Kimi ni Todoke 28 – Nice Time to Be Cryptic

I’d bet heavy money on Sawako doing the exact opposite of this, but I’m pretty sure Vegas took the odds for that off the table. Although maybe Kazehaya telling Sawako that she would make a kickass teacher will distract her from Kazehaya being vague and cryptic and telling her not to worry about him being a vague, cryptic dumbass.

There’s a thin line between being considerate and being a plot-stalling pussy. Kazehaya thinks he is being the former, but he is really being the latter. Why? Because he already spent a whole two-cour season being considerate. Now he is on the verge of spending another single-cour season being considerate. That’s 37 episodes (if you don’t count the recap) of consideration. That’s quite a considerable number. We should consider giving him an award.

But why would they slow down? Presumably, the manga is going to come out for a while (I am not reading it, but this seems like a safe bet). And if Production I.G actually went with another season, then the show isn’t just an advertisement for the manga. So, can you imagine 50 episodes of waffling? 60? 70? More? In a sick way, I kind of want to see how long it could possibly go on. I mean . . . you can believably stall for only so long, right?

Now, I can’t presume to know what Kent’s game is exactly. Maybe he really is just a totally nice guy who just wants Sawako to get up and ganbatte and become a happy, self-confident person, and who wouldn’t dare even dream of swooping in and taking Sawako from Kazehaya, because she definitely belongs to him and only him. It could happen. The possibility exists. But from the point of view I have now, this looks like a suspicious retread of the Kurumi arc.

There are admittedly a few differences. At least Kent’s dicking around helps Sawako connect to her peers a bit more. (Though you’d think they would be open enough toward her already.) And he at least seems to be taking a genuine interest in Sawako; whether it’s some sort of secret She’s All That-type project remains to be seen, but at the outset, his plan seems more along the lines of “get close to Sawako” rather than “undermine Kazehaya”. And I’ll give him credit for this: At least he has spiced things up a bit. Waiting for Kazehaya and/or Sawako to make any sort of move is a royal pain, like two Chessmasters fighting a massive hangover during a big match. They’re just sitting there holding their heads, waiting, waiting, waiting.

There is something good that may come of this, however: The possibility of a Kent/Ayane showdown. Now, wouldn’t that be something? Ayane has frequently shown herself to be the Mother Hen figure of the Friendship Trio; nobody — but nobody — fucks with her chicks. Kent might not be doing anything heinous at the moment, but the potential for it is there, and Ayane is on guard. Anything that gets Ayane more involved with the proceedings is fine with me. And if Kent is a schemer, then something awesome might come of that. At the very least, he has to be a better schemer than Kurumi.

So, yes, I am hoping for a revenge-fueled Ayane to lay the smack down on Kent should the results of this arc become unsatisfactory to her. We all know there is no way Kazehaya and Sawako get together at this rate, anyway, so something entertaining may as well happen in the meantime.