Oh my god Adachi, what the hell are you doing. After a full episode of working herself up to asking Shimamura on a date, and another episode of screaming internally all through that date, she ultimately capped off Christmas by declaring her intent to become Shimamura’s… best friend. The girl is a mess, but Shimamura isn’t exactly helping. She can clearly recognize Adachi’s much stronger feelings, and isn’t really sure what to do about them. Paralyzed by indecision about her future course, she sees reciprocating Adachi’s feelings as a step too far – and if she acknowledges them without reciprocating them, their current relationship would collapse. The two are currently progressing by telling each other lies that they both know are lies, and if that’s not the proper foundation for a lasting relationship, I don’t know what it is.
However this mess plays out, I’m sure it’ll be as entertaining and thoughtfully observed as the road so far. Let’s dive back into the mess of emotions that is Adachi and Shimamura!
Episode 7
We open with Yachi and Shimamura’s sister, hanging out and making up the nonsense games kids tend to. This show tends to frontload the Yachi content, likely because it’s otherwise so tonally discordant. There’s rarely a graceful way for the show to transition into and out of a Yachi sequence, so instead they slot them into the cold open, where there’s no need to create a segue
I figured the sparkles emitting from Yachi’s hair might just be an artistic embellishment, but Shimamura’s sister can also see them, so they actually do exist. So yes, Yachi emits spores
Shimamura-sis promises to solve the mystery of Yachi’s hair
Ooh, a nice smear transition for her jumping to her feet. This show is generally a bit too grounded in its tone for this sort of animation to feel appropriate, but obviously that doesn’t apply to Yachi sequences, and I’m glad the animators are embracing that freedom
A pan across a shrine at night tells us the new year has arrived, as folks gather to greet the dawn. Obviously there’s still a lot of Japanese cultural shorthand that wouldn’t scan for me, but I’m glad I can recognize at least a few holidays by now!
Adachi calls Shimamura, who is studying through the new year. But when Adachi asks if she was watching TV, she responds “maybe I was.” I can relate to that instinct – even in a trivial situation like this, Shimamura resents the idea of being pinned down, or giving her conversation partner an opening to inquire further. She fears being defined, and admitting she was studying is a far more vulnerable response than “I dunno, I was just doing whatever”
Her default defensive tactic is to play the fool in a lot of situations. “Didn’t you know? It’s almost the new year” is a response that deflects the inherent emotional charge of Adachi calling her on this night – it’s a lot like Adachi’s “let’s meet up in ten days” over “let’s meet up on Christmas”
“Oh, sorry. I was just remembering your thighs.” SHIMAMURA
Oh my god Shimamura. She must understand the effect she has on Adachi, but she still plays these deadpan games. You are too cruel, Shimamura
“Would you prefer me to make them harder or softer?” ADACHI NO
“The level that Adachi wants to take this relationship was so impossibly high that I’d probably need to sprout wings to even attain it.” Along with her general uncertainty regarding the relationship, Shimamura simply doesn’t feel things as aggressively as Adachi does. She is more removed from the world, suffering from a lack of passion that in its extreme forms qualifies as outright depression. Shimamura knows this about herself, and feels she cannot offer Adachi the fiery passion that Adachi feels for her
“I think what I feel about Shimamura’s chest should determine things.” Adachi you are the most lovestruck character I’ve seen in years, I don’t think we need further clarification
Adachi asking herself “do I really want to see Shimamura’s chest?”, all while her mind plays an elaborate fantasy of precisely that
“My feelings for Shimamura are pure,” leading into a fantasy of the two of them in nightgowns surrounded by ornate shoujo motifs
We experience a significant time leap, as we jump forward to February, where Adachi is still too preoccupied with Shimamura’s boobs to talk to her
Damn, Hino got a hell of a tan. I like how this story includes some acknowledgment of our changing appearances, like with Shimamura’s dye job – though that’s a bit of an odd choice of realism, given her friends’ blue and purple hair
There are other little flashes of realism I appreciate, though. Like how their encounters tend to stray away from the emotionally maximalist ones – their big christmas date takes place at a mall, and their new years’ meeting was over the phone. Even the fact that it’s now February speaks to the odd stop-start pacing of high schoolers attempting to start their first relationship
Adachi finally asks Shimamura to hang out, and of course Shimamura can’t help but tease her. Shimamura regularly uses humor to deflect sincerity, but since Adachi is always deathly sincere, that mostly just makes her clam up in response
God, it’s getting even more painful watching them interact. Adachi clearly wants so much more, but she’s at the mercy of Shimamura’s tolerance for her affection
Some nice subtle character acting for Adachi here, as she dances around articulating what she’s specifically looking for in a snack shop. Like with their Christmas date, she’s attempting to almost “trick” Shimamura into joining her in romantic couple activities, by framing them as platonic ones that just happen to mirror romantic activities
Speaking of which, it seems her trick here is it’s actually Valentine’s Day, so she’s fooling Shimamura into going on a valentine date with her. Adachi, you can’t just tiptoe around your romantic feelings until eventually you’re married to Shimamura, it doesn’t work that way
Well actually, knowing Shimamura, it might very well work that way
Meanwhile, Hino and Nagafuji engage in that classic friendship-affirming activity, “I’m Pretty Sure I Could Lift You In The Air”
“I guess it’s that time of the year.” Smooth, Adachi
Even the music is making fun of Adachi at this point, undercutting her swooning response with some pratfall-ready strings
“Did Adachi bring me here just to show me this Valentine’s poster? That was so much trouble.” The girl is trying, Shimamura
And here we are again. “Do you have any plans on the 14th?” That trick worked so well with Christmas, might as well employ it again
Shimamura tries to clarify how the gendered “girls give chocolate on Valentine’s, boys give gifts on White Day” standard should be modified for their extremely gay selves
“Ah, friendship chocolate.” Shimamura regularly engages in some “is this a pigeon”-tier willful obliviousness. And as soon as the specter of romance appears, she counters it internally, asking herself “how much time am I actually going to spend around Adachi?” But even though she’s still bound by her emotional stasis, Adachi’s efforts inspire her to agree to a date, and even clarify that it’s a genuine Valentine’s Day date
That push seems to reflect a way Adachi might actually be able to help Shimamura. Shimamura clearly has some deep-seated self-esteem issues, and doesn’t feel any enthusiasm for her day-to-day life. But Adachi loves her, and Adachi wants to share activities with her; Shimamura can believe in that faith, and through entertaining Adachi’s desires, she might actually reconnect with the world for her own sake
“For me, every day just seemed grey and endless.” Yeah, that’s basically textbook depression. But at last, Adachi is adding some color to her world!
That’s a huge admission! This could be a major turning point for Shimamura
And Done
Alright, I think we’re actually getting somewhere! For a moment there, I was worried Valentine’s Day would serve as a total reprise of the Christmas fiasco, and not really move the dial on either their relationship or emotional perspective. Instead, we received a full explanation of Shimamura’s situation, just in time for Adachi to push her forward. Rather than not being interested in Adachi specifically, Shimamura’s mental state meant she couldn’t feel enthusiastic about anything – one of depression’s most common and relentless symptoms, a lack of feeling that naturally propagates itself as you slip further away from the world. But Adachi’s relentless and wildly earnest pursuit has broken through Shimamura’s shell, and let a hint of sunlight filter in. These two precarious messes might just make it yet!
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