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

Episode 9

I'll only touch on this one more time, but I really don't like the fact that the show just sidestepping everything that happened with Mai in the last arc. Not only does this episode start with Renako and Mai sharing some intimacy together, but it honestly does seem like their relationship has progressed since the last time I saw them. The fact that Renako is far less resistant to kissing Mai and becoming more open about enjoying it just rubs me the wrong way. I like the fact that this arc doesn't seem to really have anything to do with Mai, which means the show probably won't focus on her for a while. But the fact that their relationship has made any progress despite not really feeling earned wasn't really the best start for me.

As for the rest of the episode, I thought it was pretty good. Ajisai is now going to be the main focus for the next couple episodes, and while the writing is incredibly telegraphed, I do like the dynamic that they are building. In the last arc, Renako was just being dragged along because Satsuki and Mai were more dominant personalities. Now you could argue that Renako is the more dominant personality, which means now I get to see her introverted nature and overthinking tendencies take more center stage. It's not like the show forgot about them, but they were definitely more downplayed. Now that the show is creating a much more firm parallel between Renako and Ajisai, it needs to establish how these characters see each other.

While I do think it is funny that Ajisai is very unaware of how much she is unintentionally rizzing Ajisai, that disconnect is arguably the point. Renako has always seen herself as an introverted person who can't say the right thing at the right time. While this has caused her to be taken advantage of by people, it has also led her to be unaware of just how much presence she actually has. I like the way that the show has actually been subtle about this by showing small scenes of how other girls see Renako. In a lot of ways, Renako is the popular girl that she always looked up to or never thought that she could be, but she's so wrapped up in her own head that she doesn't see herself that way. It's also why she always thinks that her actions and words come off as way more innocent than they actually do. I don't think she would've imagined in one million years that someone could be casually infatuated or look up to her.

So now there's Ajisai who idolizes Renako more than Renako would ever think. Not only is Ajisai infatuated with her, but even from a friend's perspective, she does seem to look up to Renako as somebody who is always in control and is living her best life. From what I've seen, Ajisai is probably just as if not more reserved than Renako. She puts on this air of being friendly and accommodating, but deep down she probably wishes that she could be a lot more selfish and childish. The few moments where she breaks character are completely reasonable, but she doesn't see it that way. Running away from home definitely felt like an initial hard shift out of nowhere, but she just wants a moment to be selfish and have a break from being the reliable, mature big sister that she always has to be.

I am curious to see where this arc goes. Unlike the previous ones, this has the potential to be a good arc for another potential love interest while also being a good arc for Renako herself. How would Renako react when she is confronted with somebody who unapologetically respects her as what she's always wanted to be seen as? How will Renako react when she eventually realizes that she unintentionally romanced somebody she looks up to? Will Ajisai come out of her shell more and start becoming a lot more selfish and needy? How will this all tie into Renako's relationships with the other girls? I am genuinely intrigued about where this could go because it has the potential to be the most organic and the most satisfying arc so far.

Rating:

There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... is currently streaming on YouTube.