Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru - 6

"Finally, His and Her Beginning Has Ended"

Familiar paths it may tread, but this series always manages to keep a little spark that makes it different from its romcom family.

I kind of wish that Yui and Hikki were a thing, rather than what seems to be the intended set up between him and Yukino. Of all the characters so far, Yukino's been the least pleasant to watch week after week, if only because she's very much a bitch in terms of the way she treats Hachiman. That's not to say he's entirely nice to be around either; snarkiness and teenage self-pity only make one seem rather annoying at times, and though I really see eye to eye with Hikki, I don't think I could handle being around his smug loneliness all the time either. Still, Yukino really rubs salt in his wounds with little to no provocation, and though it makes for an interesting dynamic, I don't think it's all that nice that he'll likely end up with her after all that.

Yui, on the other hand, is dense as a rock, but she at least has genuine feelings for Hachiman despite the fact that she befriended him out of guilt. For some time now we've been seeing hints that he's probably the guy she says she likes (though why is beyond me; sure he saved her dog, but I was Hachiman once, and let me tell you, being Hachiman is insufferable), and her actions this week were all too transparent to everyone but Hikki himself (who continues to seem to think that this is part of the pity party she's throwing him). I have to admit that after all the perceptiveness he's shown, this disappoints me a little bit. Why would he and Yukino dating cause Yui so much anguish if she didn't like him in the first place? But romcoms will be romcoms, I suppose, even one as skewed as this.

There's also the little matter of Yukino's sister. Hachiman makes an interesting observation that while she looks to be the perfect ideal woman, there's no such thing as the ideal, and that therefore her cheerful face is a facade. What interests me most about this little exchange is the way in which Yukino reacts. She doesn't deny it but rather seems to resent her sister somewhat, and there's the fact that Yukino supposedly lives alone as well. Why would her sister act concerned at seeing her but not really ask about how she's been away from home? Clearly there's more going on here than we've been witness to, and though we've seen this cliche of the perfect and wealthy girl having family issues, perhaps it will help soften the less pleasant aspects of Yukino's character.