Kabitzin on May 19, 2009 · in Hatsukoi Limited

Summary:

Christmas is coming up and Hiroyuki desperately wants to spend it with Nao. Kusada blackmails Mamoru (with compromising pictures of Misaki) into agreeing to a Xmas party, and Ayumi, Kei, and Nao join in as well. Naturally this sets off Kei’s emo-tsundere side, and Yuu accidentally walks in on Kei touching herself while thinking about Kusada’s kappa face. When it comes time to get gifts, Kei picks out a flashy purple striped scarf for Etsu and is surprised to see Etsu at the same store shopping for pink gloves. Etsu plays it off as if he was just getting a generic gift that could be given to Nao or Ayumi, and this provokes Kei into insulting Etsu’s taste.

It is clear that Etsu is very upset by Kei’s comment, and she spends the next week upset but unable to apologize. On the day of the party, Mamoru ends up carrying a sick Santa cosplayer to the hospital with Ayumi’s help, and Hiroyuki rushes off to care for the suddenly feverish Nao. Kei insists that Etsu spend the night hanging out with her, and the awkwardness is finally broken in the fresh snow of an empty playground. After a snowball fight, Kei tearfully apologizes to Etsu and gives him the scarf. Etsu bought a skimpy Xmas outfit for Kei, but he also bought her the pink gloves that he knew she secretly liked. As the episode ends, we see scenes of all the older brothers spending Xmas alone (except for Yoshihiko, who is with Koyoi), Ayumi hanging out with Mamoru, Hiroyuki brewing some odd stew for Nao, and Rika spending some time alone with Terai Haruto.

Reaction:

So does Kei not shut her door, or does Yuu not ever knock? This was another great Kei performance in showing the great hardships that good tsundere girls have to go through, but I figure those two will be together by the third Kei-centric episode. Yet again, there was a lot of irony in how Etsu tries not to be perverted around Kei, and yet she secretly loves his perverted side (when it is directed at her). I think Etsu is very in tune with how Kei feels, in picking out the one pink piece of clothing she doesn’t have and also selecting a skimpy outfit that she was dying to try. I wonder if Kei will ever start to understand Etsu better, of if Etsu will end up doing most of the heavy work in their relationship.

I always enjoy how the various characters just run into each other each episode. We didn’t get to see Misaki this time, but Etsu angling for upskirt shots of Meguru at Seizariya was classic. I don’t know if perhaps Meguru was distracted by having to work on Xmas, but I noticed that Meguru is not nearly as conscious about watching her back as she is her front. The scenes with Rika were odd too, because she was so cold to Haruto before, and yet they appeared very close this episode.