Overview (Spoilers Below): Neither of these two can seem to communicate their true feelings! Will Wataru and Aika ever see eye to eye?
Our Take: Wataru may have done the right thing in distancing himself from Aika, but his good deed is far from accomplished. Aside from Aika being confused and upset about his sudden change, Wataru believes she hasn’t been making friends due to his meddling. So, it’s unsurprising that his only option is to give Aika more space so she can make some. Wataru’s idea winds up working well in Aika’s favor as she’s able to spend some quality time with the other girls in their class. However, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t given up her stubbornness regarding her conflicted feelings toward Wataru. Of course, his change of heart is not just for Aika’s sake. Wataru’s personality change also helps the school’s Public Morals Committee, especially its president, Rin Shinomiya, Kaede’s level-headed best friend. Rin hears about Wataru apologizing to her committee member Yuyu Inatomi for frightening her due to her phobia of men. This resulted in her asking for his advice in boosting her committee’s morality. Of course, being the overly sensitive boy he is, Wataru changes his name to Yamazaki to avoid getting in trouble. However, this amusingly backfires when Shinomiya meets the real Yamazaki. Despite that, Wataru succeeded in helping the school committee and Inatomi conquer her fear of boys, leading Shinomiya to believe Wataru might be an expert at understanding people, mainly girls. The episode further showcases Wataru’s attempt to become a better person despite his friends’ discomfort with his abrupt shift. That includes helping out in both the Public Morals Committee and his sister Kaede’s Student Council regarding the administration. I’m still feeling mixed about this rom-com anime regarding its humor and formula, and Aika almost sounds like a college girl instead of a high schooler. Of course, I mean no disrespect to Alyssa Marek, who’s still providing decent voice work as Aika. However, its concept and Wataru’s development are still compelling enough to maintain my interest in the series. At least until we get to the later episodes to have a better judgment.