Written by Rei Caldombra 2/4/2024

I really wanna talk more about Yubisaki to Renren. If you haven't read my first impressions post, I really love this show so far. And these episodes keep this show going strong. I’ll be covering my thoughts on episodes 4 and 5. I’ll be starting with 4 then moving onward. I basically wrote this as I watched the episodes so it will be structured more chronologically than my usual posts. Let me know if that’s something you like or don’t like if you feel strongly about it. As Itsuomi would say, do you? Or do you not?

I like the awkwardness on Rin’s romantic side of things. It’s cute how they are cheering on Itsuomi and Yuki. I’m excited to see how this continues between these two as a backdrop to the main romantic pairing. I like the small bits of perspective we get from Nagi. I can see the potential setup for him bringing up how he does not like seeing girls cry from Itsuomi’s rejections. If he ends up rejecting Rin he could be the one causing that thing he hates.

We also got a bit more of Oushi, with some legit beef growing between him and Itsuomi. I think the most interesting part of this segment is Itsuomi covering Yuki’s eyes. He is clearly trying to prevent Yuki from seeing the conflict. I’m looking forward to how this battle between men continues.

I also really appreciate great friend Rin telling Yuki about Itsuomi’s tone of voice. This helps her understand a perspective she cannot on her own. This helps Yuki feel more confident about the idea that he treats her differently in a positive way. We see her being unsure about how he truly feels about her. It gives her another perspective to help her look at the situation more holistically.

Now I have a confession to make. The piece of info that pushed me to watch this show was learning that there are lovely romantic shenanigans at a Cosco. I heard about and looked into this show because of that. Hopefully it is not disappointing to know that point is what had the most reach out of everything wonderful about this show lol. The Cosco segment does not disappoint, I enjoyed seeing them react to oversized food and them providing the substance for cute interactions. This is an accurate depiction of Cosco and the power it holds.

Now on to episode 5, where I will be starting with my main talking point. It seems like there is some controversy around him being much touchier than the average character. I’m gonna talk at length on this point. This is definitely true, I noticed this pretty quickly. From touching people’s shoulders and hands casually to the more directly intimate things he does in this episode. Especially for the average Japanese character, he is very touchy. For normal Japanese society and the media, from my understanding, this is very abnormal. I can understand if they have a stronger reaction than me, who would not bat an eye at a lot of this. As I see it currently, there is nothing problematic about his behavior as she clearly expresses her consent to what he does, and we see how he changes his behavior as he interacts with her more.

I can see where this perspective could come from. As someone who is unable to vocalize, that would make it harder for her to express feelings like discomfort or a lack of consent. This is an important idea when it comes to interacting with people in general but especially disabled people. It’s good to be perceptive of this and respect people’s boundaries. But that does not mean she is entirely unable to express consent. She has multiple options she could take to make it clear to him if she was uncomfortable. Her body language could show this, like her shrinking down. She could directly move herself or move his arm away. She could also use her phone to use text to communicate as they do multiple times in this episode. Just because she does not speak does not mean she can be unable to express consent.

So far with their interactions she has not reacted negatively to any of his physical advances. So there is no precedent currently set for him thinking she will be uncomfortable. It is understandable for him to do what comes naturally to him, then back off if she takes issue with that. You should err on the side of caution when interacting with people you don’t know the boundaries of. But as of now she has never taken any issue with his behavior. They have known each other for a bit and clearly expressed that she enjoys spending time with him.

We also have the benefit of seeing directly into her mind. So we know that she is comfortable with this and enjoying it. We know there is no notable pressure in her mind that would make her think she couldn’t take action if she was uncomfortable. He has never done anything that would make her feel threatened. There is pressure from her being in his house, meaning he would be in a stronger position to take advantage of her. There can be pressure from her being in his place. But nothing he has done would make her feel unsafe being with him, and he did nothing to pressure her into accepting. Later when he keeps asking more questions, he stops to ask her if these questions are making her uncomfortable. I do think he could have asked earlier as he says he should have. But it makes sense that he asks this after she previously responded “sorry” instead of answering his question. That gave him a clear reason to think he may have made her uncomfortable. You should also keep in mind that with this series trying to write grounded, realistic characters, people are not going to act perfect. I think this is doing a good job of portraying a character who is interacting with someone they don’t exactly know how to interact with. He is not perfect, but he is acting with good intentions and learning to be better. And this fits with his character, of being someone who desires to learn. And you cannot learn without doing. Which he does by interacting with Yuki then changing if needed. We see him learning from her responses and understanding her better. He previously grabbed her hand roughly, now he grabs her softly. When he tickles her, she pushes him away, so he stops. He asks her what the boundaries are, and does not push those boundaries until he gets the full answer later. Most direct of all, she chooses to say that she is not setting any physical boundaries with him. And then after understanding that he pushes forward to his furthest escalation of kissing her hand. How many more confirmations of healthy consent does one need? Consent is a nuanced topic that can differ from person to person, but I really think this episode should cover reasonable ideas of consent. This is a very long winded way of saying that to me her consent to his advances is clearly established. This is a fantastic showing of two characters getting to know each other and realizing each other’s boundaries. It’s rare to get such great chemistry when it comes to characters getting to know each other. I see nothing bad here.

Moving on from the main topic now. The different ways they communicate in this episode is so cute. I absolutely love them conversing through writing on the journal pages. This felt so natural and was super cute.

I'm also glad they brought up the vocalization point in more detail. People telling her she has a weird voice made her insecure about vocalizing outside of her family. That’s very sad and makes sense as something that happened. And is a natural thing for him to ask about. His curiosity comes across as very genuine and endearing. I really see his deep desire to get to know her better. I really love these two as a couple. Their chemistry is great and their interactions are so wholesome and engrossing.

I appreciate how fast everything is moving. We aren’t even 6 episodes in and most of the people interested in someone are making it very clear. Emma is trying way too hard with Itsuomi and causing some drama because of that. While kissing a hand can be seen as not romantic in some cultures that’s a bit harder to explain away as him just being curious and thinking Yuki’s cute. Rin is trying but kinda failing, cmon girl you got this. Yuki is not confessing but saying anything is fine with him goes pretty far. I could actually see Kyouya being dense enough to not see her making moves but could also see him being aware. Oushi’s behavior could be seen as just overly protective and a bit possessive rather than romantic but I think it’s probably going to go in the romantic direction. Everyone feels very natural, sweet and awkward in the best ways. I’m very excited to see how things continue both romantically and for the conflicts that are being set up.

Another set of great episodes! If I continue to feel the passion to write about this, I’ll continue doing incremental reviews rather than waiting until the end to do one more. Don’t assume that I’m not enjoying it anymore if you don’t see another right away though. Thanks for reading!