I must say, this show always seems to have an extra gear or two in reserve. Every time it tackles a familiar situation – which is basically every episode – it always does so just a little better than you’d expect. It’s incredibly wholesome in a non-annoying fashion (which is no small feat). These kids really are just that nice in a very believable way. There’s an obvious elephant in the room here but if it doesn’t get another season, it’s not one the anime is going to have to worry about.
The “home alone” trope quickly segues into the sleepover trope, courtesy of Ichiji. It makes sense – she’s not ready for the implications of the other thing, either as it relates to being behind Amane’s back or just generally. I do think she withheld the truth from Seo for as long as she did because she wanted a free preview of how he’d act if and when the “this is not a drill” moment came around. She makes it very clear that she wants him both to be glad to be alone with her and uncomfortable being alone with her in this situation.
Inviting Kei is definitely a very Kotoko thing to do, though. And it’s a relief for Takuya in the end, because uncomfortable thoughts are deferred. Once Kei arrives things settle into a very familiar pattern, with the exception of the drama over Takuya’s “Lord Earth” costume and Kei. When it starts getting late it’s Kotoko who suggests they make this a sleepover, which entails getting permission from all the parents – and Gen, of course. Surely this is kind of a pain in the ass for him, but at least it’s happening on a Friday night.
On that note, it must be said that Gen is the big brother we all wished we had. Cool and stylish bachelor pad, old enough to assume supervision but young enough to be cool about it. He’s pretty mellow about the whole thing, and it’s clear (which I guess was obvious already from the fact that she commonly stays over) that he and Kotoko have a very close relationship. The shower thing was pretty funny, with that gap between Takuya’s imagination and the reality of the two girls being total doofs annoying each other. It really did look touch and go there for Takuya, but he managed to rein in his libido by the skin of his teeth.
In fact it’s Gen-nii who suggests that the kids not waste their precious sleepover time sleeping, so they decide to make a bet on who falls asleep first (the outcome was never in doubt). And a subtitled foreign movie (a film noir by the looks of it) to raise the stakes. Speaking of raised stakes, there was an air of danger to that whole “who do you like?” sequence, as cute as it was. It was unfair to Takuya, really, and I think the girls knew that full well, but the opportunity was too tempting to pass up. No one wants to say what everyone is thinking, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t all thinking it.
Once Kotoko crashes out, there’s a pretty significant moment when Takuya – who’s getting better at boldness – asks Kei straight out why she pretends not to be an otaku (even to him, until now). The answer holds no surprises, but the asking and response are still important. I continue to see the romantic vibes at about 95-5% in Kotoko’s direction, but this is a bond between Kei and Takuya, there’s no question about that. They speak a language no one else in their lives speaks and that brings an extra dimension to their relationship. I think that relationship is friendship with a fraternal side to it, but there’s no denying it’s a close one.
