More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers

Episode 11

Wow, where do I even start with this episode? Regardless of what happens next, this feels like the true climax cliffhanger of the season, with some unexpected emotional revelations and hooks that will probably make me think about this episode for the rest of the week. I'm not exaggerating that a show with this premise has somehow found the formula to keep me guessing with its character dynamics and genuinely make me feel bad for some of its characters. This is a show where in the span of one episode, we can take a completely blank slate like Minami and turn him into one of the show's more interesting characters.

So due to some finagling, we finally get Akari alone with Minami, and this is where she's put to the test regarding her feelings. She wants to confess to Minami, but even he can tell that her heart isn't entirely in it. We knew this had to happen at some point, and it makes sense that Akari would probably be the one to come to that conclusion much sooner, given everything that has occurred. I did not expect Minami not only to be the one to call Akari out on this but also completely emphasize her situation due to his own experiences with romance that have given him a unique perspective compared to all of the other characters. Akari, Jiro, and Shiori are all chasing after somebody, but they're all terrified about confessing to somebody unless they feel it's a 100% sure thing. Minami is the only character in the show who isn't interested in romance because he knows what it's like to chase somebody he never had a chance of getting. He came to that realization in a rather extreme way.

How would you feel if you were growing up and your first love was not only with somebody you never had a chance of being with but the thing that made you definitively realize that was walking in on that person having sex with their significant other who happens to be your brother? Honestly, I feel bad for Minami because he was ostensibly forced to give up on romance. Still, that perspective allows him to see through things more than others, such as how he reveals that he knew Akari was interested in him from the beginning. That's refreshing because Akari did not attempt to hide that she was interested in Minami, but in other shows, this would be something that nobody would notice. Granted, there is a little bit of a narrative cheat here with Minami not turning down Akari sooner and probably sparing her a lot of confusion earlier. At least he's hard on himself about that in this episode, realizing that he arguably did to her what his previous love life did to him.

But this is it; Akari has entirely given up on loving Minami and admits that she wants to give her all to Jiro. I like how this was handled because Akari also doesn't belittle her feelings for Minami. Just because they might not have been as strong as the ones she now has for Jiro, that doesn't mean that her feelings weren't there, and I like the fact that the two can see eye to eye as equals now after everything has come out. Minami says that even if you're afraid of what happens after you confess, their relationship now is a perfect example of how sometimes not everything falls apart if someone accepts or rejects your feelings. That would be great if the show didn't immediately cut to Jiro and Shiori kissing in the rain in a moment of emotional desperation. There is so much good character stuff here, with reasonable conversations brought about by personal experiences and actions brought about by deep-seated insecurities and fear of losing out on the surprising things that come our way. I am going to be very upset when the show is over.

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More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.