Kimi to Boku. Episode 11--Cougars in the Kitchen

Well, I guess that they couldn't leave Yuki out of the romance fun, could they?




Out of all of the characters, it feels like Yuki has gotten the least character development so far, with the exception of episode three, but since it was also Chizuru's introduction episode, it didn't really tread much new ground with Yuki's character. And it seems like when this show wants a change from the norm it throws some girls into the mix, so now Yuki's got a crush! Or at the very least, the beginnings of one. Like his brother, it's something subtle that builds up over the course of the episode, starting with a mutual liking of bread and collecting plates, and ending with a brush of the hand. Yet unlike Yuta's romance, they've left it open for future episodes, and I do hope that we see a lot more of this girl. At first she seemed to be a lot like Yuki--a little indifferent about things until it comes to the stuff that she really likes. However, unlike Yuki, she doesn't actively avoid conflict and doesn't care if people stare at her for yelling in a store at two girls who stole the point sticker off of some bread. It may be silly, but it's important to stand up for what matters to you. Maybe a little bit of that attitude will rub off on Yuki. However, I was a little confused on what kind of age difference we're dealing with here, since if this relationship progresses the gap between them could change the dynamics. Perhaps they're saving that bit of drama for the next season.




I'm starting to view this show less as slice-of-life and more as a romantic comedy with several different storylines. Running with this idea for a minute, I guess that would make the unrequited love triangle involving Shun, Masaki and Chizuru the "main" storyline, with Yuta's short relationship back in episode seven and Kaname's ongoing crush as the sub-plots. The love triangle gets "main" status since it's had the most development so far, and even shows up a bit in this episode, despite the overall focus on Yuki and his "Cinderella." At least we have complete confirmation now that Shun doesn't see Masaki that way (even if he didn't know that was what Chizuru's question was really about). But getting back to what I was saying before, does that mean that we're going to cycle through the various romance subplots? If so, I guess that means either Yuta or Kaname is next. I think that Kaname needs it a bit more, since it doesn't look like he's made much progress since his crush was established (but I'm still rooting for the childhood friend). I can hardly believe that there's only two episodes left in this show's season. I wonder how they're going to wrap things up for the time being. Two-part story focusing on something specific? Cliffhanger? Another random comedy episode? At least there's more coming in April. There's too much going on in these subplots for it to end now.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.