Oregairu 3 | Episode 2

---

Oh snapples! I sense a storm brewing! While this anime is a Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama, Romance, and School. Like always, something I will always mention, it’ll always lean more towards the Slice of Life, Rom-com aspect. However, this episode in particular, you can feel the shift towards the “drama” side of the anime. That part is for certain.

This episode went to further explain the opening scene we were shown in the first episode, where Yukino reveals she will be moving back home (to her parents) so she could tell them what she personally wants for her future. But it also sets the stage for a future scene towards the end of the episode that really sets the overall mood of the anime itself. If you’re like me and have watched every season of SNAFU. Then you’d know, or have the feeling that Yui seems to have feelings for Hachiman, and the same can be said for Yukino. While Hikki is sort of in the middle, you don’t know what exactly he’s feeling — which is always the funny part in my opinion, but you could probably sense that Hikki feels something towards Yukino and maybe Yui. To me personally, Hikki’s relationship with Yui is more along that brother-sister feel, while Hikki’s relationship with Yukino feels like there is more left to give. As someone who hasn’t read the light novels, I am sure this is better shown/explained, but through animation, that’s what it feels like to me anyway.

In that regard you can sort of feel the strain in the relationship between the three because Yui and Yukino are close friends and if they both have feelings for the same person it may not be good. But we’ll see what happens! In fact, I know that they both have feelings for Hikki solely based on the last scene of the anime. When Yui gets home, she’s there staring at a photo of the three of them together, while a memory, something that she herself didn’t want to experience popped into her mind.

While helping Yukino clear out her room, Yui came across a photo in an envelope, a photo of Yukino and Hikki together on a ride. I felt that. The feeling of knowing that one of your close friends has feelings for a person that you, yourself like. Something you didn’t want to be true, but lowkey knew that it was probably the case. But for your own sanity, you choose to wish live as if it wasn’t true. That feeling that you may not actually have a chance yourself because you also think that the person you like probably doesn’t have feelings for you but for your close friend.

It probably really hurts, which is the feeling that was conveyed by Yui as she slowly got emotional during the scene as well. It’s always sad whenever there is a character within an anime that doesn’t get to fully experience the joys of a “relationship” or of knowing that the person you like, like you back, instead you have to play that support role, even if it’s at the expense of your own feelings. Whenever I see that kind fo character in an anime, it always pulls at the heartstrings because that character is always the one that everyone watching can and will always relate to.

I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of this dynamic unfold in regard to Yui, Yukino and Hikki. It’ll be interesting to see how their relationship with one another does during the duration of the anime. Hopefully at the end of it all, an ending is found that satisfied the “Team Yukino” and “Team Yui” crowds.