Halfadeckshort on February 11, 2012 · in Amagami SS+

Summary:

Though Makabe has put Rihoko in an unexpected and somewhat vulnerable position, she parries his weaksauce confession with one of her own and he withdraws (to be shot down soon after by Haruka Lovely Morishima). Resuming her journey, Rihoko resolves to tell Junichi how she feels, not knowing that Junichi had overheard her conversation with Makabe. Back at the Tachibana residence, Miya welcomes Rihoko as the savior of their stomachs and the tardy Junichi returns with the spoilt results of his ice cream run. Though Miya senses that something is up with the pair, they both deny that anything is amiss and Rihoko starts on dinner. While she prepares the meal, Junichi attempts to strike up the most awkward conversation ever but neither of them actually have the courage to say how they feel. Rihoko finishes cooking, and the Tachibana siblings sit down to the first decent meal that they’ve had in weeks.

Dinner conversation between Junichi and Rihoko is limited due to the presence of Miya, but even when she goes to answer the phone the two still aren’t able to get what they want to say out into the open. Fortunately, a sudden rain shower provides the perfect excuse for Miya to her clutches on Rihoko Rihoko to spend the night. While she takes a bath Junichi reminisces over a photo album filled with pictures of the two of them, and though the two have known each other for most of their lives he is struck even dumber than usual when he spies her in his old clothes that she’s using as improvised pajamas. Despite the soothing sound of the rain, neither Rihoko nor Junichi are able to get to sleep and the two end up reliving their childhood with some late night fireworks. Finally, after demonstrating that even little sparks can lead to third degree burns, the two gather the courage to confess to one another.

Reaction:

Though not quite on the level of Sae’s scalding coffee delivery in the original series, this week’s pre-Rihoko-gattai “You Get to Burning” moment was fairly amusing. Serving as the natural conclusion to the somewhat obvious (but not too heavy-handed in all it’s corny glory) “little sparks” visual metaphor for Junichi and Rihoko’s relationship, the smoldering of Junichi’s pants provided a nice bit of karmic backlash for some of the fat jokes over the years even as it signaled the recognition of the slowly smoldering fire that the two had been kindling all along. While I would’ve been happier if Rihoko had made him work a little harder for her affection, it was nice to see her patience finally rewarded even if I am still extremely doubtful of the value of her “catch.”

And even if we didn’t get a flash forward that could’ve led to jokes like “… and so Rihoko finally got the sticky buns she always wanted,” the consistent tone of the first series and this extension in the Rihoko-verse made for an extremely plausible romance. Though the multiple false starts were almost as frustrating for me as they were for the characters, the tension was believable and made the eventual payoff feel even more worthwhile. I also liked the attention to detail in the flashback scene, with her backwards-turned mask (leading to happy Rihoko-neko) and her early awareness of the importance of fire safety.

All in all this was a very satisfying arc for me and though this is probably the last we’ll see of Manaka and Ruriko, it was nice to see them up to their old tricks again.  Haruka’s cameo has me eagerly anticipating her close-out of the series, but next up is Ai. Though I don’t think we’re going to reach the insanity levels of Miso Horny, I have heard that the deer at least get a shoutout…. Until next time.