Sasameki Koto – 2

Guys are pretty dumb. Akemiya’s plan to get close to Murasame is just another in a long line of dumb guy plans. He should have given Mako-chan a ring and asked him how his plan to get closer to Haruka Minami is going.

This episode is a bit more in line with what I expected from Sasameki Koto from the start. There are still some more dramatic moments, but for the most part it is pretty lighthearted. Like, Murasame chasing who she believes is a female model is played half-dramatically (Murasame is trying to help Ushio meet this model, even though Ushio has no romantic interest in Murasame at the moment) and half-comedically in a surreal sort of way (I cannot for a moment believe that Murasame actually thought this would work; she is running and shouting like a crazy woman at this model who probably thinks a couple of crazy stalkers are after her). And after the scene comes to a head, Akemiya cross-dressing to get Murasame’s attention is definitely played for laughs, because it is a ridiculous, dumb guy plan. (Well, except for the end, where Akemiya is pretty damn relieved that Murasame does not think he is weird for cross dressing.)

After the initial “WTF factor”, I wasn’t really sure what to think of the whole trap thing, at first. Half of me thinks it is maybe a bit too silly, but the other half of me is laughing at the sheer absurdity of Akemiya’s plan. I do feel sorry for the poor dope, though. He spends basically all his screen time in the first two episodes fawning over Murasame, and then when he finally works up the courage to tell her that he thinks she is cute, Murasame twists the statement in her mind to think that most people will therefore think she is cute, which means — by means of the transitive property, I guess — Ushio will also believe Murasame is cute. Teenage girls are about as delusional as teenage boys!

(I laughed when Murasame rattled off a bunch of reasons why people do not find her cute, like she is tall, strong, intimidating; the whole time I bet Akemiya was thinking, “Uh, yeah, that’s why I think you’re hot!”)

And of course Ushio still has no idea that Akemiya is the cute model for whom she has the hots. It is stories like this that make me wonder what it would be like if this kind of plot ever happened in real life. How far would Akemiya be able to keep the charade going with Ushio while also trying to court Murasame? What if Murasame somehow did not find out about the cross dressing? Would Akemiya be able to hold Ushio off for that long? And so on and so forth. Murasame and Ushio would both have to be dumb as a box of rocks for this to ever fly in reality, but nobody can tell me it would not be awesome were it to actually happen.

Even with all the silly lulz, certain parts tugged pretty hard at me in their own subtle way. What leaps to mind immediately is Ushio walking side by side with Murasame and expounding upon how Murasame looks cute in her new clothing, even though she is not the type of girl Ushio goes for. It seems like it would be a slightly cruel thing to say from Murasame’s perspective, but Ushio probably has not considered for a moment that Murasame could be a lesbian. Think about it. Ushio has crushed on lord knows how many women, and apparently the whole lot of ’em have turned out to be straight. Why wouldn’t she assume that Murasame is straight, too? Probably the only time in Ushio’s life that she has applied logic to anything.

Pretty tough to hear, though. Can’t really blame Murasame for going all zombie on Ushio almost immediately afterward, although it is not too surprising to hear that Murasame still cares for Ushio despite this (and that Akemiya still cares for Murasame despite that situation being terrible for him, too). It’s a common theme, but love does not disappear that easily — not if you really care for a person, anyway. Rough waters ahead for both of our unrequited lovers!

Another good episode. Ushio is kind of an eh character to me right now, but Murasame is growing more sympathetic (plus, the athletes need some love, amirite?) and I hope to see more of our resident trap!