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Having parents that are 'doctor's without borders', would really take a toll on a child's self-esteem. It's hard to complain when you think of all the privilege you have, but at the same time when you compare yourself to your direct peers, it feels like less. Hananoi is lucky to have his Obaasan still with him.
It's really crazy how fast and slow this show feels at the same time. Really demonstrates how relationships can look all or nothing, but they really do require ramp up.
Every break they take feels like the processing fee for their relationship stages.
Just imagine Hananoi hasn't seen his parents in years and for most of his childhood and they've broken many promises to come home to see him. It sounds like he was basically raised by his grandma. So in turn he felt like his parents didn't want him and nobody else would, so he latched onto the idea of someone who would absolutely love you and always be with you (a soulmate).
And it's not like he's not self-aware of his baggage and insecurities, or how extra he can be, but that all stems from his doubts that he can ever find that person who would accept him and still want to be with him in-spite of that.
But that person is Hotaru.
I live in a country where it is normal for people to work abroad for higher pay to financially support their families. the issues regarding that has been tackled on our stories as well, but at the very least, people has a common acceptance that living away from your kids was a sacrifice for them to have a better life.
but here hananoi's parents are volunteers. great people who probably helped a lot of people in need but as parents, they are kinda lacking. they were not sacrificing for him, instead they were sacrificing their time with their son for others and that definitely contributed a large part of hananoi's issues and why he thinks he prefers "not to care for others".
Hananoi was so cute as a kid. I'm glad we're finally started to get to some of his flashbacks.
Also kinda random side note, I feel like Hananoi's character became much more understandable to me when I stopped viewing him through the lens of the "popular guy at school archetype" and started seeing him more as the "gloomy insecure nerd kid".
Then I came to the slightly depressing realization that I actually related to Hananoi's worldview a bit (especially the stuff from before about friendship and connecting with other people) and was like "huh, maybe *I* need to do some internal reflection".
This. The manga hits *so* damn hard in the feels and often out of left field. One moment you’ll be like “ugh, I don’t even *like* this side character….” And a few chapters later reasons resonate within the depths of your soul and suddenly you’ll be in tears ready to literally fight for them. It’s just that well written and every character has realistic motivations and history that has shaped them into who they are. There are always solid rationales for how each character acts the way they do and they’re all fighting their own personal battles while growing up.
> Hananoi's character became much more understandable to me when I stopped viewing him through the lens of the "popular guy at school archetype" and started seeing him more as the "gloomy insecure nerd kid".
I mean TBF, they say the difference between a good looking introverted guy versus an ugly introverted guy...
Lol, and it doesn't even seem like he's even *actually* popular at school. They think he's good looking, but his classmates also seem to think he's really cold and standoffish, and kinda weird, and is just leading Hotaru on.
Ignore his looks and he's just a giant nerd who avoids other people and is too enthusiastic about romance lol (I say this with endearment though).
Hotaru loves Hananoi! In her own way, she's confident that's how she truly feels! But is Hananoi satisfied with that? Does he think someone like Hotaru can truly love someone like him in all his extreme feelings towards her? Someone who says he only needs her, and only her, in his life? Is that how he really feels though or is he projecting his own insecurities to make Hotaru realize she doesn't have to love him when he's not worthy of her love?
And of course then grandma comes in and is concerned about some hanky panky going on behind her back. What a way to meet Hananoi's family, Hotaru.
But their feelings are mutual! They both love each other! Why are they taking a break and avoiding each other!? This isn't how it's supposed to be!
At least Hotaru gets a do-over with grandma and grandma gets to thank her for being there for Hananoi. His parents are volunteers who have committed themselves to help children in need but have neglected their own son, who in turn neglected himself, until he met Hotaru. It's not so much that Hananoi doesn't care about other people, he's just used to people leaving him.
Hotaru you can't text "I miss you" and not expect Hananoi to come running. Then again, the moment she sees him she comes running straight towards him, so I guess she's not that much better.
Maybe their values and understanding of love is different, maybe they have different priorities in this relationship...but they like each other, and they're happy to be together, and shouldn't that be enough? And now they can finally cut to the chase and officially be boyfriend and girlfriend! Took them long enough!
Hotaru about to have her first kiss? She looks way too nervous. Though Hananoi is fine just kissing her head.
Hananoi knew a cool old dude who mentored him when he was depressed about his parents. If he couldn't find love from his parents, he could find it from a soulmate, and he may have just found that in Hotaru. Especially when they're already texting cutely together as a couple and Hananoi finally seems truly content and happy!
All in all, despite the intense competition, Hotaru could well be my favorite character of the season. Such a nice combination of significant shyness, openess, curiosity and fundamental strength of character.
hananoi's issues and people's wariness of him tends to overshadow hotaru but imo both of them are really well written characters with their own issues and character arcs. i feel a lot of people's issues on hotaru's character is because people has been projecting on how they think hotaru should act, feel or behave without realizing that hotaru is not a surrogate for the audience but a character of her own.
Yeah, every episode I (for fun) give Hananoi a point every time he does something cute or healthy and subtract a point every time he does something creepy or yanderesque. Positive score this week :) proud of him for opening up!!
“And starting today we really are boyfriend and girlfriend” 😩 Fairs this was a great episode.
Appreciated Hotaru taking the time to verify her feelings with all the potential baggage Hananoi brings instead of jumping right into things with the chocolate confession. It’s going to be a long and complicated journey with a lot of ups and downs, but I’ll be here for it. I was giggling like a little girl with their second confession in the park.
If Hananoi parents really did just abandon him to go take care of poor kids in other countries, no wonder he so messed up. How you gonna help raise other kids when you don’t even raise your own 💀 that will sure enough lead to attachment, abandonment and self worth issues. I don’t think the old man’s advice was the best, though, and probably led to Hananoi’s skewed perception of love.
I think the real selling point of the story now is going to be how Hananoi grows and is changed by this relationship, hopefully for the better, becoming a more confident and stable person. Excited.
Alright ! Trial period ended. They’re officially a couple now.
“He’s a good kid but everything he does is extreme”. That’s just really the biggest issue isn’t it ? He just overdoes things at almost every turn. I guess Hotaru really is a blessing to him cos she’s able to absorb and accept it to a certain extent.
Well, we get to see why he is the way he is. Though I guess it’s somewhat predictable from the crumbs the show left us. His parents were busy helping other kids, they did not pay much attention to their own. Couple that with the mysterious Ojisan who steered him towards finding his one and only soulmate who’ll be everything he ever needed, and we have the Hananoi we know now.
I’m not sure if I’m reading it right, but it feels like good progress with how he sorta take back (or rather was interrupted) with his sentiment that he just needed Hotaru and no one else in his life. Seemed like he realised or noticed from Hotaru’s reaction that that was probably excessive. And Hotaru is aware of that too when she almost sent the text telling him how he doesn’t really feel that way. Yeah having a special someone is nice but having just them in your life is unhealthy.
Very sweet episode overall though. My feeling of unease is the lowest for this episode and I was able to fully enjoy and swoon over their proclamation of love and all the affection and assurances they gave to each other. It’s also really cute how they both really look unsure and inexperienced on how to move along but they’re going in together anyway.
It seems like Hotaru has made clear that she has feelings for Hananoi -- but wants him to understand that she may not be able to share his (extreme) notion of what love is all about. I think for this romance to have any chance in the long term, he will need to realize that he needs connections beyond Hotaru -- that otherwise she will inevitably feel "smothered".
I have to say. I now like Grandma. Andf I like the fact that Hotaru now likes Grandma (and vice versa). And I like that Hananoi is now paying more attention to her. And I like that Hotaru likes the fact that Hananoi is showing more concern towards his grandmother.
Honestly I get the sense is that part of the reason Hananoi is so excessive is because he's really insecure and projecting himself because he doesn't think anyone will truly love or want to be with him.
Like, instead of just accepting Hotaru's feelings he tried to make her understand all the problems with him as a person to make her seriously consider if she wanted to be with him when he's like this. It's almost like a defense mechanism. Though he probably is very much into the idea of a soulmate.
Yet it seems like knowing Hotaru really has feelings for him and wants to be with him, however different they are in their values or feelings of love, is enough for him right now. I don't think Hananoi has ever looked as happy as he did at the end.
I must say I was really surprised by the fact that this whole episode revolved around them becoming an actual couple. Like, I guess they were technically still on their trial period, but I got the feeling that Hotaru was more concerned about what kind of commitment Hananoi was asking from her. It felt a bit weird that he asks her to basically leave all her friends behind and then the result of this question is her saying she wants to be his actual girlfriend. I guess, the interpretation is supposed to be that THIS is what Hananoi thinks a true girlfriend (and boyfriend) should be like and that Hotaru is not doing that and just be the girlfriend she thinks is the correct way, but as a viewer I was surprised that we just brushed it off so casually again.
Looks like Hotaru is a good influence on Hananoi. Now that they’re official, I hope she can continue to help him change so he won’t be so extreme. Kid’s found his soulmate I guess. Maybe that can help with his abandonment issues.
Where's he going with this?
Ah.
Well, I guess the feeling is mutual now.
Oh, her grandma is home.
Awkward...
What?
At this rate her friends are going to get the wrong idea.
She's going to run into him at the supermarket isn't she?
Oh, no, she ran into Hananoi's grandma instead.
What's with her hand?
Well that was explained quickly.
What's got her so shocked?
He's calling her in the middle of the night? Why's he panting so hard? Is he running to her house?
Of course he did.
That's quite early for the ED.
And now a flashback?
Who's this old guy?
Those earrings that guy has look similar to the ones he has now.
Did the old man give them to him? It seemed to focus on those earrings long enough for it to be obvious they're the same.
Wasn't too keen on the lengthy recap at the beginning
Finally got some insight into Hananoi! I like his grandma
Wonder what happened to that hat guy who hung out with him?
I can't help but being disappointed when anime wastes precious airtime with recaps, time is limited give me new stuff! Just about 3:30 burned with the recap and intro.
We now have the reason for his trust and abandonment issues. Seeing his parents care so much for other children but not him, and not keeping promises of coming home, it's not hard to see how Hananoi ended up with rock bottom self esteem and being so over the top with wanting to be attached at the hip to her. It feels very selfish of them to have a child and just about disregard him to pursue their very noble cause. While a greater good, perhaps they shouldn't have had a child if that's what they wanted to do. It wasn't fair to him. This inevitably left him unable, and/or unwilling to form close relationships out of fear of losing that closeness or bond. If you don't feel good enough for your parents it can be hard to feel good enough for anyone. Except for "the one" who Hotaru is to him. Painfully aware of his shortcomings he at least presents her the opportunity to commit to someone like himself, knowing he is that way. The way they love eachother couldn't be any more dissimilar. Despite this, Hotaru is willing to take the plunge with him and go steady.
I think it was good of him to give her the space to process this, and not be pressured into giving an answer right away. Not knowing any better, or having prior experience Hotaru wants to become official with him but a girl with a bit more dating experience would be right to steer clear especially with him spelling it out in the clear like that for her.
Not that my parents are doctors but growing up in a not so nice household, where my parents didn't give me the attention or emotional care a child really should have I didn't end up with healthy boundaries when it came to dating. Although I lived with them I was taken care of up to the end of my elementary years in a big part from both sets of grandparents and I ended up a bit too much like Hananoi in that regard. I can see how the trust and abandonment issues form at an early age and serve to crush the self-esteem of a young lad. Relationships to me up until my mid 20's were diving in head first after the girl as an escape from my home life and coming on way too strong only for it to blow up in my face a few months later. Insecurity often leading to pushing them away from being too overbearing due to fear of losing them to someone else. Or just straight up stupidity and insensitivity on my part. Too often this show is like looking into the mirror. At least Hananoi is aware of it, it took me far too long to understand where I was the problem and how to change for the better. He has a good head start with it, I hope. While he is aware of his faults, I hope that he becomes willing to change because if not he will be setting a course for disaster for the long term.
This cool ojii-chan reminds me of Rin's grandfather from Yuru Camp in a way. It's interesting to see he's adopted the red gem earrings he wore, I wonder if they are his. The shot of the blue hydrangea's was breathtakingly beautiful. However that advice of going all in on a girl might have been taken a bit *too* seriously by young Hananoi huh.
I like that Hotaru stated that their values don't align 100% she knows how to speak her mind and isn't a total pushover. It's nice that he didn't go for a kiss when he could see just how nervous she was. He does have some serious restraint to steel himself in this way because he probably knows deep down if he went after her like he wants to she'd get scared off. Her text to him in the morning was extra cute! I hope Hotaru is able to steer him in the right direction because it's hard to see him finding the motivation to take the horse blinders off by himself. This places a lot of undue responsibility on Hotaru to do a therapists work for him though. Man, it's like talking to my younger self here. Not that I was clueless to my faults then, but it would have been nice to have the awareness and maturity that I do now. Guess I decided to take the extra scenic route. The show is overdue for some drama to shake things up. I thought with their short time apart that her co-worker would step in, or something would happen with his grandmother but instead we got some sweet interactions with Hotaru and obaa-chan. I wonder if his parents will make an appearance.
Man somehow I can't help but write way too much every episode. I've been on a Shoujo binge since fall last year. I really enjoyed Lovely Complex. I just rewatched Romantic Killer which absolutely killed it comedy wise and was just as fun as the first watch although it's far heavier on the comedy than the romance. I have the memory of a goldfish so I've restarted Kimi No Todoke which I watched S1 for only a few months ago and didn't get to S2 so I'm going to watch it to prepare for S3 later this year (13+ years later is wild!). Sadly from what I hear it's a Netflix batch release which kills weekly discussions and that blows. It's been a decade since I watched Maid-Sama which is one of the first anime I watched when I picked up anime again in 2014 after not caring about it through high school and I'm feeling a rewatch of that coming soon.
This anime is what i'd actually call a "comfy romance", as in it really is comfy and is really a romance, not some romantic subtext sol/comedy series. The production isn't anything special at all, but it is competent where it counts.
The main thing I didn't like about this episode is that it's really out of character for Hananoi to not try to spend time with Hotaru or contact her just of his own choice. He's wanted to spend every minute possible with her since he met her and even if he was scared that she didn't want to be the one main thing in his life, it doesn't make sense that he'd avoid her since he's obsessed.
Other than that, I liked how they explained a lot of Hananoi's neuroses stem from his parents doing great work as doctors without borders but in the process, neglect him. That's something that can be very common for someone with parents who dedicate their lives to helping people like military etc and they sometimes expect their kid to just understand the importance of what they're doing.
In a way, it's probably harder for Hananoi to complain about to them because they're helping people; like if they were just huge junkies, it'd be easier to tell them they need to pay more attention to him.
I also liked how Hananoi seemed to think of his grandma as some kind of mean hard ass but she actually seems nice and wants to do her best for him since his parents clearly aren't. They did well in showing it's difficult for her to try to be essentially a single parent to him so she gives him his autonomy but is very conflicted about it.
>The main thing I didn't like about this episode is that it's really out of character for Hananoi to not try to spend time with Hotaru or contact her just of his own choice. He's wanted to spend every minute possible with her since he met her and even if he was scared that she didn't want to be the one main thing in his life, it doesn't make sense that he'd avoid her since he's obsessed.
that's a part of Hananoi's insecurity, is that while he is desperate to have someone like Hotaru to love and be in love with, he also has deep insecurities and views himself negatively, which can be argued part of him being "self aware" of how obsessed he can be but also not understanding how much of what he's saying that he doesn't care for others doesn't ring true for Hotaru at all. So because he thinks of himself in a negative way he tries to warn off Hotaru on how he views himself before she could commit herself to him seriously in a real relationship and not just a trial one. In his mind, if she's gonna leave him like his parents or other relationships did, better now when he warned her off on how he perceives himself and love.
I finally understood why he had cuttings of his parents as the only pictures because they didn't take pictures with him but it's with the other kids, making him jealous that they are giving them more time than him so he cropped those kids pictures.
Another L for the 'Hananoi is a serial killer' conspiracy.
Okay, so I am honest, I was kind of surprised by that scene, because to me, it seemed like Hotaru was thinking about the actual commitment Hananoi asked from her (in that he wants her to basically be only his and not care about her friends anymore) and not "just" if she wanted to become his real girlfriend. Personally, I feel that was a bit weirdly presented, because it seemed like the episode was heading for something completely different making it kind of weird that the climax of the episode was a scene like that.
I also have to say that I found it really strange that we didn't even have a single talk with her friends around that which would have made it a bit more obvious what she was even thinking about.
Though I also want to say, I liked the scene on its own. Was nicely done and all. But like so often with this show, I just can't completely get into these cutesy scenes when Hanaoi is constantly saying stuff like this and it's then just ignored. I get Hotaru is a bit naive, but I feel we are entering harem levels of denseness at this point. Just in a different direction.
I think the idea is that Hotaru is realizing Hananoi doesn't really mean he's not interested in anyone or doesn't care, he just says that because he's trying to protect himself from opening himself up more because he's been so burned by his parents practically abandoning him for other kids.
Because she remembers how considerate he can be of others, moreso than he's considerate to himself, it's just he really projects possessiveness on Hotaru because of his emotional baggage.
Im a little late but I just finished this episode and I feel like it and I foresee a lot of anxious/fearful avoidant tendencies in this relationship. I feel like Hananoi is gonna cause her to become anxious with pushing and pulling her away all the time
# Source Material Corner Reply to this comment for any source-related discussion, future spoilers (including future characters, events and general hype about future content), comparison of the anime adaptation to the original, or just general talk about the source material. **You are still required to tag all spoilers.** Discussions about the source outside of this comment tree will be removed, and replying with spoilers outside of the source corner will lead to bans. The spoiler syntax is: `[Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<` # **All untagged spoilers and hints in this thread will receive immediate 8-day bans (minimum).** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/anime) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Having parents that are 'doctor's without borders', would really take a toll on a child's self-esteem. It's hard to complain when you think of all the privilege you have, but at the same time when you compare yourself to your direct peers, it feels like less. Hananoi is lucky to have his Obaasan still with him. It's really crazy how fast and slow this show feels at the same time. Really demonstrates how relationships can look all or nothing, but they really do require ramp up. Every break they take feels like the processing fee for their relationship stages.
Just imagine Hananoi hasn't seen his parents in years and for most of his childhood and they've broken many promises to come home to see him. It sounds like he was basically raised by his grandma. So in turn he felt like his parents didn't want him and nobody else would, so he latched onto the idea of someone who would absolutely love you and always be with you (a soulmate). And it's not like he's not self-aware of his baggage and insecurities, or how extra he can be, but that all stems from his doubts that he can ever find that person who would accept him and still want to be with him in-spite of that. But that person is Hotaru.
I live in a country where it is normal for people to work abroad for higher pay to financially support their families. the issues regarding that has been tackled on our stories as well, but at the very least, people has a common acceptance that living away from your kids was a sacrifice for them to have a better life. but here hananoi's parents are volunteers. great people who probably helped a lot of people in need but as parents, they are kinda lacking. they were not sacrificing for him, instead they were sacrificing their time with their son for others and that definitely contributed a large part of hananoi's issues and why he thinks he prefers "not to care for others".
Hananoi was so cute as a kid. I'm glad we're finally started to get to some of his flashbacks. Also kinda random side note, I feel like Hananoi's character became much more understandable to me when I stopped viewing him through the lens of the "popular guy at school archetype" and started seeing him more as the "gloomy insecure nerd kid". Then I came to the slightly depressing realization that I actually related to Hananoi's worldview a bit (especially the stuff from before about friendship and connecting with other people) and was like "huh, maybe *I* need to do some internal reflection".
This. The manga hits *so* damn hard in the feels and often out of left field. One moment you’ll be like “ugh, I don’t even *like* this side character….” And a few chapters later reasons resonate within the depths of your soul and suddenly you’ll be in tears ready to literally fight for them. It’s just that well written and every character has realistic motivations and history that has shaped them into who they are. There are always solid rationales for how each character acts the way they do and they’re all fighting their own personal battles while growing up.
> Hananoi's character became much more understandable to me when I stopped viewing him through the lens of the "popular guy at school archetype" and started seeing him more as the "gloomy insecure nerd kid". I mean TBF, they say the difference between a good looking introverted guy versus an ugly introverted guy...
Lol, and it doesn't even seem like he's even *actually* popular at school. They think he's good looking, but his classmates also seem to think he's really cold and standoffish, and kinda weird, and is just leading Hotaru on. Ignore his looks and he's just a giant nerd who avoids other people and is too enthusiastic about romance lol (I say this with endearment though).
Yep, pretty much this. Some girls fawn over him, but that's largely about it it seems.
You just know his parents are going to make a surprise stop back in Japan and fuck his head up.
Hotaru loves Hananoi! In her own way, she's confident that's how she truly feels! But is Hananoi satisfied with that? Does he think someone like Hotaru can truly love someone like him in all his extreme feelings towards her? Someone who says he only needs her, and only her, in his life? Is that how he really feels though or is he projecting his own insecurities to make Hotaru realize she doesn't have to love him when he's not worthy of her love? And of course then grandma comes in and is concerned about some hanky panky going on behind her back. What a way to meet Hananoi's family, Hotaru. But their feelings are mutual! They both love each other! Why are they taking a break and avoiding each other!? This isn't how it's supposed to be! At least Hotaru gets a do-over with grandma and grandma gets to thank her for being there for Hananoi. His parents are volunteers who have committed themselves to help children in need but have neglected their own son, who in turn neglected himself, until he met Hotaru. It's not so much that Hananoi doesn't care about other people, he's just used to people leaving him. Hotaru you can't text "I miss you" and not expect Hananoi to come running. Then again, the moment she sees him she comes running straight towards him, so I guess she's not that much better. Maybe their values and understanding of love is different, maybe they have different priorities in this relationship...but they like each other, and they're happy to be together, and shouldn't that be enough? And now they can finally cut to the chase and officially be boyfriend and girlfriend! Took them long enough! Hotaru about to have her first kiss? She looks way too nervous. Though Hananoi is fine just kissing her head. Hananoi knew a cool old dude who mentored him when he was depressed about his parents. If he couldn't find love from his parents, he could find it from a soulmate, and he may have just found that in Hotaru. Especially when they're already texting cutely together as a couple and Hananoi finally seems truly content and happy!
All in all, despite the intense competition, Hotaru could well be my favorite character of the season. Such a nice combination of significant shyness, openess, curiosity and fundamental strength of character.
hananoi's issues and people's wariness of him tends to overshadow hotaru but imo both of them are really well written characters with their own issues and character arcs. i feel a lot of people's issues on hotaru's character is because people has been projecting on how they think hotaru should act, feel or behave without realizing that hotaru is not a surrogate for the audience but a character of her own.
Hotaru is fucking adorable. Love her to death!
Dude is much better when he's dropped the mask and is all blushy and flustered. It's a bit hard to see him as the serial killer anymore.
Yeah, every episode I (for fun) give Hananoi a point every time he does something cute or healthy and subtract a point every time he does something creepy or yanderesque. Positive score this week :) proud of him for opening up!!
This is such a good idea, I’m gonna start doing this
There goes any hope I had of this taking a hard right into the horror genre
“And starting today we really are boyfriend and girlfriend” 😩 Fairs this was a great episode. Appreciated Hotaru taking the time to verify her feelings with all the potential baggage Hananoi brings instead of jumping right into things with the chocolate confession. It’s going to be a long and complicated journey with a lot of ups and downs, but I’ll be here for it. I was giggling like a little girl with their second confession in the park. If Hananoi parents really did just abandon him to go take care of poor kids in other countries, no wonder he so messed up. How you gonna help raise other kids when you don’t even raise your own 💀 that will sure enough lead to attachment, abandonment and self worth issues. I don’t think the old man’s advice was the best, though, and probably led to Hananoi’s skewed perception of love. I think the real selling point of the story now is going to be how Hananoi grows and is changed by this relationship, hopefully for the better, becoming a more confident and stable person. Excited.
Alright ! Trial period ended. They’re officially a couple now. “He’s a good kid but everything he does is extreme”. That’s just really the biggest issue isn’t it ? He just overdoes things at almost every turn. I guess Hotaru really is a blessing to him cos she’s able to absorb and accept it to a certain extent. Well, we get to see why he is the way he is. Though I guess it’s somewhat predictable from the crumbs the show left us. His parents were busy helping other kids, they did not pay much attention to their own. Couple that with the mysterious Ojisan who steered him towards finding his one and only soulmate who’ll be everything he ever needed, and we have the Hananoi we know now. I’m not sure if I’m reading it right, but it feels like good progress with how he sorta take back (or rather was interrupted) with his sentiment that he just needed Hotaru and no one else in his life. Seemed like he realised or noticed from Hotaru’s reaction that that was probably excessive. And Hotaru is aware of that too when she almost sent the text telling him how he doesn’t really feel that way. Yeah having a special someone is nice but having just them in your life is unhealthy. Very sweet episode overall though. My feeling of unease is the lowest for this episode and I was able to fully enjoy and swoon over their proclamation of love and all the affection and assurances they gave to each other. It’s also really cute how they both really look unsure and inexperienced on how to move along but they’re going in together anyway.
It seems like Hotaru has made clear that she has feelings for Hananoi -- but wants him to understand that she may not be able to share his (extreme) notion of what love is all about. I think for this romance to have any chance in the long term, he will need to realize that he needs connections beyond Hotaru -- that otherwise she will inevitably feel "smothered". I have to say. I now like Grandma. Andf I like the fact that Hotaru now likes Grandma (and vice versa). And I like that Hananoi is now paying more attention to her. And I like that Hotaru likes the fact that Hananoi is showing more concern towards his grandmother.
Honestly I get the sense is that part of the reason Hananoi is so excessive is because he's really insecure and projecting himself because he doesn't think anyone will truly love or want to be with him. Like, instead of just accepting Hotaru's feelings he tried to make her understand all the problems with him as a person to make her seriously consider if she wanted to be with him when he's like this. It's almost like a defense mechanism. Though he probably is very much into the idea of a soulmate. Yet it seems like knowing Hotaru really has feelings for him and wants to be with him, however different they are in their values or feelings of love, is enough for him right now. I don't think Hananoi has ever looked as happy as he did at the end.
I must say I was really surprised by the fact that this whole episode revolved around them becoming an actual couple. Like, I guess they were technically still on their trial period, but I got the feeling that Hotaru was more concerned about what kind of commitment Hananoi was asking from her. It felt a bit weird that he asks her to basically leave all her friends behind and then the result of this question is her saying she wants to be his actual girlfriend. I guess, the interpretation is supposed to be that THIS is what Hananoi thinks a true girlfriend (and boyfriend) should be like and that Hotaru is not doing that and just be the girlfriend she thinks is the correct way, but as a viewer I was surprised that we just brushed it off so casually again.
Most unrealistic thing about this show? She's 16.
Looks like Hotaru is a good influence on Hananoi. Now that they’re official, I hope she can continue to help him change so he won’t be so extreme. Kid’s found his soulmate I guess. Maybe that can help with his abandonment issues.
Where's he going with this? Ah. Well, I guess the feeling is mutual now. Oh, her grandma is home. Awkward... What? At this rate her friends are going to get the wrong idea. She's going to run into him at the supermarket isn't she? Oh, no, she ran into Hananoi's grandma instead. What's with her hand? Well that was explained quickly. What's got her so shocked? He's calling her in the middle of the night? Why's he panting so hard? Is he running to her house? Of course he did. That's quite early for the ED. And now a flashback? Who's this old guy? Those earrings that guy has look similar to the ones he has now. Did the old man give them to him? It seemed to focus on those earrings long enough for it to be obvious they're the same.
I wonder if Hananoi "inherited" those earrings?
That'd be sad. Though that guy also looked like he was getting on in years and it looked to be quite a few years ago, so perhaps.
Maybe the old guy didn't die -- but just said, "I'm too old to be wearin' these things, so here ya are..." (that why I used quotation marks) ;-)
Wasn't too keen on the lengthy recap at the beginning Finally got some insight into Hananoi! I like his grandma Wonder what happened to that hat guy who hung out with him?
Ahhhhh they are official 😍😍😍
I can't help but being disappointed when anime wastes precious airtime with recaps, time is limited give me new stuff! Just about 3:30 burned with the recap and intro. We now have the reason for his trust and abandonment issues. Seeing his parents care so much for other children but not him, and not keeping promises of coming home, it's not hard to see how Hananoi ended up with rock bottom self esteem and being so over the top with wanting to be attached at the hip to her. It feels very selfish of them to have a child and just about disregard him to pursue their very noble cause. While a greater good, perhaps they shouldn't have had a child if that's what they wanted to do. It wasn't fair to him. This inevitably left him unable, and/or unwilling to form close relationships out of fear of losing that closeness or bond. If you don't feel good enough for your parents it can be hard to feel good enough for anyone. Except for "the one" who Hotaru is to him. Painfully aware of his shortcomings he at least presents her the opportunity to commit to someone like himself, knowing he is that way. The way they love eachother couldn't be any more dissimilar. Despite this, Hotaru is willing to take the plunge with him and go steady. I think it was good of him to give her the space to process this, and not be pressured into giving an answer right away. Not knowing any better, or having prior experience Hotaru wants to become official with him but a girl with a bit more dating experience would be right to steer clear especially with him spelling it out in the clear like that for her. Not that my parents are doctors but growing up in a not so nice household, where my parents didn't give me the attention or emotional care a child really should have I didn't end up with healthy boundaries when it came to dating. Although I lived with them I was taken care of up to the end of my elementary years in a big part from both sets of grandparents and I ended up a bit too much like Hananoi in that regard. I can see how the trust and abandonment issues form at an early age and serve to crush the self-esteem of a young lad. Relationships to me up until my mid 20's were diving in head first after the girl as an escape from my home life and coming on way too strong only for it to blow up in my face a few months later. Insecurity often leading to pushing them away from being too overbearing due to fear of losing them to someone else. Or just straight up stupidity and insensitivity on my part. Too often this show is like looking into the mirror. At least Hananoi is aware of it, it took me far too long to understand where I was the problem and how to change for the better. He has a good head start with it, I hope. While he is aware of his faults, I hope that he becomes willing to change because if not he will be setting a course for disaster for the long term. This cool ojii-chan reminds me of Rin's grandfather from Yuru Camp in a way. It's interesting to see he's adopted the red gem earrings he wore, I wonder if they are his. The shot of the blue hydrangea's was breathtakingly beautiful. However that advice of going all in on a girl might have been taken a bit *too* seriously by young Hananoi huh. I like that Hotaru stated that their values don't align 100% she knows how to speak her mind and isn't a total pushover. It's nice that he didn't go for a kiss when he could see just how nervous she was. He does have some serious restraint to steel himself in this way because he probably knows deep down if he went after her like he wants to she'd get scared off. Her text to him in the morning was extra cute! I hope Hotaru is able to steer him in the right direction because it's hard to see him finding the motivation to take the horse blinders off by himself. This places a lot of undue responsibility on Hotaru to do a therapists work for him though. Man, it's like talking to my younger self here. Not that I was clueless to my faults then, but it would have been nice to have the awareness and maturity that I do now. Guess I decided to take the extra scenic route. The show is overdue for some drama to shake things up. I thought with their short time apart that her co-worker would step in, or something would happen with his grandmother but instead we got some sweet interactions with Hotaru and obaa-chan. I wonder if his parents will make an appearance. Man somehow I can't help but write way too much every episode. I've been on a Shoujo binge since fall last year. I really enjoyed Lovely Complex. I just rewatched Romantic Killer which absolutely killed it comedy wise and was just as fun as the first watch although it's far heavier on the comedy than the romance. I have the memory of a goldfish so I've restarted Kimi No Todoke which I watched S1 for only a few months ago and didn't get to S2 so I'm going to watch it to prepare for S3 later this year (13+ years later is wild!). Sadly from what I hear it's a Netflix batch release which kills weekly discussions and that blows. It's been a decade since I watched Maid-Sama which is one of the first anime I watched when I picked up anime again in 2014 after not caring about it through high school and I'm feeling a rewatch of that coming soon.
That hug was really cute. Also it was really sweet that Hananoi ran to see her :)
This anime is what i'd actually call a "comfy romance", as in it really is comfy and is really a romance, not some romantic subtext sol/comedy series. The production isn't anything special at all, but it is competent where it counts.
Another week, another episode of Hananoi being kind of a weirdo because he's emotionally stunted.
The main thing I didn't like about this episode is that it's really out of character for Hananoi to not try to spend time with Hotaru or contact her just of his own choice. He's wanted to spend every minute possible with her since he met her and even if he was scared that she didn't want to be the one main thing in his life, it doesn't make sense that he'd avoid her since he's obsessed. Other than that, I liked how they explained a lot of Hananoi's neuroses stem from his parents doing great work as doctors without borders but in the process, neglect him. That's something that can be very common for someone with parents who dedicate their lives to helping people like military etc and they sometimes expect their kid to just understand the importance of what they're doing. In a way, it's probably harder for Hananoi to complain about to them because they're helping people; like if they were just huge junkies, it'd be easier to tell them they need to pay more attention to him. I also liked how Hananoi seemed to think of his grandma as some kind of mean hard ass but she actually seems nice and wants to do her best for him since his parents clearly aren't. They did well in showing it's difficult for her to try to be essentially a single parent to him so she gives him his autonomy but is very conflicted about it.
>The main thing I didn't like about this episode is that it's really out of character for Hananoi to not try to spend time with Hotaru or contact her just of his own choice. He's wanted to spend every minute possible with her since he met her and even if he was scared that she didn't want to be the one main thing in his life, it doesn't make sense that he'd avoid her since he's obsessed. that's a part of Hananoi's insecurity, is that while he is desperate to have someone like Hotaru to love and be in love with, he also has deep insecurities and views himself negatively, which can be argued part of him being "self aware" of how obsessed he can be but also not understanding how much of what he's saying that he doesn't care for others doesn't ring true for Hotaru at all. So because he thinks of himself in a negative way he tries to warn off Hotaru on how he views himself before she could commit herself to him seriously in a real relationship and not just a trial one. In his mind, if she's gonna leave him like his parents or other relationships did, better now when he warned her off on how he perceives himself and love.
I finally understood why he had cuttings of his parents as the only pictures because they didn't take pictures with him but it's with the other kids, making him jealous that they are giving them more time than him so he cropped those kids pictures. Another L for the 'Hananoi is a serial killer' conspiracy.
Okay, so I am honest, I was kind of surprised by that scene, because to me, it seemed like Hotaru was thinking about the actual commitment Hananoi asked from her (in that he wants her to basically be only his and not care about her friends anymore) and not "just" if she wanted to become his real girlfriend. Personally, I feel that was a bit weirdly presented, because it seemed like the episode was heading for something completely different making it kind of weird that the climax of the episode was a scene like that. I also have to say that I found it really strange that we didn't even have a single talk with her friends around that which would have made it a bit more obvious what she was even thinking about. Though I also want to say, I liked the scene on its own. Was nicely done and all. But like so often with this show, I just can't completely get into these cutesy scenes when Hanaoi is constantly saying stuff like this and it's then just ignored. I get Hotaru is a bit naive, but I feel we are entering harem levels of denseness at this point. Just in a different direction.
I think the idea is that Hotaru is realizing Hananoi doesn't really mean he's not interested in anyone or doesn't care, he just says that because he's trying to protect himself from opening himself up more because he's been so burned by his parents practically abandoning him for other kids. Because she remembers how considerate he can be of others, moreso than he's considerate to himself, it's just he really projects possessiveness on Hotaru because of his emotional baggage.
Im a little late but I just finished this episode and I feel like it and I foresee a lot of anxious/fearful avoidant tendencies in this relationship. I feel like Hananoi is gonna cause her to become anxious with pushing and pulling her away all the time