Go For It, Nakamura-kun!!

Episode 11

The show is settling into a more “flavor of the week" format. I know it was arguably always like that, but at least last week had a thematic hook and strong emotional moments. Here, it feels like the show is just running through the remaining chapters of the manga until it eventually gets to the end. That doesn't necessarily make the content of these episodes bad, but when you are reviewing them, they are very far from exciting.

The second half of this episode can be summed up as “Nakamura gets a haircut.” There weren't any major twists, and there wasn't even a resolution to the issue posed in the episode. I would've loved to see the follow-up of how Hirose and everybody else react to Nakamura having a vastly different hairstyle. The show doesn't even showcase what his hair looks like, which feels weird because it's implied that the hair doesn't look bad; he's just embarrassed because he's a bit of a recluse and prefers to have his dope emo hair. Still, it looks like he adjusted to it well enough, and I could definitely relate to the barber not fully understanding what I wanted for my hair. The second half of the episode seems to have all this buildup to such a lukewarm punch line of Hirose not recognizing Nakamura, which feels like the easiest and safest joke you can make.

The first half of the episode has a little bit more substance with the idea of Nakamura shopping for a Christmas present for Hirose. But then it has to be ruined by having Nakamura share screen time with that weird childhood friend pervert from a few episodes ago. Granted, he's a bit less creepy this episode since he's not pulling out incredibly private pictures of Hirose out of nowhere, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't like this guy and I think he is one of the worst characters in the show. He's utilized better here because his interactions with Nakamura are more about inspiring change. That moment they shared with a lost little boy was genuinely sweet. But you can't warm me up to this character.

The end of the first half hit the closest thing to an emotional climax in this entire episode, with Nakamura and Hirose now having matching pencils. It's sweet and shows that Nakamura would probably be a lot happier if he didn't overthink. But this whole skit feels so half-baked. These episodes feel like they should have more going on. I don't know what the adaptation process is like or how these final episodes are going to go, but it does feel like the show is running on steam, which is very disappointing considering how little has happened thus far.

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