Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru - 7

"Regardless, Not Getting A Break Over Summer Vacation is Wrong"

Kids can be pretty cruel.

There are times when this series can be downright unpleasant, but not necessarily through any fault of its own. The sharp realism about the social issues at hand can sometimes be right at odds with the romcom nature of the show, and though that's by all means a good thing, it really makes the nasty stuff stand out as a result. A prime example is the two halves of this episode; the first half is more anime than anything else; we have Hachiman, snarky as ever and just trying to enjoy a good game (I turn my phone off too when I'm gaming), when his sister and sensei conspire against him ("they're using my love for my sister against me, the dastardly dogs!") to get him to spend his summer break as a camp counselor. At first that's all well and good, even with the popular kids joining in, but then a problem child arises in Tsurumi Rumi.

What I find interesting about Rumi is that she's something of an amalgam of the three protagonists. She's like Hikki in that she's aware of what's happening and why, like Yukino in that she seems to "look down", as it is, at those who snub her, and like Yui in that she knows what it's like to be popular and have partaken in similar amusements prior to her own shunning. Due to this, it's not strange that all three of the main cast have found ways to relate to the little girl, but it doesn't make the problem any easier to solve. Showing the child kindness only exacerbates the issue behind her back, and there's no way to force the other girls to talk to her if they don't want to. As Hikki rightly notes, it's one thing to choose to be alone; it's entirely another to be forced alone through the wanton actions of others.

Hikki's also observant in noting that the popular kids don't really understand Rumi. In their eyes, Rumi is the problem child; she's the one who's being shunned, and they think it's her fault for not wanting to or finding it difficult to interact with others. This has greater ties with the major themes of the series of course; Rumi is a stand-in for the issues that Hikki and the others face with their own brands of loneliness, and the popular kids' take on their issues is exactly why it's so difficult for Yukino, Yui, and he to deal with their problems. I mean, just how accurate is it to assume that a loner is a "problem" in the first place? Why are those who fit in naturally assumed to be "normal" and without such problems? But I digress, the issue at large is still Rumi, and so far there's no real answer for helping her out.