That was so good for so long. And then it wasn’t. But then, that’s the problem with LN adaptations as often as not. They’re good until they’re not, if they’re ever good in the first place. Staying power is not a specialty of the medium. But there are ways this situation can be salvaged. The problem is that they’re joined at the hip with ways they can get much, much worse. This is why we can’t have nice things.

I especially hate it when Fonzie jumps the shark in the third act of an episode, because it’s so damn hard not to talk about that right away. I mean, I liked everything before the monjayaki scene. Really liked it. Kakeru and Koharu I like. All good, or at least mostly. That scene in his dorm room was awkward, but in all the right ways. Like her asking him if he could see through her wet blouse. I mean, assuming the question was meant in earnest would she want him to lie, or tell the truth? Or was she just asking because she was trying to hit the fast-forward button?

There’s no question Koharu is taking the lead here, but if we’re supposed to have a problem with that (like the two nimrods do) I certainly don’t. It’s fine. She’s outgoing and pretty bold, he’s cautious and reserved. Jumping on the bed, asking him if he has a girlfriend – it’s obvious what that’s about and that’s great. That’s how it usually works for kids that age. And that gambit she pulled about feeling his face and then, boom! That was extremely well-played. And what’s more, pretty much unambiguous.

But then, it all went cattywampus. I thought the monjayaki thing was kind of funny at first. I mean, that is the native cuisine of Tsukishima and while it looks like vomit, it tastes okay. The back and forth about whether Gunma was really Kanto was amusing, and the whole thing has a pretty authentic college hang air to it. But then Yuuko showed up, which is where it all blew up. Everything that happened after that was just plain wrong. In the first place, Ushio never should have invited Yuuko at all. Kakeru wanted to talk about this with him and he asked her for the lulz. And phrased the invite in such a way as to make it obvious this was all about a good laugh.

It just gets worse. I thought both Yuuko and Ushio were being total assholes to Kakeru, and that was before the capital offense occurred. The mistaken highball thing (a restaurant could get in serious trouble for that) made it worse. But yes, I do get the college students are assholes a lot of the time. Nevertheless I really felt bad for Kakeru the way they were mocking him. Then the bit with the “practice” confession came up, and I knew immediately what was going to happen. Seriously, I was having a Your Lie In April moment. Shaming him into it, recording it… And then she sends it? I have choice words for Yuuko here but I’ll refrain from belaboring the point.

So that leaves is at a crossroads, at least for me. What the pair of them did – especially Yuuko – was awful generally, but sending that video was so far out of line you couldn’t get a bus back to where the line is. Now, one of two things can happen. The pair of them can abjectly apologize and mean it, and in doing so convince you that the author realizes they were being fuckheads. Or this can all work out and it’s “see, they were right all along”. And if that happens it may be a bridge too far for me. I have a very hard time respecting a writer who think abhorrent behavior is acceptable – or worse, admirable. I’ve dropped more than a few series for it. I hope that’s not the case here, but next week is going to tell the tale.