A Star Brighter Than the Sun

Episode 7

It's not clear why Sae nominated Koki to be the Cowardly Lion in their class' production of The Wizard of Oz, but “courage” is a central theme to this week's episode nonetheless. The big moment is, of course, when Sae realizes from her hidden prompter's position that third years are about to take an upskirt picture of Sui. I love Sae's response – she doesn't yell for a teacher (which would have been a good option) and she doesn't leap from the stage to confront them (potentially dangerous); she instead simply stands up and puts herself between Sui and the boys. It's quietly assertive, letting them know that she knows and that she isn't going to stand for it. The way the middle boy quickly closes his legs in the face of her glare shows that the message is received – something in her eyes clearly made him feel like a well-placed knee was a real possibility.

It likewise took some courage for Koki to break character and step up to help Sae. Her fall from the stage could have disrupted the play even more, but he just quietly walked over and offered her a hand. It's emblematic of both their relationship and who they are as individuals: they care deeply about each other (even if they haven't yet figured out how) and they're both always willing to step up when someone needs help. Although there's a good chance that Koki wasn't necessarily thinking about Sui when he later beat the stuffing out of those same third-year boys – what he overheard them saying wasn't just that they were trying to creep on Sui, but that “the big one” got in the way. Whether he would have had the same vicious reaction if that had been left out is up for debate, especially since when the teachers question him, he doesn't say that he punched them because they were taking upskirts. Since that would have gotten him off the hook (as we see when his cousin Subaru comes in), the implication may well be that he didn't start throwing punches for Sui – he did it for Sae.

That makes other parts of this episode a bit more frustrating than they strictly need to be. I know I said last week that this show was doing a good job of balancing out the fact that Sae and Koki are one real conversation away from happiness, but I feel like this episode backtracked on that a bit. Not so much in the case of Ayukawa and other classmates, noting how he and Sae are growing closer (and I do think he likes her romantically), but more with Subaru. Maybe it's just me, but I've never once thought of a first cousin (or any cousin) as a viable romantic interest, so that that's immediately where Sae's mind goes when she sees Subaru come to Koki's rescue is a little bit baffling. You think she's the girl he likes because she…showed up? Acted like his older sister? Maybe it's just that I'm not seventeen anymore, but it all feels far too contrived to actually work.

Fortunately, Koki and Sae are doing a better job of slowly moving closer to each other. Koki's right that Sae seems to treat him just like she did when they were little, and saying so was pretty brave of him, even if he almost immediately undercut himself by offering her a bag of little cute snacks and jumping on the swing. But it did help Sae to find the courage to say that she wants to see a movie with him – just the two of them, as he later brings himself to ask. They're moving closer to each other, just slowly, and for who they are, that seems like the right pace for them.

Rating:

P.S. I hadn't realized that the play was actually in English. If you're only watching the dub, you might want to check this episode out in Japanese for that reason.

A Star Brighter Than the Sun is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.