English Dub Review: Twilight Out of Focus “A Fateful Resolution”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
After Jin’s confession, Giichi is overwhelmed with confusion and excitement.  Giichi realizes that he competed with Jin in an art contest for kids and that Jin was inspired by him.  The two stay in that night to watch a movie and talk about their feelings.

Our Take:
At the start of the series, I predicted we’d get four episodes for each romance arc.  Considering that most anime seasons consist of twelve episodes, this would’ve been a done deal.  However, this week’s episode shows that that isn’t the case.  While Mao and Hisashi’s romance lasted for four episodes, the second arc involving Jin and Giichi lasted for three.  Since this arc didn’t involve much of them filming a movie compared to the previous one, I can understand why.  While the on-and-off chemistry between the two film rivals offered all kinds of corny sweetness and laughs, I believe three episodes are enough to display this arc without prolonging it any longer.
For the final part of the arc, we see Jin and Giichi take their trip down memory lane, where they first encounter each other during an art contest.  Jin, as a member of a rich family, entered his dumpling mascot video into the competition, where he earned second place.  He was beaten out by a younger Giichi, who desired to make his art mean something instead of being rewarded with fake trophies.  Afterward, Jin and Giichi host a movie night, where they do more than just watch a film about a beach for who knows how long.  If you know, you know.  Finally, as graduation approaches, Jin and Giichi share their seemingly final moment together, with Giichi admitting his love for Jin, even though he keeps concealing it with their rivalry.
Regarding the finales of the show’s arcs, I think “A Fateful Resolution” is more effective than the one involving Mao and Hisashi.  This is mainly due to the amusing chemistry between Jin and Giichi, which offers a love-hate relationship that compensates for its cheesy love antics.  The final moment between the two also had its share of sweetness that maintains the arc’s consistency in its enjoyability.  Next week is the final love story of the season, so we’ll see how this one turns out compared to the other two.