You and I Are Polar Opposites

Episode 7

I was expecting Rihito to be a one-and-done character, so I was surprised to see him sticking around for this episode too. Granted, he wasn't here for long, but he got just enough screentime to ramble about how much he misses the glory days of his youth in middle school, which is about as funny as it is depressing, though not more so than Taira's reaction. Ever the pessimist, he can't help but get annoyed by the concept of middle school nostalgia, when for him it's just a reminder of his dark and lonely past, and his present isn't going much better. Watching all his guy friends get chummy with girls only makes him feel more bitter than usual. However, while his sour attitude here is still largely played for laughs, it does seem like there might be more going on with him than simple teen cynicism as he vaguely alludes to a past girlfriend and how something about his personality betrayed her expectations enough to break it off with him. Honestly, I feel that Taira's general attitude towards life is fairly self-explanatory even without a backstory, but I'm still curious about it, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the show to delve a little deeper into his past.

But that's enough about our resident sad boy, because it's time to talk about the true star of the episode, with the equally self-deprecating Nishi. Now that she's learned she's capable of more than five seconds of conversation, she attempts to clear the air with Yamada on the whole texting situation and decides to be honest about how much she overthinks her replies. Thankfully, Yamada is good-natured enough to take this all in stride now that he knows she wasn't simply ignoring him, and even offers to help her with practicing conversation since their opposing personalities mean that any awkward comments she makes are likely to fly right over his head anyway. While this seemingly gets their relationship back to normal, a new “crisis” emerges for poor Nishi as she realizes that her heart starts pounding anytime she's around him, and even just seeing him smile gets her nervous enough to run for the hills whenever she's in his presence. With her friend Honda having just enough disdain for her fellow man to not want deal with any of this (relatable), when Nishi convinces herself she'd feel just awkward around any other boy, Honda cuts straight to the chase and advises Nishi that rather than worrying any other theoretical boys that could illicit this reaction, she needs to focus on why she's having it in the first place.

Still in denial, Nishi's solution is to start talking with Tani more to see if it feels different, and while talking to him still seems to be a challenge for her, it also creates a bit of a problem for Tani when Miyu sees them chatting Given his personality, it's not surprising than Tani isn't worries about Miyu's glares, and it's only when Taira's misanthropy seeps its way into his brain that he actually considers Miyu could be jealous. Had Taira stopped talking there, this might have been an instance where his negative attitude actually helped in being able to read the room, but the poor boy just can't help but be too cynical for his own good, so he also sprinkles in the possibility that Tani might be reveling in the fact that Miyu could be jealous of him.

Obviously, Tani isn't such a person, and he knows that's not how he feels, but given that he wants Miyu to be able to lean on him the same way he does her, he can't help but feel anxious about creating a situation where she feels like she needs to hide her jealousy from him. It's great to see him express that kind of maturity, but it turns out it wasn't necessary, as we discover that the concept of jealousy never once entered Miyu's brain. In fact, she turns out to have had a complete understanding of the entire situation, as she picked up on the vibes between Yamada and Nishi, with any stern looks she's given Nishi being the result of Miyu doing calculations on how to ease Nishi into the friend group so that those two can get closer. We know that Miyu is smarter than her quirky attitude would suggest, but learning that she's capable of wielding powers of deduction that could almost make Light Yagami respect women is such a hilarious swerve for this scenario that it easily overrides any disappointment I'd feel over this bout of relationship drama being a red herring. Now that she's got a second wingwoman in her corner, perhaps the extra support will be enough for Nishi's brain to finally register her newfound crush, but even if it doesn't, it's at least good to know that the show has no shortage of ways to get laughs out of her plight as the most neurotic high schooler alive.

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You and I Are Polar Opposites is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.