Love is in the air for seemingly every teenage character in Mix’s growing cast, and with no baseball game to distract them, this episode is entirely dedicated to complicating the show’s relationship chart. Even the cold open is a miniature romantic farce, with minor characters Nishimura and Arisa deluding themselves into viewing a conversation between their rivals as something sinister. Arisa proves far more adept at this deception, especially when you factor in the cluelessness of every male character to make it on screen before the OP. Honestly, I don’t remember the names of all Otomi’s would-be suitors, but when [Touma’s friend] and [Otomi’s classmate] came sliding down the hill and into an already crowded scene, I was kind of apprehensive. Sure, I got a chuckle out of the various characters’ desperation and exhaustion, but this felt like the opener to a lightweight episode – or so I thought. Thankfully, “Just a Walk” ended up being one of Mix’s best episodes yet, and it’s all thanks to Haruka Oyama.

Until this point, Haruka hadn’t done much except fill the role of girl next door, but this episode gave her much more to do than that. It’s not as though this episode changes her proximity to the main characters’ house, or makes her any less attractive to Souichiro and Nan-chan (who’ve been frequenting the ramen place where she works part-time). But it does give her a lot more personality, and reveals her past acquaintance with Touma, who she met at a funeral at age three. Turns out she’s got a killer memory, having recalled their encounter from all those years ago – and she likes how he’s grown up. This sheds new light on her cryptic question to Otomi several episodes ago: “Are you worried?” Haruka was feeling her out even then, probably suspecting their shared crush on Touma, and now she’s making her move. Her method of sending him an invitation he can’t refuse was too cute, to the point that I started laughing when Touma automatically greeted her with the go-ahead phrase “good morning,” and she responded with a salute. Their date poses a problem for the hapless kid, as he understands the significance of Sou’s sudden ramen addiction, but after falling into her trap, what choice does he have?

Instead of getting sappy, Mix maintains its wry sense of humor even as the two go out; Touma’s impatience with their multiple train rides leads him to make several comments about the “walk” they were supposed to take. Said walk is mostly uneventful, but the show threads together Haruka’s admission of recognition with a separate funeral story, which depicts three year old Touma as a cheerful kid who had trouble processing his mom’s passing. This detail launched me back to a related one from early in the episode, where Touma remarked to his stepmother that Sou and Otomi were “depressed and unsociable” when he first met them. Connecting these dots was my favorite part of this week’s Mix, as they indicate that Touma still may not have grieved for his mother’s death. To have held on to the idea that two children mourning the loss of a parent were “unsociable” paints a picture of repression, at least in my view. Suddenly Touma’s isolated outbursts on the baseball field make a bit more sense, as well… I really do love Adachi’s character writing, and episodes like this one are great vehicles for it. Now, if only I knew how many more episodes we could expect before the show takes a hiatus.

We may have entered the high school phase of Mix’s story, but the show is still having fun at every opportunity. The opening of episode 8 celebrates the Japanese tradition of glancing up women’s skirts when the wind blows, while a terribly misused ska song plays in the background. Institutionalized sexism has never been so appealing! Then there are the references to a past incident where Coach Oyama saved Nan-chan’s life, with both men pensively staring through rain-soaked windows at different points in the day. In any other series these thoughtful moments would set up a lengthy flashback, but Mix just cuts away and laughs at our expectation that the trope would be fulfilled. Even the main story of these episodes – the practice game against Toushu High – is dotted with the ridiculous banter of the pitchers’ younger sisters. The show is certainly enjoying itself, but it often feels as though it’s winking at us. Be it the show’s self-referential nature or its tendency to speak directly to the audience, these moments run counter to its natural dialogue and simple design work (in one man’s opinion, anyway).

Talking about the practice match versus Toushu, it’s a chance meeting that creates that possibility (as is often the case in life). The new sibling pair of Arisa and Hiroki Mita both find themselves at a family restaurant with Souichiro, where the proud Arisa introduces her brother the star pitcher to Sou. The younger sister is only interested in making herself look impressive by proximity, but she ends up instigating a rivalry between Hiroki and Touma once their game gets going. Mix draws some very clear parallels between the two boys, the biggest of which is their tremendous talent even as first year high schoolers. Hiroki managed to lead his team to the quarterfinals of the Koushien as a freshman, and though he’s older now, Touma matches him pitch for pitch once he enters the game. Toushu is the third or fourth school that Mix has raised as a potential opponent for Meisei, but the similarities between their pitchers puts Toushu first in my mind. After this game, Touma’s spot as the starting pitcher is all but assured, though I don’t know if his first year of high school will be the one that the series ultimately focuses on.

The younger Tachibana’s ascension is big news for nearly every character in the show, as the title of episode 9 would lead us to believe. It’s a seismic event for every baseball player in the cast, and a matter of pride for Otomi, who has all the faith in the world in her stepbrother. Even their father, who dreads the extra visits from Touma’s alcohol-jacking coach after such a performance, is impacted. Despite all these changes, however, the fact remains that Meisei lost the game, and their youngest pitcher isn’t happy about it. After the game, he sulkily regrets the netting that prevented Hiroki from confronting a disrespectful spectator, as a violent act would have disqualified him from the summer tournament. Otomi beats him about the head with a bucket for that remark, then ditches him to accompany her class heartthrob to the hospital. It’s here that the show returns to a type of comedy that I love: understated humor meant to mask displeasure. Touma turns to his pet dog, bucket now in hand, and remarks that even if he takes a larger-than-average dump, they’ll be covered. Hopefully you’ll pardon the extensive recap of a minute-long scene, but boy, did Mix manage to impress me right as this episode ended. The next one ought to give us a little break from baseball, so let’s hope the show’s pleasant subtlety carries over!