There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless...

Episode 5

Maybe I've been watching this show all wrong. While there is solid character writing in terms of everybody's initial motivations and insecurities, the way that everybody interacts with each other and facilitates drama showcases some of the most baffling character logic I've ever seen. Almost everything in this episode could've been avoided if the characters had talked to each other. I'll be disappointed if I try to look at this from the perspective of a straightforward slice of life comedy. But if I look at it from the perspective of an over-the-top trashy yuri drama, it becomes far more entertaining.

I yelled at the screen at the end of the episode when Mai said, “I'll let you guys do what you want.” Girl, this is all your fault, and you don't understand that. This girl has enough self-awareness to recognize that Satsuki is acting out because of her, but she doesn't have enough self-awareness to recognize that she overstepped everyone's boundaries during their last altercation. In this episode, I understand what exactly Mai did when she went to visit Satsuki after being distraught. Asking somebody who you think has feelings for you to embrace you just so you can confirm that you like somebody else is wild. I'm starting to think that the show doesn't want me to root for Mai at all, because why should I? She doesn't deserve Renako or Satsuki.

Renako is still in denial about her sexuality, which is hilarious to me at this point. This girl managed to possibly win the affection of three girls by doing very little, and last week she admitted that she is starting to be turned on by physical affection with another girl. There is no straight way to explain any of that whatsoever. I don't understand the constant denial about Satsuki's advances during this episode; it feels as if the show is scared to commit to its own premise. Or maybe it is committing to the premise because the more Renako is in denial, the more she ends up in these wild situations.

Satsuki might be my favorite character of the show. I like how she seems to be the most insightful and self-aware character, but still has a believable lack of self-awareness on her part. She has a very strong love-hate relationship with Mai and is developing feelings for Renako as they spend more time together. She's not great at it, but the bare minimum for respecting boundaries is so far in the ground right now that Satsuki looks like a perfect match compared to Mai. Satsuki is giving Renako plenty of space, isn't being pushy about things like dates, and she's genuinely taking the effort to learn about Renako and her interests like a proper partner should. She is very mean and standoffish, but I don't think she said a single wrong thing throughout this episode. Plus, she is very reasonably pissed about the way that Mai treated her. I have no idea how this situation is going to resolve itself, but I see no outcome that is anything less than an entertaining mess.

Rating: