Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Season 2

Episode 11

A common theme we've seen in this season of Aharen-san is that it is going down the list, making sure to check off as many archetypal episodes as possible: beach episode, amusement park episode, sports festival episode, and so on. So knowing that, it was only a matter of time before we finally reached the cultural festival episode—an unspoken requirement for just about every high school anime.

But before they start worrying too hard about the festival, we first see Raido worrying about what he wants to do with his future. I've spilled a lot of ink—well, pixels I guess, but still—this season screaming and sobbing about how Raido is anime boyfriend royalty. At every opportunity he's had, he's been nothing short of A+ and supportive of Aharen, and of course: we have no choice but to stan. But this episode brought to the forefront that, because Raido is so accommodating to Aharen, we haven't had as many opportunities for her to return that kindness. Until, of course, now. She's really supportive of him figuring himself out and making sure to give him just the right amount of space he needs to discover who he is when he's not being boyfriend supreme. Great a boyfriend as he is, he needs to learn who he is outside of "Aharen's boyfriend." It's an incredibly selfless and thoughtful gesture on Aharen's part—nothing short of what the king of the anime boyfriends deserves. Dare I call Aharen queen of the anime girlfriends?

Y'all, I'm going to be honest: I don't usually get too invested in shipping. I've been an anime fan long enough to have experienced the Naruto shipping wars. I remember the day NaruHina and SasuSaku became canon, and even now, that still stands out in my memories as one of the all-time wildest days for the anime watching community. The gloating, the essay-length posts and comments about why Kishimoto totally made the right or wrong call, the petitions—it was, well, a time (whether that's complimentary or derogatory is up for you to decide). But before I veer too off-topic, what I'm getting at here is that because I encountered so much open aggression in the Naruto shipping wars back in their heyday, it zapped a lot of the fun out of shipping for me.

So with that context in mind, I hope you'll feel the full gravity of my statement when I say that this episode really cemented for me just how much I love Aharen and Raido as a couple—AhaRaido, if you will. These two are precious together, and I love them as individual characters, but I love them as a couple. Protect AhaRaido at all costs. These two are so adorable together, and so incredibly kind to one another. I can feel myself transforming into the teacher who obsesses over their esteem, because you know what? Same. I love AhaRaido, and I will sail on this ship into the horizon.

On a lighter note, I have a perpetual fear of dozing off on public transit, and episodes like this demonstrate why that is the case. Aharen is very lucky Raido spotted her; I can't begin to imagine how stressed I'd be in her position. Still, I guess because she fell asleep on the bus and was late getting to the culture festival, she had that sweet moment with her friends where they told her to take her time getting to the culture festival. I've said it a few times now, but only because it continues to be true week after week: this anime can be really heartfelt when it wants to be, and this week was no different.

Speaking of which, maybe I shouldn't be calling Aharen just queen of the anime girlfriends—maybe she should just be queen of anime friends, in general. The scene in the art room where Aharen showed them her artworks (the giant fidget spinner, oh my god) and the video she put together of all of them melted my heart. On the eve of high school graduation, what a heartfelt thing to do for your friends.

Alas, all good things must eventually come to an end: next week is the last episode. While not quite my number 1 favorite, this show has nonetheless been one of the season's highlights for me. I'll go into more detail on my overall thoughts next week. But for now, I will miss having new episodes of this to watch. My hopes for the next episode? Well, it'd be nice to see that Ishikawa storyline that's been happening in the background go somewhere—I thought we were going to get something for that in the scene where Ishikawa and Raido were alone in the classroom together, but I guess not. Aside from that, though, I hope we're in for more of the out-of-pocket goofiness and bigheartedness that I've come to love about this anime.

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Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Mondays.