©竹嶋えく・一迅社／ささやくように恋を唄う製作委員会
No matter what kind of “like” you’re referring to, “liking” someone doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always be on the same page. That’s where Himari and Yori are right now, with the latter in a much less comfortable position. It comes down to uncertainty for Yori: she’s in a position where she’s not sure where she stands with the girl she likes, and that means (in her mind) that she’s vulnerable to Himari’s whims. I’m not sure she’d phrase it like that, but with her panic when Himari starts talking about Momoka, the second year whose cooking club she’s joined, you can see Yori’s troubles. She’s afraid that the boisterous Himari will fall for another girl before she switches her type of “love” for Yori, and Yori knows all too well how quickly emotions can pounce on the younger girl. Since Himari isn’t sure that her “like” is romantic, what’s to stop her from feeling sparks with someone else?
Is that fair of Yori? Maybe not; just because Himari isn’t sure she’s in love with Yori doesn’t mean she will toss her aside. But feelings aren’t fair; they’re things that live in our minds and hearts and don’t necessarily take logical next steps. Yori may be working hard to make Himari feel romantic things for her, but she ultimately knows that Himari’s feelings are her own and that she can’t force them. Her panic and latent jealousy are emotions she can’t control more than Himari can direct her own, which, in some ways, puts the two of them on the same level. Even if a part of Yori felt that Himari was being unfair to her, that would be okay because she’s allowed to feel what she does just as much as Himari does, even if it doesn’t progress the plot in the direction she (and we) want.
That’s something that Aki is struggling with. Even before she flat-out said it at the end of this episode, it’s apparent that she’s in love with Yori, and up until now, she’s been trying to keep her emotions under control so as not to upset her friend. But when she hears Yori’s side of the story – which is that she’s jealous and worried about Himari and Momoka – Aki feels the rising tide of frustration herself. She’s unquestioningly on Yori’s side, believing that Momoka threatens Yori’s quest to make Himari fall in love with her. So wouldn’t it be easier if Yori was with someone already in love with her? Again, it’s not fair, and it’s more than a little mean of her to confront Himari because it risks invalidating Himari’s sexuality if she is, in fact, demisexual. (And even if she isn’t, the moment may be familiar to people on the asexual spectrum.) But it is honest in terms of the way people think and react in the moment, and I appreciate that.
Aki and Yori are acting out of pain and fear, and Himari is struggling, trying to make sense of her feelings. Those fragile states can lead people to make questionable decisions and say terrible things, and it’s frankly pretty astounding that Yori could hold her jealousy in check. There’s no right or wrong way to handle this situation. However, I could see making a case for the animation taking a less-right approach, given that this is our second week in a row with a noticeable reliance on stills and visual novel art tricks. And now, with Momoka and the usually-absent member of the cooking club who is also apparently in a band showing up, things stand to get a lot more complicated. Still, I hope Miki comes back and tells her sister off because even if it was a believable action for Aki to have taken, it was cruel, and she ought to know that she was out of line.
Rating:
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