ElBee

This is a great example of how Japan really does slice of life stories so well… they truly just take this tiny little SLICE from their youth, a bit that matters only really to the small group we’re observing, and show us a tender and, for the characters, immensely important bit of growth and coming into their own and identifying and sharing their feelings.

This particular slice is fully sweet and buttery and adorable like a small pastry that took an incredibly long time to craft and in turn should be appreciated, “cherished” the word used here, and not just consumed without consideration. The teens in this very much did just that. They found both friends who value them and see something special in them, acting without prejudice and being mindful of the vulnerabilities of them. The leads also find mutual attraction of a romantic sort.

The makers of this were mindful of the short number of minutes every episode had, the short number of episodes to tell this very small story arc for this group of kind, completely lovable teens mostly thrown together because of either a shared sporting club or… because of perceived “princely” popularity that ultimately had them group together and get to know each other, something that was purely from external forces initially (which is one of the details of this I appreciate… too many school dramas act like everyone who is considered one of the most attractive or popular people in school is besties with the others who are attractive or popular, something I just don’t think I’ve ever seen reflected in reality! If anything, more competition brews and real world teens often get annoyed being lumped together based on superficial details like how they look, and this showed, briefly but with just enough time to make it clear, that these kids weren’t out hunting down friends attractive enough to hang out with (another detail: guys who DO feel especially attractive and use that as a tool… they often intentionally make sure none of their friends is quite in their “league” so that they ideally won’t have to give up dating who they wish because an equally attractive person is beside them and catches the eye of their crush). Thank you, writer, for making them a bit more realistic and being aware of the unlikelihood of them actually, with different interests/pastimes/personalities entirely, being friends if school hadn’t shoved them together for convenience!

The tiny details in the writing are really what I appreciated. The story was pretty much a set game of a sort, so it was all going to be about the paths forged to get there. The guys in this group all have really distinct, clear personalities, and their strengths are celebrated in tiny ways, the proper little moments to make a slice of life coming of age sort of story shine. From the start, we have the invitation. We see immediately a strength of a sturdy leader sort of character in Hotta: the ease to go and invite the outsider to be in their group on behalf of the more reserved Watarai who actually wants to get to know Hioki, the one without a group… Hotta also had the frankness to say, as if it was nothing, that it was actually the other guy who wanted this shy kid to join them. They all did exactly what had to happen for it to work, too, regardless of whatever conversations may have occurred to get to the point of extending the invitation: they casually welcomed him in, smiled, introduced themselves, and chilled out. They didn’t make a spectacle of him which I’ve seen happen in plenty of shows where an outsider is brought in, whatever the context. They just made every effort to keep him in the loop whenever they could and let him also have a break when he was very outside his comfort zone.

There could easily be a high risk of unequal levels of perceived worth, and at first, there really is; it is only natural for an unpopular kid to be confused at suddenly hanging out with the 4 most popular and having to adapt to not just some new friends but THESE new friends. Instead of being outshined, though, they honestly let the shy ‘outcast-ish’ guy shine even as he was who wanted to just stay alone and be background noise at most. The most intense moment of this to me was when a small child was lost and had to be taken to the office, the child crying whenever being sat down for half a second. They showed two kinds of reactions to the group member disappearing: flirty girls wanting to be with the “princes” waving it off and thinking it was for the best while the guys became responsible for the kid they brought into their group and made sure he was found. Yes, the guys still proved good and reliable, but it showed just how good a fit this shorter, less attention-gaining cute kid was in this group of considerate guys just doing their own things and being friends through the shared parts of school life.

The most enviable and refreshing part of the relationships in this? The communication. The real skill to the writing here is knowing to limit the drama… this stayed authentic to its youthful, fluffy tone and opted OUT of dragging anyone, especially the two who are attracted to one another, through stages of emotional train wreckage. They had a very short runtime per episode and clearly laid out exactly how much would happen per “chapter” then delivered it well. Plenty of nerves were on full display, absolutely. Fluttering nervousness is a requirement for high school romance of any fluffy sort. What accompanied the nervousness, though, was thoughtfulness, softness, gentle and quiet moments, well-considered words that if there is any real negative about it’d be the maturity being perhaps a tad too high in the leads quite often…it’s nice, though, to see the occasional high schooler who isn’t a total messy hormone sack flailing around and unnecessarily hurting and being hurt by the tiniest things (even though that is a pretty authentic experience for most at various points of adolescence)!

As much as one of the two leads was more assertive in a sense, more clear and better able to verbally express himself, in some ways, he was the “weaker” of the two. They made sure to let the audience understand that he wasn’t all confident/self-assured about how to behave even though he was very clear about how he felt. Instead, he was on the verge of bursting but fearing the ramifications of being too outwardly emotional or physical. He was doubting whether the other’s feelings were at the same level (both were, as both almost always are in young relationships), and he was constantly second guessing the “right” way to show his feelings that would ultimately make the one he was smitten for happy. Still, he was the more forward one … until he was not. Perhaps my favorite moment is when the more shy, reserved, easy to read, and highly emotional one of the two becomes the one who, in his own words, becomes the cool one. This is, though, only after digging, like an anxious puppy kicking the dirt everywhere, those tiny little momentary graves while trying to figure out what can be said, what courage can or cannot be found to say this or that, and how on earth to broach something as simple as “wait, what ARE we?” This clear request to date, to take on the title of boyfriend, from him as he stood firmly upright and looked straight at his partner confidently… that moment is among my favorites both for his clear growth and the response of his partner. The way the confident and typically focused-faced one had to walk over to the side and process it was delightful to watch.

In the end, the way people in the show were perceived was gently but clearly contrasted time and time again with the way they actually were as people. One of the characters, Morisaki, has to clarify that he isn’t angry. “It’s just my face.” The only one who definitely was pretty close to the visuals was Nakasato, the cheerful dog-like personality and source of cheer and playfulness with a face smiling at the budding romance with an expression silently screaming, “I am the head cheerleader for the shipping squad of these two” quite a few times. The badminton players who’d gone to middle school with Hioki were pretty much exactly what you expect… awkward about girls, confused about suddenly seeing their long-time friend with the popular crowd, wanting it to rub off on them, rowdy together, teasing their fellow “everyday, non-prince” friend playfully, and self-conscious around the popular guys… until enough times brought together showcased the ultimate reason this was such a good comfort watch: that no one cared about how anyone thought about the others or if anyone at all was cool enough to hang out together. They were just friends without any odd requirement for entry. None of the “stay in your social class and only associate with other wealthy children of influential people, my child” high school horrors of many dramas, no seeking benefits from them and distancing oneself from anyone who can’t get them ahead…

It was simply lovely to see this tiny tiny slice of a high school friendship story and character growth shown through it with a bunch of kids who actually just like each other and think they all have worth. It is borderline utopian at this point to dare wish for teens to simply get along and not become toxic reflections of the awful adults ruling the world by and large, but if it takes an unrealistic utopia situation to occasionally get a story of nice kids sharing meaningful experiences, the stuff of pure nostalgia for me most of the time (and yet the stuff I still go and willfully make happen week after week in my tiny little community)… so be it. Let this be a utopia to bring more slices from! I look forward to the bonus content! This is a great way to close out the year with cozy comfort. Easy rewatch, too.