A Star Brighter Than the Sun

Episode 6

The tension that comes from “will they/won't they” can either make or break a story. Linger on it too long, and the story loses its flavor, especially if you throw too many no-chance rivals into the mix. Accelerate the pacing too much and the joy is taken out of the chase; they don't need to wait an entire season to get together, but it's also not great if they're a happy couple by episode three. Fortunately for all of us, A Star Brighter Than the Sun seems to have figured out the proper progression for its romance plot: we know Sae and Koki like each other, but they're still figuring it out…and moving in the direction of confessing their feelings at what feels like a pretty natural rate.

Although at this point, I kind of have to wonder how the entire school hasn't figured it out. While the sparkles that usually surround Koki are generally an indication of how pleased Sae is to see him, the expression of delight on his face every time he notices her absolutely isn't – that's 100% Koki. The tennis club girls do seem to more or less realize that anytime a soccer player needs to approach the fence, it's going to be him, and the soccer senpai all noticing where Koki's gaze is (and responding teenager-appropriately via teasing) seem to indicate that the two of them are plenty obvious…or at least that Koki is. (Sae would probably say that's because he's so much more memorable than her.) So if the others aren't seeing it, it may be that they simply don't want to.

In the case of Sui and Kagawa, it could be that they believe their friend when she says there's no way he could have a crush on her. I actually love that about them; they're so supportive and invested in making sure that Sae's okay. Both of them are smart enough to recognize that even if they voiced a suspicion that Koki returned her feelings, Sae wouldn't believe them because she's had so long to build up the opposite idea in her head. Their job is to support her, not harangue her, and they take that very seriously. Or at least as seriously as they can – the suggestion that she transfer her crush over to Izawa is frankly ridiculous, although I do think they're right about him having a crush on her. If she had to try to switch love interests, though, Ayukawa would have my vote…and he may feel the same way, even if the Laws of Anime Hair Color would seem to indicate that Kagawa is his love interest.

But what's really important in this episode is that both Sae and Koki are getting ready to make their move. Koki is clearly upset at the thought that Sae likes someone, to the point where he practically says that he hopes the mysterious “other guy” turns her down so that he can comfort her. Knowing that she likes someone – and that he encouraged her to do something about – has lit a fire under him, and I'm halfway certain that if his mom hadn't walked in right then, he would have just blurted it all out. With nearly every word and deed, he's broadcasting how much he cares about Sae, but unless he says the actual words, she's not going to believe it. It took a lot of courage for him to ask her to meet on Sunday. I daresay he's going to make the most of the opportunity, especially since he won't have to contend with Mood Killer Mom.

I finally had a chance to…er, remembered to…okay, fine, I hadn't realized there was an English dub before this week, and I'm not sure how I missed that. But in any event, I did at last watch it, and I'm pleased to say that it's better than many of the Amazon dubs I've heard before. Maxwell Donovan's Koki is endearingly earnest and does a particularly good job of acting badly during Koki's reluctant turn as the Cowardly Lion, and I really like Anjali Kunapaneni's dry delivery as Kagawa. I like Isabella Crovetti and Minori Fujidera equally as Sae, and my only real dub complaint is that I think Yuuki Luna's Sui is a bit too breathy and high-pitched; I found her lines grating on my ear. But I would watch the dub again, especially if Koki's delighted mom gets another cameo.

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