Maybe I am in the minority here, but I am one of those who are still on board with how OreGairu presents and wraps up its conflicts and still think it’s as great as the second season. So before we get into the rap-battle and “one of them grants someone’s wish for someone else” part, let’s just run through what episode 5 & 6 cover. There are a lot of Iroha’s precious moments in these two installments, further cementing her as the near-lead status.
Indeed, when you think of OreGairu’s supporting cast, her presence is shinier than everyone else. And one of the reasons why Iroha’s character works so well is because she has the best dynamic with Hachiman. Not only do they bounce off each other well (like in the conversation they have in episode 6), but like every good relationship Iroha is more of herself when she’s around Hachiman, and that Hachiman’s action can inspire or ignite something in her. Take Hachiman and Yukinon key confrontation at the end of episode 5, for example. Iroha serves merely as a witness to their bonds, or more like Hachiman and Yukinon showing their mutual love to each other – a confession of sorts. What I love about that confrontation is that, just like Iroha, we as the audience witness our main characters making real steps forward in their relationships.
And with Hachiman, he proposes a way to challenge Yukinon (but everyone knows that he helps her instead), but making a dummy prom so that they would choose Yukinon’s prom proposal instead. I mean, that is just a very Hachiman-way to do. This creates an opportunity to insert the side cast into this fake prom. Comes Zaimokuza, who for me is someone straight out of Steins;Gates universe, who actively helps Hachiman upon hearing his request. He has his quirks alright, but for me he isn’t as fleshed out as the girls’ counterpart, which for me is a bit of a shame. But it’s still good to see him having a role in all this. It does feel like with this ending season, every opportunity we see the side characters on-screen is a quick meet-up to old friends before saying goodbye for good.
As Yui feigns sleep during their meeting, we can hear another monologue from her about her honest and messy feeling with Hachiman and Yukinon. She might think that she lies to herself, and she wants to hold on to being next to Hachiman (in more ways than one in this context) just a bit longer, but really out of the trio she’s the only one who understands her own conflicted feelings. And really, it’s just a beauty to witness these kids struggling and trying their best to mature and be upfront with their own feelings.
