Some of Hananoi’s remarks concerning his relationship philosophy and the possible damage he experienced from his previous romantic partners leave a lot to be assumed. It’s interesting that a guy who is so intensely emotional would respond to questions about why he doesn’t bother having friends with an almost icy sense of reason. It sounded like buddies would be a diversion from what was “really important,” which he implied would be his significant other and family. It felt very wrong to frame friendship in that way, even though you could argue that there are situations where you will need to prioritize some people over others and that everyone’s relationships are different. After all, that could lead someone to seek out things from their family or significant other that they would normally get from friends.
The small bit of information we learned at the conclusion of this episode gives room for several theories and methods to explain Hananoi’s actions. Though this may be a controversial view, I don’t think Hotaru’s romantic sentiments for Hananoi, the episode’s major emotional high point, is justified. Perhaps this is the preamble to something far more significant, or we are laying the groundwork for a different kind of development in our two leads’ connection. I’m not sure what makes the relationship endearing, though. I like Hotaru’s personal growth as she learns what jealousy is and deals with the ongoing trauma caused by the one friend who seemingly destroyed her life.
My issue is that I’m not sure where Hananoi derives his relationship principles from, thus I can’t feel safe letting them guide or influence Hotaru’s growth. I was only really permitted to assess Hananoi’s behaviors and words up to this point, so I’m happy that we’re finally beginning to see the groundwork for an explanation of his behavior. Even the sweetest scenes, like their sitting on the roof, seem to be handled with an inadvertent hint of deceit, though (what would he do if Hotaru became very ill or uncomfortable up there?) Because Hananoi’s activities are what are helping Hotaru fall in love with him, the show seems to encourage viewers to take his behaviors as a nice lover at face value. However, the show leaves things up to further investigation, as though we need to wonder about or doubt his conduct.
I’m hoping this uneven issue will be resolved as the programs begin to lean more on Hananoi. I might go back and watch the previous episodes. Once I realize what’s happening, everything will make sense. I am not very happy with what I’m watching, but I can only evaluate these episodes based on what I see.
