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"The Result Following a Scheme is a Battlefield"
Go get her, Eita!
As much as I'm loathe to watch yet another beach episode, I'm quite pleased with the end result of this one. Or at least, I'm pleased with the admission Mana coaxed out of Eita as to his feelings for Masuzu. If it weren't for this moment, I think I may just have skipped out on the end of Oreshura altogether.
Believe me when I say that the beach episodes are about as fun to watch as cultural festival ones, and honestly they bore me in both male-oriented and female-oriented series. If you've seen a group of kids hanging out at a beach once, with all the associated drama present, you've seen it a thousand times. Sure, the people are different, the swimsuits are different, but, really; boobs and washboard abs are not awesome enough to dedicate a whole episode on. Well, I might be less enthusiastic than normal, but it does get a little tiring regardless to see the same sequences repeat over and over again, and Oreshura is no exception.
The other reason this episode gets on my nerves has to do with the group dynamic. It's clearer than ever that Masuzu and Eita are losing a battle to look like a legitimate couple, and it's kind of annoying to me that they even have to put up the farce in a first place. Of course, we do get that moment in which Chiwa and the others present Masuzu with a special club emblem, which is supposed to be a moment of friendship and inclusion (which it is, to some extent), but as a staunch Masuzu supporter, I was borderline livid to see this. I can't help but feel like this is a cheap shot, where the three girls with a disadvantage make the girl they know is lying feel guilty about what she's doing. I wanted to cry "foul!" at this little gesture, but it is kind of true that the girls in this show are good at putting aside their rivalry for the sake of friendship; the problem is that Masuzu is not one of them.
Luckily, the not-as-bitchy-as-I-thought-Mana showed up to save the day, and thankfully her tsundere concern for her sister made Eita realize just how lonely and messed up Masuzu really is beneath her tough-guy facade. She really is a loner, a girl who's been forced to live behind a mask her whole life; she prizes control over herself just as much as she prizes the art of manipulation, and because of that mask, she's willing to ignore her own feelings when she feels she owes someone, just as the guilt is eating away at her now. Even better, Mana forces Eita to think about his own feelings toward Masuzu and the little game they've been playing; he doesn't hate being her accomplice, and Mana points out that only someone in on the ruse has the understanding needed to be at her sister's side in the first place. It's time to stand up for your relationship and get the girl, Eita; don't let others make your decision for you!
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