And so the pattern of Aharen-san S2 continues more or less unaltered – a good episode followed by a snoozer. We were in line for a “good” ep this week, and we got one. Not an absolute laugh riot among the series’ funniest episodes, but a solid one with adequate focus on Reina and Matsuboshi (and their imaginations). And the part that deviated from them did so in an interesting way, fleshing out an element of the story that seriously needed it. I worry for next week, but this was good.

The impetus for the first half of the episode is Ren’s class putting on a musical (I kind of want to see that now), causing him to come down for breakfast with a song and a step. Naturally this sets off some sibling improvization, and soon all three Aharens are Broadway bound in the kitchen. When she arrives at school Reina greets Matsuboshi in musical style, which (obviously) sets his mind off on an off-target but amusing tangent (those tangents are probably the best part of this show). Though to be fair, the idea that folks who struggle communicating through speech for various reasons having an easier time doing so through song is not at all far-fetched – it’s a genuine phenomenon in fact (people who stutter, for example, can often sing without doing so).

Tobaru-sensei, naturally, sees the ahare (is that where Aharen’s name comes from?) side to all this, with dire consequences. And soon Reina and Raidou have their entire friend group in stage mode, which rather freaks out Riku. This all builds to a trip to the school store in aristocratic mode, but roses can’t buy bread once it’s sold out. No matter, they can share a giant onigiri – and this final act has the entire audience enraptured with the purity of their love story.

Then a Riku chapter, more or less – but I will say, probably my favorite of those so far (though that’s certainly not a high bar). She dreams of an after-school study session, though as she’s after the tropetacular ideal that would involve little actual studying. She works up the nerve to ask Aharen and Matsuboshi, than Satou-san and Ishikawa. He initially refuses but Hanako doesn’t take no for an answer. And given that Ishikawa-kun inevitably winds up taking the leadership role in these group outings, that’s not a bad thing.

After a cursory bit of exam prep Ishikawa reads the room (and Tanahama-san’s expression) and calls for a break. This leads to a round of “Life – Shit Happens” (more or less), which Riku conveniently has in her bag. Reina has never played but is a natural (and lucky). Raidou has but isn’t and eventually turns to the life of an inveterate gambler to try and avoid being left behind socially by Reina. After a bit of good luck he decides to bet his mortgage and borrow forty million more, but it all ends in sadly predictable fashion. There’s also a funny bit in here about underpaid animators (“can always switch to a better-paying job”).

But the headline of this part belongs to none of them, but Ishikawa-kun. Poor kid didn’t even get a first name, but he sure got a dilemma. It’s been hinted at strongly for a while, but this was pretty much the confirmation that Ishikawa is gay (and likes Raidou-kun). Satou knows, but no one else, seemingly. That she likes him wasn’t even a question, but she understands why he can never feel about her the same way (and he understands what it feels like to be in that situation). It’s a definite sign of progress when a series presents this issue in a perfectly matter-of-fact way, neither making a joke of it or building the premise around it – it’s just life. Gotta feel for the both of them, though – that’s not an easy thing to deal with.