Otaku Central

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Episode Nine Thoughts

Being completely honest here, I simply do not think the latter episodes of Adachi to Shimamura have been that great. It definitely feels like the anime has dropped the ball as we grow closer to the end. That being said, I thought that episode nine made up for the underwhelming episode seven and eight in that we’re finally seeing some grow on Shimamura’s part.

This episode, we experienced the same scene and activities twice. On February 14th, with Adachi and Shimamura and the day before with Shimamura and Tarumi. Everything Shimamura had experienced with Tarumi happened the day after with Adachi. However, there was one major difference. Shimamura looked more comfortable and had a lot more fun with Adachi than Tarumi. That can be attributed to a bunch of things, for example, meeting up with someone you haven’t seen in years, then trying to hit it off again. That feeling of awkwardness engulfed the two (Shimamura and Tarumi). Neither of them not knowing how to interact or communicate with each other, so they walk around in silence. That whole interaction with Tarumi I think made Shimamura appreciate Adachi a little bit more.

EPISODE TEN THOUGHTS

Now this was my kind of episode. As is with every new school year, there may be times when you meet new friends and the friendships you had made prior to the new school year may become more distant and could die out if you don’t make an effort to maintain them. Which is what Shimamura was experiencing throughout the episode.

As she went along with the new school year, she met new ‘friends’, people who she calls ‘artificial friends’. But in the process she slowly started to lose touch with Adachi. Which is something that bothers her throughout the episode, constantly looking for her, thinking about her and staring at her empty desk in class when Adachi decided it wasn’t worth showing up anymore. Shimamura calls herself ‘coldhearted’ because even though she’s always thinking about Adachi, she never bothers to hang out or talk to her. Episode ten was when she finally realized how much of an impact Adachi has had on her life up until that point. All of Shimamura’s attempts at filling the void Adachi left, just never felt right. At the end, Shimamura fell back into that cycle of wandering aimlessly.

I don’t know why we’re watching this cycle. The cycle of our two protagonists getting to know each other and feeling comfortable, for one minor thing to derail everything. Then the cycle repeats again, as they learn from the previous experience. I feel like the latter episodes have focused more on Shimamura than Adachi, as we experience and try to understand her character and what she truly wants and desires. Shimamura has long been a character that on the surface looks really simple but emotionally she’s a very complex individual. Which is something I like.