We have a slightly better Youkoso this week, although I have a feeling that they drag this case for far too long. Throughout this episode, we have two new developments: Sakura begins to trust Ayanokouji and as a result agrees to be a witness, even at a cost to expose herself (quite literally); and the courtroom happens later on in which no compromise being reached (11 ANGRY MEN). Though, to be fair, how Ayanokouji and Horikita eventually find a way to prove Sudo’s innocence could be interesting. With no concrete evidence regarding who began the fight; I guess the angle they could delve on is making the Class-C spill the beans about the set-ups. Just make sure don’t pull any out-of-nowhere evidence because it’s just a cheap, cop-out way to resolve the conflicts. And to think that Class-C pulled this dirty scheme to sweep all the points from Class-D, but they might face an expulsion (or even class-regelation, I prefer that) instead if the truth ever comes out. Overall, this is a stronger week for Youkoso, and I hope they stick with the tactical how-will-Class-D-gain-points-and-move-rank plot because it’s the only thing that makes Youkoso remotely interesting now.
I said that because as of now the characters in the show are pretty much unconvincing. Ayanokouji still holds his ground so far but the girls Horikita and Kushida don’t fare very well. I mean, after Ayanokouji (and us) see another dark personality from Kushida, it remains quite baffling for me as to why she still keeps that mask even when she’s alone with him. If the evil, angry Kushida is supposed to be her real personality, I can stand it; but if it’s there as a split-personality from her, then it’s just poor execution. The new girl Sakura, likewise, has a weak entrance this week as she never makes clear what she wanna do, or say. It leaves up to the audience on the rather “unsettling” sequence of her trying to repair her camera in a store as to whether the clerk is a real creepy guy or it’s just all in her head as she suffers from social anxiety. I’m leaning on the latter (but the store camera IS ON, damnit) as I believe it’s an effective way to know more about her through her lens. Apparently, she comes to trust Ayanokouji for his dead-eyes (“your eyes weren’t scary” huh?), but his advice is really on point. She does that not for the sake of others, but for her sake because she won’t feel guity for not helping Sudo out anymore. On a grander scale, it might as well be Yousoko’s own philosophy: everyone need to work together for the sake of the class as awhole, but ultimately, it’s for their own sakes that they help out each other – and there is nothing wrong with that.
The latter half when the courtroom happens is much more exciting. Class-C claims that Sudo asked them out so they need another guy – an experienced fighter – as a bodyguard, but then they contradict themselves with the statement that they tried best to avoid the fight hence all of them were heavily injured. When Sakura comes in and proves that she was in the scene when the fight broke out, class-C tries to make a compromise. Which sounds like a great deal, except it’s not. The bottom line is that Sudo is framed for the conflict, and Horikita and Ayanokouji will find a way to prove him not guilty. The hip-grabbing moment is quite hilarious as it snaps Horikita out of her brother-complex mood (seriously? Why do anime girls have to be so reliant to the male character who treats them like shit? Worst image of feminism ever). The President takes this as a good opportunity to see the real potential of Ayanokouji, although the guy himself remarks that he has no plan whatsoever. And DODGE. How can they prove it? Will Youkoso get better from now on? Does Sakura have more lewd selfies in her gallery? As Ayanokouji remarks at the end: “That’s a good question.”
