Episode 8 – Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?

After last week, I wasn’t sure where the show would go. The setup for the current incident doesn’t feel strong. The show makes it a big point that this is supposed to be a major setback for Yu as an accessory creator because all of the bad rumors started by a jaded customer snowball into everybody having doubts about his accessories. No one was willing to take any responsibility for it, and that’s just how real life is. People can potentially ruin your creative passions or your entire business with word of mouth, and it can be soul-crushing.

This episode isn’t about resolving the business side of things as much as it is about getting more clarity on Yu’s resolution as a creator. His being noticeably distraught over everything going on was completely understandable. It’s not because he did a bad job; it’s because others twisted his creation. I wish the episode highlighted more of the classmates jumping on the wagon, but what he was feeling throughout the first half of this episode is completely justified—considering that we’ve seen this passion on full display throughout the show.

This episode reframes the ending of last week to be less about him being upset over the accessory and more about him being upset at how the destruction of his accessories made him reflect upon himself. No doubt he likes making accessories, but he realized after a certain point that he was making them because he knew Himari liked watching him work. He felt guilty because he thought he was using the feelings of others to fuel his selfish desire to create an environment where she wouldn’t leave him. I like the fact that the show sets up that Himari is being a bit selfish, but then turns that around by highlighting that they’re both selfish—using the situation they’ve crafted strictly to remain in each other’s presence because that’s how strong their feelings for each other are. I think it’s WILD that Yu explains all of this to the girl who has confessed to him five times now to his face. Still, he has come to terms with that and is honest with Himari.

As for Himari, it’s still not perfect, but it feels like we’re finally getting her character in the right direction. The conversation she has with her brother is perfect and probably one of the best-written parts of the show. She shouldn’t hold back from expressing how she feels, even when it’s selfish, but she also needs to understand that it is ultimately up to Yu to make the decision, and she needs to be able to accept that. But she’s willing to wait for him when he’s ready to make that decision, no matter how long it takes. Her actions still come off as mean-spirited, but she is also positioning herself in a place where she could ultimately lose him. She also apologizes and acknowledges that he’s just doing what she did before, lying to try and get a specific outcome.

The final message seems to be that it’s okay that these accessories are something more for the two of them rather than for everybody else. It almost feels like this should be the point they get together, but maybe there are still some unresolved personal issues to be sorted out. Looks like next week we’re starting to get more into what happened with the older siblings, so I wonder if that will provide an interesting mirror into what might be on the horizon for our main cast.

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AJ also streams regularly on Twitch as the indie Vtuber Bolts The Mechanic where they talk about and play retro media!

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Fridays.