(Apologies for the rather late post. I was going to post yesterday night, but the blog was down, and I had work all day today. And apologies too for not returning comments from the last episode. I’ve been ultra busy. I’ll try to do better this week.)

Warning! Episode 2 has a bit more steam than the previous episode. I’m telling you, don’t watch it unless you can abide intimate contact between two guys.

That said, there isn’t anything extremely explicit (toned down completely from the manga), so non-homophobic viewers are very much welcomed.

On the other hand, the most interesting part of this episode is the appearance of my favorite character in the manga, Hiroki.

Summary

Misaki cooks breakfast, reflecting that he has already been living in Usami’s house for a month. At 7 am sharp, Usami appears, and they have breakfast. Misaki thinks that Usami is really weird, and that he is still in love with his brother.

As Misaki washes up (so unfair, he cooks and he washes!), Usami hugs him from behind. There follows another pseudo-molestation scene (the boy doth complain too much), which ends with Misaki getting away from Usami, only to read Usami’s draft on his new BL novel. He discovers to his horror that the BL novel’s hero has been changed to him.

Usami drives Misaki to school in his bright red sports car, and Misaki reflects that everyone’s staying away from him on purpose. He is completely perplexed, and thinks that he may actually hate going to school.

Just after he falls down, though, he finally met a sempai, Isumi, who talked to him and explained to him that the reason everyone has been avoiding him is because he is always been driven to school in Usami’s expensive car. Not to mention that the famed Usami is actually his chauffeur. Misaki is extremely pissed off, but glad that he has made a friend.

In Usami’s car, Misaki goes on and on and on about the virtues of Isumi, while Usami is extremely jealous and covers his worry by mentioning Takahiro (Misaki’s brother), which Misaki does not like at all.

Back at Usami’s house, Takahiro calls and Usami talks to him happily. Misaki thinks again that Usami has been in love with Takahiro for the last 10 years like an idiot, and it was impossible that he would move on and give up just like that. He thinks that he couldn’t do it (is helpless). Furthermore, the only reason Usami keeps touching him is because he thinks of him as a substitute for his brother.

(There’s also a chopping-the-eggplant-with-a-cleaver scene which I thought would make guys wince… if there’re any guys watching the anime, anyway.)

In school, Misaki talks to Isumi while Usami looks on from the window above in the room of his childhood friend, Hiroki, a teaching assistant in the university Misaki is studying in. He is jealous enough to kick the wall as he looks on.

At the end of the day, Misaki is talking to Isumi when Usami suddenly appears and attempts to get Misaki to go home with him. After an argument between Misaki and Usami, where Usami brings in Takahiro again, while Misaki yells at him. Usami ends the argument by forcibly yanking Misaki into his car, leaving Isumi looking on behind.

They arrive home, and Usami stops Misaki from talking to Isumi, who has called him. Takahiro then calls, and Misaki do the same to Usami. Arguing again, and Usami ends it by force, yet again. He pushes Misaki onto the sofa, by Misaki pushes him away, and yells that he is not his brother’s substitute. He then begins to cry.

Usami then pats him on the head and says, when he fall out of love, Misaki was the one who cried so hard for him, even when it has nothing to do with him. And that was when he thought: ah, he’s the one for me. After a tender confession of love, they kiss, music swells, and they have sex.

(Everything’s left to the imagination, except for the protests and moans Misaki made. But it is no way near as explicit as some yaoi titles.)

Fast forward to after the credits, and we sill Misaki coming down from the stairs to be greeted by Usami, who is cooking a totally disastrous breakfast of fluffy omelet that is as fluffy as stones imitating crackers. Misaki apologies for hurting Usami in the argument before, but Usami is dismissive (and made an ero-joke that turned Misaki’s face into the chibi form I love so much).

Isumi calls and Usami puts out the phone plug. Misaki yells at him, but Usami says he would not allow anyone to interrupt the time they have together. The episode ends with Usami eating his awful breakfast while Misaki squeezes the resident teddy bear with extreme irritation.

Thoughts

I’m doing this in point form to save up some time.

1) I like episode 1 better. The brightest spot for episode 2 is the really, really cute faces Misaki made at every available chance, and the humorous bits. But in terms of atmosphere, animation and depth, episode 1 is a lot better.

2) On the other hand, it seems to me that Misaki’s insecurity about Usami’s affection is reasonable. I like the fact that Misaki isn’t too emo, and that the things he thinks about isn’t out of the realm and a convenient route for plot advancement. It’s also good that the pace of the anime is fairly fast, so we don’t dwell too long on their respective jealousy and insecurity, because however realistic it seems, it is very much a cliché in BL and shoujo and the romance genre.

3) The sex scene is tastefully done. Not too explicit, very much diluted from the manga to fit in with mainstream anime. And accompanying the diminished steam is a soulful BGM which actually enhanced the emotional impact. Sex should be more than just steam, and I like how the dialogue as well as the very lyrical OST brings out that point.

4) Hiroki looks so much better in the manga, IMO. He seemed to have grown taller. And somewhat too broad in the shoulders. Wouldn’t that make his lover, who is significantly taller than him, a grotesque giant? On the other hand, the extremely snotty attitude coupled with the sweet underlying empathy have been brought out in the scant scene he has in this episode, so I like it nonetheless.

5) I love those faces Misaki make! Oh, have I mentioned it already?

6) I hope we get to Hiroki’s story next week. Come on, he is the most realistic and empathizing character in the entire manga!

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