The rules are a little bit different with romcoms than some genres. Especially with relatively short (10 volume) series like this one, a survey course of the tropes is perfectly fine. Part of the experience is seeing what sort of treatment romcom standards get. Be they holidays, situations, secondary relationships – it’s the execution that matters. Once in a decade you get a rule-breaker that transcends all expectations (like Bokuyaba) but that’s certainly very much the exception.
There’s no more classic a manga romcom premise than the aiaigasa. As soon as you saw the rain pelting down you could see where this was headed. This all would have gone perfectly fine (Akito is certainly tall enough) if it weren’t for his obsession with not being seen. Which is kind of understandable for a middle-schooler, where embarrassment is a fate worse than death and sharing an umbrella is more than embarrassing. What’s really interesting here is that Kashiwada-san was genuinely unaware of that aspect until Oota-kun brought it up (and then she bolted – without her umbrella).
As a result, both of them got soaked. And they were spotted anyway. It’s another anime cliche that anytime a teenager gets a little wet, they get a cold. And that a cold means a raging fever and collapsing. As such we segue directly into classic romcom trope #2, caring for the sick partner. Oota is a good boy – he feels guilty about what happened. As such he volunteers to take Kashiwada’s printouts to her house, where he finds her home alone and starving. It’s not for me to question her parents – working is perfectly fine and a teen should be old enough to look after themselves for a day. But wouldn’t you at least make them something they could just nuke for lunch?
Zero surprise that Akito would be a conscientious carer – he’s all bluster and soft as a marshmallow inside. Maybe a little surprising that he’s such a good cook, though. Naturally all this is extremely adorable, and Kashiwada sleeping with her eyes open (or was she) was pretty funny. But then Onii-san (Kishio Daisuke) blows in like a typhoon. To her credit Kashiwada-san tried to warn Oota, but it came too late. Onii-san’s denai is of a different sort than his sister’s – his is a frozen smile (which is far creepier). But Akito has gotten good at reading Kashiwada faces by now, and he’s suitably unnerved.
I have to say, while I know this is played for comedy Onii-san stepped way over the line. A grown man (more or less) threatening physical violence against a kid is not cool, never mind that he had no evidence to support that Akito had done anything wrong. This got genuinely scary there for a minute until Imouto (fortunately) came downstairs and settled things down. The overprotective older sibling is trope #3 of the week of course (if we pair him off with Akito’s sister that would be #4) but this one needs to chill out.
Finally the ice cream thing, which is purely a cuteness chapter but does – once again – reveal just how kind Oota-kun is when the chips are down. He really should have taken Kashiwada up on her offer to split that four-scoop monstrosity (why people want to ruin ice cream with fruit is beyond me). The detached adult in me would have walked up to the counter and asked for two cups and spoons, but yeah, as a flustered 14 year-old you’re not going to think of that.
The post Kao ni Denai Kashiwada-san to Kao ni Deru Oota-kun (Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota) – 10 appeared first on Lost in Anime.
