Again and again, this show manages to surprise me. I mean, just when I thought we were getting into the Makinohara Shoko arc, we suddenly and unexpectedly end up in the Futaba arc instead! I really wasn’t expecting Futaba to end up victim to the Adolescence Syndrome, but so far, her case almost seems the worst of any we’ve seen so far.

All is not as it seems with Futaba, either. While both “copies” of her seem to act like the Futaba we know, the subtle differences in their actions and responses are slowly starting to build, mounting an increasing sense of unease as we wonder… what really is the difference between them? The writing in this episode, I felt, was some of the strongest that the series has displayed so far, and it really made me fall in love with the show right over again.

Speaking of falling in love, guess who else got quite a bit of screentime this episode?? Mai-san is honestly one of  my favorite characters of the whole season. The touching interactions between her and Sakuta and their adorable, yet bumbling relationship is always a joy to watch. Their trust in each other is the stuff of envy, and honestly, she’s just a joy to watch, every time she’s on screen. Though… it seems we may have some trouble with her manager in the near future.

There are so many conflicts bubbling and brewing beneath the surface here, unanswered questions, and character relationships that stick around quite nicely. I was surprised how quickly I was invested in the two lead characters from episode 1, but even more so how much i’ve started to care about so many of the side characters, too. The script writing is so smart and well-done, the pacing is pretty much perfect, and really, this show is just nailing everything it’s done so far.

Now I want to find and read the original Light Novel source to get to know these characters and this world even better… Well, i’ll see what I can find! Anyways, thank you all so much for reading. I hope you are all enjoying this show as much as I am. It’s really shaping up to be excellent, and I just NEED MORE! But that’s enough outta me. See you all in the next post!