Sakurai’s friend Itsuhito wants him and Uzaki to take their friendship to the next level.
Episode 5 – “I Want to Meddle in My Friend’s Business!”
Hmm.
It was only a matter of time before Uzaki-chan met Sakurai’s real, not imaginary, male friend Sakaki Itsuhito. His reaction to Sakurai and Uzaki’s friendship is like everyone else – they’re already a bakappuru, so why not make it official? This is in great contrast to Master Asai and his daughter Ami. Itsuhito wants to butt in, while Ami wants to watch over. Neither one openly admitted their real purpose in dealing with Uzaki and Sakurai. They both want to watch the show the odd couple keeps producing whenever they’re together.
Ami doesn’t want Itsuhito to meddle because her entertainment might end abruptly. Itsuhito just found a new video game and wants to explore all the decision trees. Also, Ami and Itsuhito make a good contrast in styles for supporting a couple’s relationship. Passive vs. Interactive. These two fighting against the other’s machinations will make awesome comedic material.
I enjoyed the scene of Sakurai and Uzaki sitting in the same lecture in this week’s Uzaki-chan for several reasons. First, we got definitive proof these two are college students. Walking around campus, working a part-time job, and hanging out in someone’s apartment isn’t enough. I needed to see a professor lecturing about something! Second, learning about Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams is a uniquely college experience. While the details of Freud’s theories on mental disorders are outdated, they are still important to know because of how much they shaped Western culture in the 20th century.
And third, as she and Sakurai talked about the dream he had during class, Uzaki-chan showed herself to be a regular Japanese girl because she subscribes to all the popular superstitions. I learned a lot about gender generalizations in Japanese culture from watching anime, although as pop culture references, not as any serious social commentary. But I accept as truth that anime girls are the most superstitious beings in the world. Uzaki-chan may be an overdeveloped short stack who only wants to play video games with her senpai, but she is still a regular girl. Sakurai is slowly becoming conscious of that fact.
Heh.
It never takes long before Sakurai hears that keening voice crying “Senpai!” Uzaki-chan is such a gamer girl. Foremost on her mind is adding to her NyaaCraft fortress. Uzaki Hills, she calls it. I’m always looking at her Uzaki Mounds… Her dream house has a lava pit. She’s not a demon emperor. Uzaki is a Bond villain!
Sakurai tries to save a cat. And falls… out of his dream. Drink more coffee before attending class! Oh snap. Uzaki caught Sakurai start from his dozing. Did they share two classes in a row? That’s possible for a junior and a sophomore, depending on their majors. Professor teaches about dream interpretation. Kuso Cat is having an anxious dream. Uzaki is relentless when Sakurai gives her material to work with. Aw. Even the psychology professor had doubts about her presentation.
Uzaki-chan believes in all that stuff. Personality tests, blood-type fortunes, that stuff. All variations on Jung’s four psychological types. Nice CGI 3D background on Uzaki walking down the stairs. Oops. She tripped. Better yet, Sakurai caught that little kitty in real life. Uh oh. Here comes Sakurai’s payback. By the power of suggestion, he’s implanting the seed of a phobia in the impressionable Uzaki. It’s easy for him to hypnotize her, so this isn’t farfetched.
Aw yiss! We’ll finally get a proper introduction to Sakurai’s ikemen friend. He gets the girls’ attention but kicks them away. There’s a story there. He uses Sakurai’s mean eyes to do the kicking! Sakurai is like a reverse wingman. Sakaki Itsuhito is Sakurai’s IRL friend. Itsuhito is going to end up the salaryman ojisan if he stays sober at drinking parties. Ha! This short exchange with Itsuhito explained many things. He blew off to Okinawa for about a month, which is why we didn’t see him after Uzaki-chan’s sign language stunt in the cafeteria. This also meant that Sakurai and Uzaki have been cocooning at Sakurai’s apartment for a month too. Itsuhito is right to be curious. He wants Sakurai to stop being a boring sad sack, and Uzaki is the ticket out of Dullsville.
There she is! Total shock that Sakurai has a friend besides her. Sweet relief like Uzaki-chan is his older sister. Itsuhito is noticing many, many things as they talk. Funimation translated Uzaki calling Sakurai 根暗 (ねくら, nekura – gloomy) as “gloomlord.” I love it. Sakurai’s peaceful college life is over. Again. Itsuhito is going to “help.” Somehow watermelon flavor stands for innocent romance while guava juice is passionate eroticism. Uza brand soda just hanging out.
Dueling Nintendo Switches. So, it starts. Itsuhito begins his lovey-dovey summer romance mission to get Sakurai and Uzaki together. Ah. And uh oh! Sakurai claims he hasn’t done anything sexual with Uzaki, but she thinks otherwise. Eeeeehhhhh? I think she’s referring to his accidental groping during his VR scuba diving, but there was also the butt-slapping when she got stuck in the bushes chasing a cat, and the boob pressing in the crowded train. Ouch. That’s not a compliment for a dude, calling him “safe.” Uzaki-chan has no illusions about her senpai, describing Sakurai as a “gloomy klutz of a sleepyhead villain loner.” So many adjectives.
Ha! Sakurai claims he’s never heard anyone say, “oh, those two must be dating.” Has he never heard the crowd complain about his and Uzaki’s shouting matches? Perhaps not. Oh, damn! Ami is not happy with Itsuhito! The philosophical debate begins, between observing a couple and rooting for them or butting in and encouraging them. Wanna Watch Over vs. Wanna Meddle. It’s an argument for the ages between supporting characters.
Holy moly. Uzaki-chan has strong feelings for choco-mint. She even got a slow clap scene from people walking by and listening from windows! Uzaki is loud. And all for an indirect kiss scene. Best line though, is “mint doesn’t taste like toothpaste; toothpaste tastes like mint!” Don’t you forget it. I’m spent. Five minutes of a small lady yelling about an ice cream flavor is not what I ever expected from a fanservice slice-of-life gag comedy like Uzaki-chan. The anime Slow Start introduced me to the rage-inducing controversy of choco-mint. Also, Uzaki’s fandom of choco-mint purely captures my philosophy on being an anime critic: “You can hate whatever you want, but don’t diss what someone else likes.” Just think about the utopia social media would be if everyone followed this one simple rule. So much wisdom captured from choco-mint. Kuso Cat freaks out over Sakurai indirectly kissing Uzaki-chan, of course.
Next time is the beach episode! I can’t wait!
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! streams on Funimation.
