Aku no Hana – 05

 

Obviously, this was the best date ever. Look at how excited they are.

At least Nakamura had fun.

Well it’s date time finally for Saeki and Kasuga. However, it’s obviously not all fun and games since I don’t think Kasuga knows what fun is he’s kind of sort of wearing Saeki’s uniform. Plus Nakamura seems intent on making sure that Kasuga turns into a pervert. Whatever that means.

Well, this was the most lively we’ve seen Kasuga since… well actually, this is the most lively we’ve ever seen him. His enthusiasm for books seems to have no end. Saeki didn’t seem all that impressed (or at least, the anime version of her didn’t seem too impressed) with the gift, but Kasuga’s attitude change was certainly is a change from the introverted, pessimistic guy we usually see. I wouldn’t say that Kasuga’s enthusiasm ruined anything either. There were subtle hints that Saeki was at least kind of interested in Kasuga’s hobby. Like asking what his favourite book was. Or not completely ditching him when he ran off like that. …Or agreeing to date him at the end of the episode. If anything, I’d say she just didn’t know how to react to Kasuga suddenly getting really passionate about literature as opposed to the awkward guy he usually is (and then later reverted to).

 He’s still going on about what an angel Saeki is, but after seeing her last episode, his statements aren’t just delusions. If not for Nakamura getting in the way (…and running in rainbow backgrounds), this would have been a pretty sweet date between the two of them. I don’t know if Kasuga would have asked Saeki out platonically if Nakamura hadn’t forced the kiss thing on him, but it worked out rather well at the end. …Provided that Saeki didn’t see the gym uniform after Nakamura’s outburst. I don’t even know how Nakamura managed to procure an entire bucket of water so quickly. Or maybe she brought it with her unnoticed at some point just in case things didn’t go as planned for her, which is almost equally odd.

This is the first time Kasuga has so obviously disobeyed Nakamura before. Though if he was going to that now, why didn’t he take the uniform off? Kasuga really needs to calm the hell down and think these things through a bit more. Yes, he did a terrible thing and is totally wearing the evidence like a creepy pervert, but if he acts so on edge like he this episode, he’s just making things worse. He could have had a relatively enjoyable date with the girl he idolized, but instead, he acted like a nervous wreck and maybe made Saeki more suspicious of him (if she was ever suspicious in the first place). He’s letting guilt and anxiety rule his life, and that’s probably not very good for his physical and mental health. Though it certainly makes Nakamura’s job easier. And after the events of this episode, he might be too scared to fight back ever again.

That’s just part of his character though I guess. He panics, doesn’t think things through entirely, and gets really suspicious about absolutely everything. Plus the fact that he pretty much lives in his mind probably doesn’t help him much. His imagination isn’t exactly his friend.

So finally, Nakamura. …I don’t know what they were going for with having her practically skipping through fields of rainbows, but, er, at least she was enjoying herself. She’s definitely having fun with Kasuga’s suffering and while her orders for a kiss weren’t too out of line (considering that she straight out pushed him into Saeki’s chest before), she probably knew that he would have issues with the idea. I just think it’s amazing at how deserted the town was (I mean, it was the weekend and everything). She stalked them the entire way and the only people we really ever saw were the three characters and then the guy in the bookstore (plus a few cars, but who knows if there were even people driving those things).

From the anime that brought you sideburns-with-braids-girl, now comes moustache-is-slowly-taking-over-his-face-man.

This was a… weird episode. Even for Aku no Hana. Though it still managed to capture the norms of the series (aka Kasuga making terrible decisions and the town being relatively deserted minus the main characters). It’s like no one exists outside of school or their jobs. …Or otherwise for the role of making it difficult to dispose of gym-uniform-type evidence that one time. Or maybe those parts with Nakamura prancing about while stalking and that scene with Saeki literally descending as an angel threw me off the entire episode. … Also, I keep forgetting that Hikasa Yoko is in this as Saeki. I can barely recognize her voice and Saeki is kind of soft spoken. On the plus side though, I’ve never noted this before but having the characters voiced realistically is a really nice touch overall. I mean (bringing in a totally unrelated VA off the top of my head), Sawashro Miyuki can do a pretty convincing male voice, but it’s definitely not the same as having an actual male VA play the role. The style of animation they’re obviously going for realism, but subtly, they’re also bringing it in for other aspects too.

…So my mind is kind of fuzzy about what happens next, but I do know that the image of Nakamura running is going to follow me into my nightmares.

It’s like staring into the depths of hell itself.