There is one thing humans have that other creatures do not: secrets.
What They Say:
It’s the third year of middle school. Kotaro, a bookish boy aspiring to become a novelist, and Akane, a track girl who loves to run, meet in the same class together for the first time. They’re put in charge of the equipment for the sports festival, and slowly grow closer via LINE. How does Kotaro deal with his growing feelings for her? Meanwhile, Takumi has been in love with Akane since first year, and Akane’s friend, Chinatsu, becomes interested in Kotaro. A refreshing story of young love set in Kawagoe.
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
Following Akane's vague acceptance of Kotarou's confession at the end of last week's episode, the two are now officially a couple. The only problem now is that they don't know how to break it to their friends. Apart from Chinatsu's innate ability to discern what's going on between these two, no one else really has any clue that they even know each other. Of course, this leads to problems at school considering there is never a window of opportunity for them to meet up. And even though Akane and Kotarou share the same homeroom, they still seem miles apart. This week's episode centers around both parties attempting to close that gap while a new problem begins to loom on the horizon.
We've all had a 'secret' person in our lives at some time or another. Whether it be an unlikely friend from a different clique or a significant other we just don't have the courage to bring up to anyone, the human heart works in mysterious ways. And when you're in middle school, that heart is working overtime. Confused and lovestruck, Kotarou and Akane shamelessly take to the Internet in an effort to find out how dating even works in the first place. In fact, they become so obsessed with one another that they begin to fall behind in both school and their clubs. Eventually, after several failed attempts at meeting up, the couple figures out a way to be alone together -- albeit just for a little while. Considering their first attempt at this was "accidentally" shot down by Chinatsu, Kotarou plans to make the best out of finally being alone with his new girlfriend. And just when things are going perfectly, it all comes crashing down.
Out of nowhere, Chinatsu texts Akane admitting that she has a crush on Kotarou. Now, it's pretty evident that Chinatsu knows there's something going on between these two, so she's either being a great friend and coming clean about it or she's flat out trying to steal Akane's man. Either way, the drama-ship has finally set sail and I can't imagine it turning around anytime soon. Of course, Akane is shocked by this and can't even figure out how to process it -- getting stuck in awkwardly glances from her phone back to her boyfriend, incapable of even speaking. If there's anything we've learned about Tsukigakirei thus far is that it loves its cliffhanger endings. And, of course, the episode comes to a close as soon as this love triangle is formed. The new question is, how long will this crush remain unknown to Kotarou and what will it do to the couple?
In Summary:
I normally love when romance shows take dramatic, upsetting turns, but this is probably the one time I didn't want something like this to happen. The budding, innocent relationship that Kotarou and Akane have been building toward since the start of the series is already facing problems and we're not even at the halfway point. The even more frustrating part of this is that Chinatsu isn't even a bad character -- she's pretty much just as likeable as Akane. She hasn't done anything wrong whatsoever. Tsukigakirei is already making it impossible for us to take sides considering there is no character in the series that is purely evil. They're all just middle school kids trying to make the best of what little time they have left. Watching that fall apart is something my heart won't be able to handle and the week-long gap between episodes is going to hurt twice as much just because of this.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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