(Spoilers in this review)
The episode picks up where the previous episode left off. Fujiwara asks to join them for a threesome and then claims that he’ll make Yuma realize that she really wants a man instead of a woman. Trying to “cure” gayness is not cool, Fujiwara. You just look like an idiot.
Yuma (rightfully) asks Hotaru why she bothers to stick around Fujiwara. She claims it’s comfortable being around him because he’s not a good person and she’s not a good girl. Birds of a feather flock together, in other words. Yuma doesn’t understand and is frustrated that Hotaru feels like she needs Fujiwara.
Yuma then thinks back to when she found out that Hotaru started dating boys. The framing of this flashback makes it easy to assume that Hotaru felt left out that Yuma had other friends. As payback, she found herself a boyfriend in order to make Yuma feel just as jealous. That certainly would tie in with her speech about love from the previous episode (if you can’t be with your beloved, then make your beloved suffer instead). This boyfriend move was successful and Yuma became upset. The girl notes that she hasn’t really matured at all since she’s feeling upset that Hotaru isn’t completely reliant on her.
She bumps into Takeda, who kind of brushes her off.
Yuma heads over to Hotaru’s place to return Hotaru’s clothes (Yuma had to borrow some since she was caught in the rain and was dragged into Hotaru’s place). After Hotaru invites her in, Yuma just so happens to forget how to hold cups or something. I guess viewers can assume she was just feeling distracted. At any rate, it was a convenient way for Yuma to spill some hot beverage over her fingers, which gives Hotaru reason to lean in close. Yuma gets embarrassed thinking Hotaru might kiss her and Hotaru pokes fun at her.
Hotaru tries to tell Yuma that their fooling around stops now since Fujiwara made that weird demand earlier. However, Yuma feels incredibly lonely and esssentially begs Hotaru to give her affection. Hotaru oblieges and muses that Yuma has it easy since she can pretend to just be the victim and enjoy their little sessions.
Hotaru’s lines here raises some interesting implications.
Things get a little steamy before an uninvited person shows up. Guess who?
So in this episode, the series continues to flesh out Hotaru’s mindset through her actions and words. Of course, Yuma is too slow to really notice such things. Heck, she’s even too dense to truly notice her own feelings, but she did manage to take a step or two in the right direction, at least. Fujiwara continues to be Boyfriend of the Decade. The series is really doing what it can with its limited airing time in order to demonstrate some degree of characterization.
So I was wondering: do you all think Takeda was out of line with his behavior towards Yuma? How do you think exes should act towards each other? Do any of you even care about Takeda since he’s a male character in a yuri series?
The Lily Garden 
“he’ll make Yuma realize that she really wants a man instead of a woman”
Ah, sometimes I wonder why I end up with such strong feelings for 2D characters and then douchenozzles like this show up and demonstrate why.
I don’t know the full situation with Takeda since I don’t watch the show but given that he’s hurt and recently so, him brushing her off makes sense to me. I don’t think he should be seen as lesser just because he’s a guy in a yuri show. On the other hand, Fujiwara can burn in hell.
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Yeaaaah. Reception to this show is divisive but at least people agree he sucks.
Mmm that’s my opinion, too. He was rather fair considering the circumstances.
I might have to write about this in a separate post. Thanks for the idea!
He is headed towards Bosch’s depiction of the afterlife.
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That is an interesting question, do we care about the guy in a yuri series. I think a series like this offers more perspectives than just the yuri romance, since it is also a show about cheating. They took the time, in nine minute episodes, to at the very least explain who he is in the two relationships. I would hope they continue the train of thought that this episode and moments from the series have shown, that caring about who these characters are as people makes the show more engaging. Giving the full gambit of perspectives from the four people was what I wanted from this series and it is slowly going through that. The romance between Hotaru and Yuma is one facet of the show, and I hope that they do more with both that and the other characters they dedicate time to.
I think Takeda is still going through the phase of “I need space” and I believe he may come around. That moment wasn’t too harsh especially when you think about Yuma cheating on him and him suspecting something amiss like that. I like the moment of Yuma saying that she feels something different towards Takeda comparatively to potentially Hotaru. I am slowly becoming more accustomed to the series, but like you it is nice to see those more relaxed moments especially when most of the series is drama and sexual tension. Gives another dimension to what is going on.
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Mmm the male characters do play a significant paty in this yuri series, whether the viewers like it or not.
I brought up this question since other reviews have been mocking Takeda and saying the series is making a poor effort to make the viewers pity him. I disagreed with that but I wanted to see people’s opinions.
Mmm seeing from the perspective of all four major characters could be nice. We will have to see if the series opts to do so.
Oh, I thought his behavior was acceptable, too. Glad we agree there.
Mmm a bit of a breather is nice but the timing was…interesting.
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