Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?

Episode 10

I certainly didn't expect such an ending. I am happy that we get genuine progress in the show despite everything, from its pacing to how fans of the source material talk about the series, implied that there wouldn't be developments like this at all. Kissing Yu isn't exactly a decision that can easily be taken back, especially when these two have tried so desperately not to cross this line with each other. But between the kiss and Himari returning what was supposed to be a definitive symbol of their friendship, things can only go one way, and it looks like we're coinciding this emotional climax with this final competition.

I wish that the wager that the show set up tied in more naturally with the emotional progression of the characters. I see what they're going for. Himari is starting to lament the fact that she might not be a strong partner for Yu, given her limitations. She's not particularly good at creating, and she always finds a way to mess things up at the last minute because she's a coward. She sees Rion as somebody who probably better fits him, and this episode is supposed to be an example of her insecurities reaching their climax. I won't say that it's terrible, but there are just a bunch of little things that I feel hold this back from truly being something special.

Putting a lot of the emotional weight on Himari being insecure and comparing herself to Rion doesn't work as strongly this deep into the show when Yu has already made so many giant gestures for her. If anything, it feels like the episode was setting up this idea that Himari is the one who got him into this mess, and all she does is create trouble for him. It's mentioned, but it's not the focal point, and I feel like that should've been, especially since one of my biggest complaints about the show is that Himari isn't that nice of a character. She's understandable and empathetic, but she grinds my gears more than she genuinely intrigues me as a character.

I'm not sure what she goes through when the episode concludes as she kisses Yu almost out of frustration rather than as appreciation for all that he's done. You could argue that, given how their characters are, it was always supposed to be like this, but I think we could've gone a bit further to cement this scene. Given the fact that there aren't that many episodes left, I'm sure everything will wrap up rather neatly. Maybe the show can still surprise me.

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