With You, Our Love Will Make it Through

Episode 10

School festivals are all about community building. After spending so much time helping each other out, this time is all about going out and celebrating the event together. I do like how this episode ended, showcasing how far the class has come in how they see Tsunagu. Not only do they like them as a classmate, but it seems like a lot of them have really opened up to the idea of more beast folk coming to the school. Shout out to that one random guy with glasses who seemed to be a beast folk otaku. He only had about two minutes of screen time and already I wish he was part of the main cast. I feel like his perspective would help the story feel a lot more layered then what I feel like it currently is.

This is a good episode and I do like the conversation between Tsunagu and Mari about their relationship. Naturally this had to come up at some point, especially as more people continue to get suspicious about how close they are. Obviously they are dating, but they can't be open about it given how much attention it would draw (although I would argue they're not exactly doing a lot to hide it either). It's nice that they were able to have a conversation about that together and enjoy the festival. I'm curious why Tsunagu seemed a bit off towards the end of the episode but if I had to guess, I think he just wants some alone intimacy time with Mari.

We also finally get more interactions between Yukihiro and Kisara, which I knew had to happen at some point given the direction shows like this usually go. I doubt there's enough real estate in the show to really push the romance that is clearly going to be set up between them, but I do like how the show affirms that they are potentially lost causes. I completely missed the idea that these two could be drawn to each other over the fact that they are both attracted to people that they don't have a chance with. It's a little cliché, but there is a lot that you could do with that dynamic if the show actually is able to explore it.

Speaking of things that the show could explore, I'm still not sure how the show is framing beast folks' relationship to humans. Tsunagu continues to make comments about how he's acting more like a human or seeing himself more like a human and maybe that's why people are getting along with him so much better. But is that what he wants? It feels like there aren't a lot of differences personality wise between a human and a beast person. The only thing that the show has really highlighted so far has been major differences in physical attributes. The beast folk cafe idea at the end of the episode was nice but I REALLY wish I saw all the supposed conversations that went into setting that up, especially since they make a point about trying not to be offensive. I'm not really sure what the show is trying to say with comments like that because the show is not really doing anything with those statements, it's just sort of making them and then moving onto the next thing. From my perspective, not addressing it runs the risk of muddying what exactly the prejudice metaphor of the show is supposed to be about. The relationship stuff continues to be the strongest element of the show, but it gets really distracting when it continues to make statements or bring up points like that.

Rating:

With You, Our Love Will Make it Through is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.