Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru – 03-04
Time for some high school dorama!
And we’re back with more SNAFU after a weeklong hiatus. This calls for a double episode feature, so hold on to your seatbelts!
New Faces
Episode 3 brings us the addition of a delicious trap to the cast. And boy, is he a cutie. I’ve seen guys get flustered over traps in many animes past,1 but this has to be the first time I’ve seen the main character lose it completely. Hachiman might as well have proposed to him when he asked Sai-chan to make him miso soup every morning forever. I guess it doesn’t help that the irresistable Sai-chan comes complete with flowers, sparkles, and blushes. Truly, he is the epitome of effeminacy.
Moving on, we have the introduction of Hachiman’s little sister, Komachi, in episode 4. SNAFU tries to play it straight by having Hachiman declare right off the bat that it is impossible to have feelings for one’s sibling in reality. This, in spite of Komachi’s openness in front of her brother. Nice try, SNAFU. I’m pretty sure siblings don’t just strip in front of each other, even in Japan. Or maybe I’m wrong. But they certainly don’t in the good ‘ol prudish US of A. At this point though, I don’t think it’s so much prudishness as it is privacy, but I digress. Luckily, despite Komachi’s provocative nature, Hachiman remains steadfast in his stance towards his little sister: he can’t stand her.2 And I have to agree. She technically isn’t doing anything to purposefully aggravate her brother (or at least it doesn’t seem that way), but her super ditzy behavior still comes off as annoying. I guess some might find this endearing instead, but think what you will.
Moving Up In The World
Hachiman has described proudly described himself as a loner time and time again, but it’s increasingly obvious that he’s gaining some stature in the social hierarchy that he claims to hate so much. And honestly, I’m glad that this is happening to him. It seems to me that his hatred of social groups stems from his own previous misfortunes, so I don’t blame him for withdrawing from society. But he really can’t go on like this. I like to think that he also realizes this himself to some extent, but simply chooses to lie to himself. Whatever the case, it’s undeniable that he now has his own established group of friends: the Volunteers Club, Sai-chan, and even the ever-popular Hayato. While the two are almost polar opposites, Hayato looks to be a geniunely nice guy to me, and I hope that Hachiman will be able to let go of his prejudice against popular people and get along with him.
Hachiman aside, Yukino has also been building up her own group of friends. Or perhaps the singular would be more appropriate here? I know I just counted the Volunteers Club as part of Hachiman’s group of friends, but the relationship between Hachiman and Yukino is less than camaraderie at this point. So really, her only friend is Yui, who has managed to get much closer to her as of late. And while Yukino gets flustered at Yui’s overly-familiar actions, I’m sure she appreciates having someone to talk to. After all, spending your time all alone in a room, reading a book must get dull after a while. Watching her pick on Yui is also fairly amusing, so that’s a plus for us viewers.
RomCom?
On the romcom side of things, episodes 3 and 4 don’t really have much for us. Hachiman and Yukino’s standoffish relationship remains unchanged for the most part, and Yui still feels like a loud-mouthed third wheel. Ok, so we do get a few rather strong hints that Yui has romantic feelings for “Hikky”. The phone number exchange scene is one particularly obvious example. And there’s even a backstory thrown in suggesting that Yui’s feelings stem from a sense of gratitude to Hachiman for saving her dog from impending doom. A rescue which, I might add, cost Hachiman his social life in high school. But despite all this heavy hinting, I still can’t picture Yui as a serious contender for Hachiman’s affection.3 Heck, even Sai-chan has a better chance with all his blushing and sparkling. He certainly knows how to make Hachiman’s heart go bakyu~n!!
SNAFU continues to surprise me with its entertainment factor. I know I came into the show with relatively low expectations. It looked to be yet another generic LN adaptation with an unnecessarily long title. And to be fair, it technically is. I’ve already gone over how there’s nothing new about SNAFU, yet it somehow manages to keep me engaged. I’m liking the format in which important characters are introduced one by one with each episode, and the Volunteers Club serves as a convenient hub, drawing all the characters together for the action. SNAFU is just a nice change of pace from the more action-packed shows of the season, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Hachiman grows as a character.
Fun with Hachiman!
1Ruka-chan of Steins;Gate immediately comes to mind.
2His feelings are more annoyance than loathing.
3Not that he has much of this to begin with.
About Sumairii
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 106 comments
A lot people aren’t happy with the pace of this, and say it’s boring, still interesting for me though~ I don’t really feel like Yui is the third-wheel, since well, there’s basically no romantic development between Hachiman and Yukino either.
Spoiler King strikes again:
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I should probably catch up on all of the other series I’m missing ._.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I actually think it’s fine that there’s no romantic development happening in the show. We’re only 1/3 of the way through, and those kinds of things can happen pretty quickly in real life, but it pushes credibility to have two people who are as asocial and prickly as Yukino and Hachiman suddenly have an interest in each other.
I love Hachiman’s reaction to Sai, in that “I know he’s a guy, and I’m not into guys, but THIS guy might make me want to try…”
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Haha yeah. Sai is one tempting trap. I don’t mind having him around as a sort of running gag to get Hachiman worked up.
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
Man I think hayato has a thing for yukinon… I’m sure they know each other..
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
I felt like Hachiman was pulling off an Oreki in the latest episode as he solved the mystery of the chain letters. XD Obviously being observant is not a bad thing at all.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yeah, I was getting some Oreki vibes from that as well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Man, if we got a romance developing along the same lines as Hyouka, that would be spectacular. I love to see that kind of slow burn thing, where you’re not thinking about it, and then you look back and see this complete transformation of a relationship that happened under your nose.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, a +1 right here…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Unfortunately, I think that idea is torpedoed by the expectations of the title. With Hyouka, you weren’t thinking about romances at all and *BAM* that’s what it turns out to be. This one, it’s even in the title, so we’re thinking about it from the start.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Sai is best girl!
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
If only…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
He who dares, dreams. Seriously, I would just be in it for the miso soup every morning; I love that stuff…
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
The best girl of them all! The chosen one to end up with our lovely Hachiman!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
Man Hachiman was getting a little too excited from Saika saying his name.
POWUH: iLurker with 8 comments
Did you get the Detective Conan homage on episode 4, right before Hachiman’s reveal on the case?
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Unfortunately I’ve not seen any Detective Conan, so that reference was lost on me.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
-Saika truly is the trap of the season, no objections.
-Did not notice Yui was in the flashback scene ._. Thks!
-Hayato have joined the party! I agree tht he really seems like a good guy. He also shows tht Charisma isn’t a useless stat XD
-I lol’ed at Yukino turning the nice statement of Hayato friends into a negative one.
-100% cotton lol. I understand tht feeling, Hachiman. Its quite refreshing to see a pretty normal type of little sisters in anime.
-Hmmm…. I’ve seen speculation tht the true culprit is probably the white hair chick at the end of EP4…. I think she might be the delinquent girl mentioned in the next ep preview….
PS the full song of the OP is out! Quite a relaxing song IMO.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
This is the anime I’ve been dragging my feet most this season. The pace is so slow sometimes I wonder if there’s any hope for something genuinely interesting to happen. It’s a miracle itself that there’s still any consideration for it on my part.
Hachiman has been slowly getting on my nerves all the time explaining how he’s doing these things to achieve a loner life and that he has no friends. We all know the drill so there’s no need to justify every little thing.
Traps, one of the most deceitful creatures in anime. Sai is just too feminine for me to believe he’s a guy and I had similar trouble with Phi Brain’s Ana whose appearance defies belief.