure she’s invited to the birthday party Taiyou is throwing for him (he invites Kitagawatachi, too), and there she declares herself glad to be called Akane’s friend.  So the harem grows, though there’s no question Taiyou remains in the catbird seat.  Not even Kasahara-san’s sabotage can drive a wedge between them – in fact, it seems to have the opposite effect and get Taiyou thinking seriously about what Akane is to him.

Obviously, these are kids (which is why she thinks of you as one, Taiyou-kun), and it really is too early for all that stuff Kasahara was talking about.  But hey, he’s already put a ring on her finger.  And the question he asks himself at the end of the episode is the right one – and the answer is no, friends don’t normally make your heart race like that.  The elephant in the room with Jijou Tenkousei is just how self-aware Taiyou is – how much of what he does (not least to Akane’s body temperature) is calculated.  Kasahara may very well come to regret opening that Pandora’s box.