Yesterday Wo Utatte

Yesterday/ All my troubles seemed so far away/ Now it looks as though they’re here to stay/ Oh, I believe in yesterday. Hey. Isn’t that what they told me to do? I mean they asked me to sing about Yesterday. Isn’t that what Yesterday Wo Utatte literally means? So what do you mean this series also doesn’t have anything to do with The Beatles and this amazing hit song of theirs?! Oh. I see. It’s one of those romance dramas about some loser guy with a bleak future somewhat reuniting with his college crush and a high school girl who has a crush on him. For me to pick this up, must be one of those slow Corona virus seasons, huh?

Episode 1
Rikuo Uozumi works at a convenience store. I guess life is so boring that he is feeding crows with bento?! Man, must be some upper echelon crows and regular customers too since they tap on the window for food! Because of that, Haru Nonaka also wants some. Might as well. Later his friend, Takanori Fukuda drops by to ask him if he is going to turn up for the reunion. Rikuo doesn’t want too since he doesn’t want to be labelled as failure for not landing a job since graduation. Though, Fukuda claims he never went job hunting and gave up too early. He also mentions Shinako Morinome will be at the reunion too. The girl he has a crush on? Oh well… While at his job, Shinako pays a surprise visit. After his shift is over, he joins her to chat. She became a teacher and transferred here. Rikuo keeps thinking of himself as a failure and that Shinako is out of his league. Though she notes that she couldn’t imagine him wearing suits and working in a proper job, he does give an impression that he is someone who needs to be taken care of. Another day, Haru comes to hang out with Rikuo. Obviously she is flirting with him but he isn’t really interested. She hints she knows him for a long time. They met 5 years ago. Time to dig back those memories. On another night when Haru comes to bug Rikuo at his job, he isn’t in so his colleague, Kinoshita hints he left with a pretty babe. Haru then catches up and hugs him, trying to create some drama. But when she sees Shinako, she tries to run away. Apparently the ladies know each other. Haru was her student. Shinako regrets for what happened although Haru claims she quit school because she got fed up. Rikuo in the middle, what the f*ck is happening? Anyway, Shinako explains about Haru being caught by the school for working at some bar and got suspended.

After Rikuo sends Shinako home, Haru comes out from her hiding to tease him and she can easily tell this unrequited love. He changes the subject that he still can’t remember her from before. That’s because she had a makeover. Back then she had this nerdy look. When Rikuo was rushing for some entrance exam, he dropped his slip. She was the one who picked it up for him. So for the last 5 years, she’s like stalking him?! Hope she’s joking… More life lessons for Rikuo when Kinoshita tells him straight about his self-depreciating ways is just an excuse he won’t hurt himself no matter what happens. So he thinks hard about it until he gets the balls to go to Shinako’s house to finally confess he loves her in the romantic sense. Awkward. And so she apologizes. More awkward. Oh well, he excuses himself he needed some closure. It’s a long outstanding issue since college days. Poor guy wants to quit life! You can’t! Unless… Next day, Rikuo decides to take up Kinoshita’s offer to take some amateur photo for his amateur band releasing their CD. Look, there’s Haru. Rikuo puts in long fancy words about what happened last night. So Haru notes she admires him and that liars don’t lose but they also don’t gain. She is a liar just like him, probably trying to find a place to escape. Rikuo gets this idea to photograph her for the CD. Say cheese.

Extra 1: Haru is excited to see how the photo turned out. Guess what? Rikuo actually focused the picture of her pet crow on her shoulder! Disappointed?

Episode 2
Haru is here to bug Rikuo again. Until Kinoshita spoils it by saying he still gotten over his rejection. Bummer. Shinako is about to leave for a teacher’s party when she spots Rou Hayakawa making a classroom like his own home? This is art? Apparently his dad moved here for his new job so naturally he tagged along. Later that night as Shinako walks home, she bumps into Rikuo at the park. They talk about things. Especially Shinako feeling she isn’t really moving forward. Rikuo asks about the thought of them being friends. Things get complicated with Haru here. Don’t get the wrong idea. This is so awkward. It’s going to be even more so when Rou sees this. Next day, Rikuo asks Kinoshita about the idea of a man and woman becoming friends when Rou comes in to ask Rikuo directly about his relationship with Shinako. So Rou is trying to play the childhood friend card that he knows her more than him and grew up with her at Kanazawa, huh? It piqued Rikuo’s interest that something happened back at Kanazawa. Meanwhile Haru has Shinako hang out with her just to declare and throw a contest between them. It’s about Rikuo, right? Shinako explains it isn’t about that. In fact, she has somebody she loves but he is no longer in this world. Same story told by Rou to Rikuo too. Apparently the person Shinako loves is Rou’s brother, Yuu but he passed on 6 years ago. As their mom died young, Shinako who lived next door often came over to cook for them. The night he died, Shinako spent the entire night staring at the sakura tree in their yard. Hence whenever it is sakura season, it always reminds her of him. So with Shinako assuring she is through with love, I guess Haru didn’t listen or she interpreted differently because now she is declaring war on Shinako. Shinako returns home to see Rikuo waiting outside. He tells her what Rou told her. This is awkward. But Shinako apologizes for not telling him because it’s not like she wanted to hide it and she didn’t want to make an excuse about it. She wants to stop being friends since it won’t work out with only 1 putting in the effort. Rikuo also has the same idea but hints some ulterior motive and other strings attached. Somehow Shinako felt relieved. Next day as Rikuo heads in for work, looks like Kinoshita filled in Haru about his rival. That cheeky smile… Wiped off when Rikuo says it’s none of her business.

Extra 2: Shinako remembers Yuu sometimes helped her in class like when she forgot stuffs. Then there was one time their pet dog died and Rou was inconsolable. But Yuu told him to just let it go because eventually all living things will die. It was then Shinako understood him since he was always living near death’s door and always acted cold towards those who looked after him. It’s probably why she fell for him and not because it was out of pity. It’s also the reason she didn’t cry at his funeral. And those feelings she had for him, she had none for Rikuo.

Episode 3
Haru continues to visit Rikuo’s workplace. She even tells him about her war declaration with Shinako. He tries to brush it off he isn’t the kind of person she thinks but I guess she is as stubborn. In short, she’s still not giving up. For a few days, Rikuo didn’t turn up for work because he got a cold. Haru feels bad because that talk that night they had was in the rain. Kinoshita gives her his number but she doesn’t have the guts to call him. Rikuo must be feeling a lot better when Shinako comes to give him some rice. When Rikuo is better, Haru hands him a movie ticket for a monster movie. She feels bad for getting him sick. We see Haru working as a maid at some Milk Hall and she too has some personal issues with her family. She goes back to see mom whom she hasn’t seen for 3 months and something that happened 5 years ago with a creepy mass media type dude who was her teacher. On the day Haru and Rikuo are supposed to watch the movie, Haru waits but he never showed up. Some dang guys try to even flirt with her but her power of ignoring is strong. Rikuo is actually nursing Shinako who got sick. So when he finally realized he is late for his movie date, he rushes over but Haru is nowhere to be seen. Oh my, walking home in the rain? Going to get sick again. He sees Haru outside his place. He apologizes but Haru is glad nothing bad happened to him. So as he explains himself, Haru feels sad. She knew Shinako had priority but then calls him an idiot for being too honest and that he should’ve at least told a white lie?! Wait a minute! If he did that and she found out the truth later, she would still berate him for lying to him! OMFG! There’s no way to win this! NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY MEN CAN’T UNDERSTAND WOMEN???!!! We see Haru deep in thought about this. So much so see screams out about that guy needs to at least keep his promise. Luck has it, Rikuo is just nearby. He goes to talk to her. Uhm, can you both take this sappy drama to the side? You’re holding up traffic… Awkward at first, Haru then starts telling him some personal details. It’s her way to introduce herself because she’d like him to know a few things about her. So he takes it she is still pissed about being stood up. Haru trying to feign a fever coming so he can come over to take care of her? Don’t play this game, Rikuo!!! YOU CAN NEVER WIN!!!

Extra 3: Rikuo visits Milk Hall and talks to Kyouko Sayama who owns and runs the place. By day it is a café but by night it is a bar. It is probably what got Haru into trouble in the first place since she didn’t make clear her context. Kyouko knows a lot about Rikuo because Haru can’t keep her mouth shut about him. Haru just arrived for her shift and is delighted to see Rikuo here. She is happy to brew him her special coffee.

Episode 4
Rou is glad that Shinako is at his place and cooking for him since her family sent her too much vegetables. You know that feeling when a girl you like starts comparing you with your dead brother… It’s that kind of talk… Anyway, the talk is diverted with Shinako learning he is trying to take cram school for arts but is having problems. Competition is tough. Flashback shows Rou is good in drawing and is the only thing he is better at Yuu who was always at the centre of attention. That’s why he kept drawing even if people acknowledged him just for the moment. Then the talk goes back to the dead brother. Rou being honest with her if she will be able to get over him. Because Rou is not his replacement. He is seeking her approval but I guess she can only see him as a little brother. Is that a rejection? Rou blows his top asking if she is confusing sympathy with love. She isn’t. Really? I’m not too sure either… Rou continues to struggle at cram school. Before we forget Rikuo-Rou rivalry existed, here is one now. With Haru coming in, this going to get a little complicated. She realizes Rou is Rikuo’s rival (both guys deny with perfect synchronicity). Since she is bugging Rikuo to walk her home, Rou gets the wrong idea he has a backup. He threatens to rat this out to Shinako. Unfortunately Rikuo is too busy with work so Rou walks Haru home. So do they have a chance? I guess they have to hang in there for each other’s sake. With Shinako and Rou’s dad returning to their hometown for the Bon festival, Rou reminisces the past. One including he threw a tantrum when Shinako couldn’t leave Yuu just to go watch fireworks with Rou. Rou realizes Shinako left for Tokyo trying to look away from reality, a life without Yuu. We see Rou’s dad packing up Yuu’s belongings as he plans to rent out the house. He thinks they need something to move on and they can come back once in a while to remember Yuu. Can she? She wants to escape reality but doesn’t want to forget him. Yeah. See her reminisce those times and crying. Looks like it’s not over. As for Rou, he can’t give up after a single rejection. Gotta be serious. Life only begins then?

Extra 4: Fukuda talks to Rikuo about working for a day at an exhibition run by his friend. Rikuo isn’t so sure because of his shift so Fukuda adds that it has cameras and stuffs he likes. Though Rikuo admits he likes tinkering with cameras, he doesn’t like looking at the pictures. Fukuda thinks he can be inspired if he checks out the work of pros. Does Rikuo need more time to think about it?

Episode 5
Rikuo takes up Fukuda’s advice so now he is also working part time in a gallery office job that deals with photography. He also has a new colleague joining, Kouichi Minato who is a college sophomore. When Haru comes to visit Rikuo, it seems Minato knows who she is. Surprisingly she doesn’t remember him. He is actually her high school classmate. Now you remember? As they hang out, it seems Rikuo is starting to dislike Minato because of his very straightforward arrogance. Though, he is quite down to earth. Haru tries to tease him about it but I don’t think this will make him jealous. Minato seems to be hanging out with Haru more often and one night while walking her home, they stumble into Rikuo and Shinako just finishing their drinking session with college buddies. Will they get the wrong idea? Well, Rikuo sounding jealous she is hanging out with that guy. And Haru mad that Rikuo not even asking why she is with Minato. So mad that she has Minato accompany her further. So he learns about this ‘complicated’ relationship among the related parties. Haru asks if he has a girlfriend. He hints he does but she is in love with someone else. Yup. Haru too feels the same. Oh boy. I didn’t think she would be this dense! Next day at work, Minato asks Rikuo if he is dating Shinako or even likes Haru. He gives sheepish answers… Haru tries to tease Rikuo more about Minato but that jerk continues to give her the cold shoulder. She doesn’t give up. Even one day hinting about him working hard to save and buy an engagement ring for her! Remember her ring size too. Another day, Minato asks Haru to accompany him for an outing. Long story short, he finally manages to confess he likes her and hopes she can date him. This of course he is aware she likes Rikuo. Haru replies about Rikuo being a jerk who doesn’t know her feelings and thinks she might be okay being his backup. But she won’t give up even if it will never happen since she doesn’t want to regret. Hence she turns him down but Minato is okay with it since he expected it. This is when Minato reveals he just quit college. Studying and then going into the work force doesn’t feel like his style. Because his plan now is to travel the world with his camera, he might regret if he didn’t tell her his feelings. Not sure if Haru is happy or relieved. So they part ways and she shakes his hand. Haru bugs Rikuo at the gallery. This guy is more irritated than ever. Not only Minato has quit but the photo he submitted for a competition won first place! And that picture is a side profile of a forlorn Haru! More Haru teasing of course that she might be such a beautiful person but I don’t think Rikuo is in the mood.

Episode 6
Chika Yuzuhara is seen hanging out behind the convenience store. She knows Rikuo. Who is she? She was once his high school classmate. And they once dated. THEY ONCE WHAT???!!! Yeah, she dumped him after 4 months. FOUR MONTHS???!!! Apparently she’s crashing at his place for the time being since she couldn’t pay her rent so she got kicked out. Why him? I guess she doesn’t have any female friends and her other exes all have girlfriends. Looking at his room, she can tell he is single. Damn! Oh, despite being a diligent girl back in high school, she got into various relationships with other guys. Yeah, it’s complicated. Even as of now, every band she joins eventually breaks up! Oh man, this girl is bad news. One day after working too hard, Rikuo collapses on her. Want to troll us that he’s trying to rape her? Turns out he is sick so the least she could do is nurse his health back. Now the interesting part is coming. Shinako and Haru try to pay a visit at Rikuo’s workplace only to be told he is sick. So when they visit his place, imagine the look on their face when they see a woman answering the door! Who this b*tch?! Sure didn’t get the wrong place? Although Chika tries to explain she is a freeloader, Shinako ‘understands’ and takes Haru to leave. Haru is mad that Rikuo is ‘cheating’ on them but clam Shinako notes that it’s not like they’re dating him. After all, she rejected him. Can’t blame him. Hell is upon Rikuo when Chika tells him about a couple of women were here. Think hard to explain yourself. Next day back at work, he can tell wrathful Haru is coming and tries to escape but eventually is caught. Because he’s being a weak pussy and can’t tell her to get out, Haru throws a fit! Throws the plastic crate at him! Oh sh*t! She runs away crying. So how is this his fault?! Don’t worry. He still alive. This guy isn’t scared of death yet. Because he waits outside Shinako’s house trying to explain. But she claims she wasn’t at his place and was drinking with friends. See that scary face? Yeah, she’s mad. Don’t even think about asking further. Just go away! So I guess Chika is the only one he can fall back to. They talk about things. Chika admitting she probably just wanted to be liked and never been one to fall in love or invest deeply in anything. Another day, Shinako stops by Rikuo’s place. Not home. Chika sees her and before she could leave, she takes her in to properly explain nothing happened between them. There. Feel better? When Rikuo returns, Chika has left and a note explaining she managed to land a paying job. Thanks for everything. Phew. This nightmare is over. Hopefully.

Episode 7
Haru gets her revenge. Yeah, she’s ordering lots of stuffs from the menu. Hey, Rikuo says it is his treat. He is here to explain that he won’t be doing the job at the gallery anymore because his boss hooked him up at a photo studio to help him learn photography. With this happy news, Haru orders beers to celebrate. It’s on her. So the entire treat or just the beers? But Haru is still underage!!! Meanwhile Rou tries to ask Shinako on an outing. Obviously she needs to finish up her school work but I guess this irks him as he rants his mouth about him doing all this so he could catch up to her. I guess Shinako is at a loss so she talks to Rikuo. This guy? Yeah well, he just says to let him experience life. He has got to learn that things won’t always go the way he wants. So when Rou has calmed down, Shinako talks to him about how she is watching him carefully to become what he wants. Fukuda asks Rikuo about his chances with Shinako. That came out from nowhere. But Rikuo didn’t expect this because Fukuda mentions he will be getting married soon and wants him as his wedding photographer. Have you see Rikuo with such big shocking eyes? So Rikuo seeks advice from his boss and to a certain extent, Haru. Wedding came and went. Nothing extraordinary. One day, Shinako notices Rou getting taller. She never looked at him properly, huh? Then the white of his arm starts to invoke memories of Yuu. She tries to leave but is that a tear in her eye? Rou catches her only to see her crying. She admits how his arm looks exactly like Yuu’s. She tries to brush off she is okay but he hugs her and claims he is the only one who knows how important Yuu is too him. He was part of their lives. So Rou is now going to take Yuu’s place? Poor Shinako so confused so she goes to talk to Rikuo. That guy again, huh? So it’s about Rou, huh? Oh. That kid again, huh? The best option now is to avoid seeing Rou but Shinako has to come to terms that she may no longer see him as a childhood friend. This has Shinako start thinking that she has not been thinking about the feelings of Rou and Rikuo. All she was seeing was Yuu. An excuse to run away and not come up with answers. Hence her dilemma of waiting but also fearing she would end up alone. Can she move on or not? Since it is awkward talking outside her place, she invites him in. So finally Rikuo scores?

Episode 8
Never refuse a good offer. But right before she lets him in, she decides she has changed her mind! Oh well. Okay then. Nothing much ado. So both sides talk out to their friends who are just flabbergasted at this incredulous weirdness. So Morita (Shinako’s teacher colleague and friend) just tells her to go date him. I mean, she almost invited him into her home just to talk about things so that’s a start. Apparently Shinako still not ready and we all know she’s trying to come up with some excuse not to go ahead with it and continue to delay. Both haven’t seen each other ever since as they focus on their work. Haru and Shinako patron the convenience store a few times and don’t see Rikuo on his shifts. Could it be he has quitted? Fate has Rikuo and Shinako stumble into each other again. Awkward. He updates her he has quit his convenience store job and is now hired full time in his photography work. It made him realize he loves the camera so he decided to go further with it. Shinako is happy for him. Yeah, they dodged the ‘important’ subject so as they leave, they now rue they missed that chance. Sighs. Is it so hard? Apparently it is for them. And then it’s time for Rikuo to meet with Haru. He updates her too. Then he tells her that since he will be working late more often, he doesn’t want her to just wait for him. Is he trying to hint something? Though, Haru says she still enjoys doing so on her own free will. So don’t mind me. Yeah. Awkward.

Episode 9
Rou returns. He feels bad what he did to Shinako that night. He apologizes. A little awkward so Shinako assures that their status quo relationship will never fall apart because she loves him and his father (family wise) and doesn’t want it all ruined. Meanwhile Haru is feeling conflicted. With Rikuo no longer working at the convenience store, she has no reason to conveniently see him. Then there’s the thought of being rejected by him as well as Shinako’s thoughts on him. Frustrating indeed. Yeah, and it’s showing and written all over her face. I’m sure Kyouko can give some advice but ultimately it is her who must decide. Rikuo reminisces over the old photos during their college days. Shinako happens to come by and she too was reminiscing the same thing. He tries to change the subject since this is getting awkward about the Christmas party Fukuda is organizing. Too bad she can’t come as she is busy cooking for Rou as his exams are coming up. So while he walks her home, Haru comes by his place. Not in. Oh dear. Don’t get depressed again… When Rikuo returns, he knows Haru is here because that damn single crow feather on the ground. Woah. Rikuo’s colleague got rejected by his girlfriend. So he gives him a mini present he is supposed to give to her. For a fee?! Rikuo thinks of giving it to Fukuda for his wife since he can’t bring it himself to give it to Shinako. Okay, at least she doesn’t mind. Shinako remembers Rou used to draw a portrait of her but hasn’t done so since Yuu’s death. So he picks up his pencil and starts sketching her. Because she is quite tense, he tries to joke around. Apparently she didn’t find striking a sexy pose to be funny. So goodnight. Bye. Since it’s too early to go home, I guess she goes to Rikuo’s place. But since he is at Fukuda’s home, here’s your surprise Shinako appearance!

Extra 9: Haru delivers to a group of college students. With the stress of the exam, they’re elated to see her especially in a Santa outfit. When she returns to Milk Hall, she sees Kuma waiting outside. He is one of those college students but wasn’t he supposed to have gone back to his hometown? Noticing he is staring longingly at Kyouko, Haru understands what is going on and invites him in.

Episode 10
With Shinako joining in, Fukuda and his wife try to hook them up. Meanwhile Haru returns to Milk Hall and Kuma just left. Kyouko is being noticeably clumsy and spacing out. Not sure about what his family problems has got to do with her but I guess it’s to dispense some adult advice to Haru. After Rikuo walks Shinako home, he gives her that present. She likes this necklace gift but Rikuo can’t be a liar so he tells the truth about the present. He thought she would be disappointed but she laughs. It’s just Rikuo being Rikuo. Since both aren’t going back for the New Year, she suggests hanging out together. Rikuo goes home and sees Haru sitting outside his doorstep. Been waiting long? I guess so because she gives him a good hug. I wonder how much of this recharged her. Anyway he invites her in, they talk about things. Nothing really interesting. Nothing. I know he tells her to stop doing this but I don’t think she’s the kind to listen. We all should know by now. Then more Rikuo and Shinako pondering. He finally calls her. Hey. Have anything to do now? The usual hanging out for the day. Then she invites him to her place. Nothing much happens. Nothing. The most dramatic thing that ever happens is Rikuo spilling his coffee. I know he is nervous but I don’t even know how he could even spill it. Shinako cleans up. He wants to leave. Can’t take the tension? Some talk. A bit awkward. Not sure if she’s trying to imply Rikuo is not and not aggressive because of Haru. Huh? But Shinako hinting despite she still has feelings for a certain person long time ago, there could be that same feelings for a certain someone now. She wants to move on even if she has to take it slowly. And with that, Rikuo hugs her. Slow hug. Then the stare. Then his hand on her cheek. And then he calls it a night and goes home. Damn, that tension killed us! They really wanted to take this real slow, huh?! When Rikuo returns, he receives a distress call.

Episode 11
It seems someone broke into Haru’s place. She is a bit in shock and since it is too dark, the police can only investigate tomorrow morning. I guess we all know Rikuo’s behaviour by now so it’s no surprise that Haru takes advantage of his kindness of not letting a scared girl to sleep all by herself. Yes, he’ll be staying over. But don’t worry. Nothing much happens. They have dinner and WTF he is thinking about telling her about Shinako?! Thank goodness he chickens out because boy, it could’ve been real unnecessary sh*t drama. On another day, Rikuo is at Shinako’s place. A call from Rou about something but nothing pressing. Noting something amiss, he thinks somebody is at her place but she lies that there isn’t anyone. So Rikuo has to go home early. So the next time she makes it up is by visiting his place. As she is about to leave, Rikuo tries to kiss her?! WOAH! Too fast! TOO FAST!!! Luckily or not, Shinako isn’t prepared yet. Meanwhile Haru thinks of surprise visit Rikuo. And then of course the drama that we’ve all been expecting, Haru sees them both together. What’s the meaning of this? WTF, Shinako hiding behind Rikuo?! Could she not make it any more obvious?! Haru realizes what this means. Is it time for the knives to come out? Not really. After those tears, she just goes away. One night as Shinako is walking with Rou, he talks about moving closer to her since it would be a pain for her to come so far to cook for him. She sounds surprised that he expects her to cook for him all the time so Rou gets disappointed that she is doing this out of responsibility. The next time Shinako and Rikuo meet, Shinako is clearly stressed over their current relationship. They can’t keep it a secret forever so the next time she helps Rou move, she’ll tell him about them. But that won’t happen because Rou spots them outside her place and wants to know what the f*ck is going on between them. Finally the other much needed drama…

Episode 12
Since Shinako cannot answer, Rou gets the idea and leaves. Shinako goes after him and apologizes for not telling him because it might upset him and that she valued their relationship. Rou of course has to tell her that what is important to him is her happiness. Their relationship goes more than that. He admits his mistake of not noticing this. Shinako is now sad as she thinks back of their times together, yeah, maybe she ruined it. And not forgetting Haru, we see her depression continuing. It’s going to get lonelier from now. Rikuo and Shinako meet on another day. They talk things out. He says he can’t confess to her because of their awkward situation. So is he asking her to choose between him and Rou? Oh damn. Now she’s starting to cry! Actually, she regretted not taking a look at Rou despite being with him for so long. And yeah, there’s the case of Haru too. It’s pretty confusing. They’re crying, they’re laughing. Feel better? Eventually they realize they are similar to each other and kept worrying about what others thought. In the end, Shinako hopes he’ll be friends with her. Is this a rejection? Next we see Rikuo taking the bus. Now he has to deal with Haru as he thinks of the scenarios and thinks he needs to say to her. I can understand his anxiety… Could’ve been the greatest missed-each-other moment as Haru is about to alight the bus that Rikuo has gotten off. Finally something useful her pet crow does. Cawing away so noisily so she won’t get on. But now she has to face Rikuo. First thing she did? Punch him in the gut! OMG. You trying to kill your chances?! As they talk, he tells her that Shinako dumped him. You might think Haru would feel happy hearing this (in a way she does), but she is also mad because she is under impression that since he has been dumped, he is now going for his backup girl? So after some awkward ‘explanation’ by Rikuo why their relationship didn’t work out because they were just confused, basically he is saying that he loves her. The words Haru wanted but did not expect to hear. So happy that she kisses him! I think the bus didn’t stop and just drove by to let them be! So Haru is the winner, right? Being greedy, she wants him to redo his confession! In the aftermath, we see Rou’s friends celebrating at his place to congratulate him for living on his own. Shinako is at the door so a female friend answers it. See Shinako’s shocked face upon seeing a hot chick. Better dispel the misunderstanding. Haru is happy Kyouko is getting engaged and hopes Rikuo would one day propose to her too. But for now, their silly lives go on.

Extra 12: We hear Rikuo narrating his personal views on relationship, his passion for the camera and the change that he needed badly but was afraid to take. So after all the overthinking and silly actions he took, he finally realized he hurt the one he loved. He might make the same mistakes again but hopes she will accept him. So… This is a confession letter to Haru?! Unfortunately it isn’t perfect and wants him to redo it again! How many times has it been already?! Yeah, Haru complaining, his first part was all about Shinako and excuses. Nothing about their future, damn it! Oh dear, why do I have a feeling she just delayed him popping the question…

Baby, Baby, Feels Like Maybe, Things Will Be All Right…
Yesterday/ Love was such an easy game to play/ Now I need a place to hide away/ Oh, I believe in yesterday… Gosh… Sighs… Oh… Did the whole series just waste our time with this nothing burger? Okay, okay. In the end Rikuo decided to go with Haru because he also admitted he likes girls who treats him nice. I mean, which guy wouldn’t?! But it still feels really weird that Rikuo went with Haru in the end because from the way things played out, it’s like telling us Haru was the backup plan all along. But whatever. At least somebody got together which is still much better than nobody gets together and everybody ends up being depressed as f*ck. So yeah. Congratulations. You did, Rikuo! You did it, Haru! Hooray! In the event if this fails, I hope that Rikuo doesn’t fall back on his other unofficial backup girl. You know? Chika! Oh sh*t! She’s his ex, baby! What are the chances of exes getting back together?! Great cliché recipe for more romance drama. Lest they’re singing that Taylor Swift’s hit we’re so never ever getting back together again, I don’t think I want to open another can of worms with this twisted possibility!

Unless you are into this kind of romance drama, and I mean really love this kind of genre, you’re going to find this boring and draggy. I can’t believe that I actually sat there for a dozen episodes and watch this thing. In actual fact, it was so boring and draggy that I caught myself being distracted by other stuffs happening in real life! Oh, is that the water boiling right now? Yup, it is. Oh, is that some mad racer idiot hitting the metal to the pedal, shattering the peacefulness of the neighbourhood? Yes, it is. Did somebody just WhatsApp me? Nope. Just some stupid SMS spam. Oh look at the time. I can’t believe I’m still watching anime this late although I do this every weekend. Ah yes, I am. So yeah, there could be a big possibility that I may not understand correctly what is going on because of me being distracted far too often and only forcing myself to focus out of ‘responsibility’. Heh. Hey. I decided to check this out so I have to see it till the end.

Initially before I started watching this, I was a bit confused to how many episodes there was to this series. They said that there were going to be 6 additional episodes that will only be specially streamed on a certain website. So from what I understand, there will be extra 6 full length episodes after the series ended. But those episodes never came and there were only 6 shorts that lasted about 2 minutes. So these extra shorts were the extra episodes?! Even more so they aren’t continuous and are scattered randomly over the season (at least the first 4 were continuous). Wow. How misleading. I wonder if the actual real episodes got cancelled so we have to settle for these shorts acting as its substitutes. So while the extra shorts may not bring much to the table but it gives some sense of additional info to what happened in that episode or the next. Not to say that they are important or unimportant but it gives a sense of completion so it is best to watch them too after you’ve watched that episode.

Anyway, back to the boring plot. I’m not really a veteran in this kind of genre but I have my fair share of having watching such romance drama because I can’t be watching slapstick comedies and ecchi animes all the time, right?! The drama is prolonged mainly because of Rikuo’s indecisiveness. He can’t really decide now and he just let things happen and flow as it is. The drama is further prolonged by the fact that Shinako is in love with a dead man. So yeah. There is your draggy romance drama with lots of awkward moments in between until they decide to ramp that up with the usual ingredient of third party members getting involved. So that’s mainly Haru and Rou’s role, right? Because you do know how boring and draggy this series is with Rikuo and Shinako maintaining their distance and status quo until finally they decide to move on forward a little. That’s when the much needed love triangle or quadruple drama starts to go up a notch. I mean, can’t be doing this charade forever, right? Somebody has got to give in. Somebody has got to lose. And they would’ve actually gotten away and forward with their relationship had it not been for those meddling kids! Yeah. Those darn meddling kids made them put the brakes on their relationship and revert it to friendzone. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

Also, the characters are nothing special and just ordinarily clichéd. Like Rikuo. We were already told he accepted his bleak future from the synopsis. So he doesn’t do much. But because of his kind nature, he can’t really say no and that’s why he is partly responsible for this boring mess that dragged out the drama until that ‘boiling point’ (if I can call that mild dramatic showdown as such). Using the excuse of Shinako’s first rejection to just mope around and do nothing until Shinako has her own set of problems to deal with. Yeah, another cliché character who cannot move on because of her love for a dead guy. Yes, this cliché trope of a girl can’t move on because she’s still in love with a deceased guy goes all the way back to Maison Ikkoku’s Kyoko. Oh yeah. We old folks sure remember that one. Brings back the nostalgic memories, doesn’t it? So with Rikuo’s second rejection from her, I guess this time he could handle it much better, huh? I hope it is not because this time he knew he had Haru as his backup…

Also, being in such cliché fashion means Shinako doesn’t have to face whatever problems she needs to face and can use this as an excuse to avoid them. Say, love. So it’s like she can stay currently like yesterday? I can see how this title came about now. It really took a long time for her to finally try to get over him. I know it then gives rise to cliché romance conflicts but that is what moving forward is all about. She can only get stronger if she gets through this. And yeah, both of them seem to be better at opening up their emotions for each other but at the cost of us watching their draggy drama. So, uhm, persistence and perseverance pays off? Because normally after the first rejection, normal common sense has it that the people would just avoid and never see each other again. But yet these 2 continue to meet and hang out. Odd, right? Like as though the rejection was just a joke and never actually happened.

Then there is Haru and Rou to add to that conflict but so far nothing much has happened. Haru started off as quite a lively girl who is at her own pace. I mean, not many people can have a crow as a pet, right? What a disappointment the crow was nothing to crow about. Pretty forgettable and not even series mascot material. Despite firing those friendly warning shots and challenge to Shinako about competing over Rikuo (not that Shinako officially agreed to it anyway), I feel that Haru has been digging her own grave ever since. I mean, if she really wanted to make Rikuo hers, she would have been more aggressive in pursuing her love interest rather than being this meek. Like as though she is satisfied with playing this game forever. I mean, perhaps Haru doesn’t want to be as pushy and aggressive so as to turn off Rikuo (yeah, who knows if that pussy will reject her if she acts so) and hence this long draggy affair of visiting him and the likes. But nothing much happens. Seriously. Then slowly we see her feeling more insecure and then bam! Hard hitting reality hurts when she prematurely realizes Rikuo has chosen Shinako over her. Somewhat. After all, Shinako holds a lot of disadvantage over Haru. I mean, she is his college crush. That already gave Shinako a handicapped head start in this draggy love game! So you’ve only got yourself to blame for acting more like an annoying friend who loves to play come over than anything more than that. And didn’t Haru have her own household problems as well? I guess that wasn’t important. Oh well. She came from behind and took the win so that’s that. I wonder asking Rikuo to redo his confession is some sort of punishment for the heartbreak she had to go through… As for Rou, we need that cliché character who needs to break out from his brother’s shadow. Yes, childhood friend trope. Because of their relationship, it is hard for Rou and Shinako to break down that barrier and look at each other differently as a man and woman. What are the chances going in that direction? Not in this anime at least.

So boring and draggy that they had to introduce Minato and Chika midway just for a slight change in pace. I mean, what the heck is their single episode appearance for other than that? Just to settle some unsettled feelings in their heart for their old flame before moving on with their life, never to be heard again. Speaking of which, I guess these characters are better than the main ones because they eventually decided to move on instead of dragging this out. Heh. Rikuo not such a loser after all since he dated Chika. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! I suppose this series doesn’t have enough episodes or they’ll do one for Kyouko and Kuma also. Uh huh. That short drama that ended without even starting felt like a red herring. It might be me just overthinking but thankfully it didn’t start because oh boy, I don’t know if I can stomach another draggy romance that amounts to nothing. So I’m assuming Kyouko got proposed by him that we didn’t even see. But I figure it wouldn’t f*cking shock us to suddenly see Kyouko wearing an engagement ring at the end and we at least have a pretty good idea whom it came from. I had to pick Kinoshita as the ‘best character’ because he just loves watching the drama unfold but Rikuo. But ever since they quit their convenience store jobs and now he is on a rock band tour, oh well, it was good while it lasted.

The art and animation is quite simplistic. They’re quite plain and basic. Nothing to crow about either. Because of the ‘realism’ of this romance drama, I guess the colours and hues too are at the mundane and boring tone. Sometimes the backgrounds look like sketches and there are certain instances they used real and still pictures. Not too bad, really. Character design, Rikuo and Shinako look pretty plain. While Haru’s hairstyle resembles crow wings but I guess the most eyebrow raising one is Rou who has a safety pin as his earring. A SAFETY PIN!!! WTF???!!! Is this art?! No wonder Shinako unconsciously still treats him like a little baby brother. HAHAHA!!! Side note: Should have more Haru in maid outfit! Shockingly, I couldn’t have guessed (not that I could anyway) that this series is done by Doga Kobo. F*cking Doga Kobo! The anime studio that specializes in animating cute girls doing cute things genre like New Game, YuruYuri, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Mikakunin De Shinkoukei, Sansha Sanyou, Koisuru Asteroid, Gabriel Dropout, Watashi Ni Tenshi Ga Maiorita, Uchi No Maid Ga Uzasugiru, GJ-Bu, Anima Yell, Hidan No Aria AA, Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic and Houkago Teibou Nisshi. Okay, okay. So they’ve done a few other animes not in this category but I still can’t believe it’s by them since it lacks that kawaii anime girl cuteness trademark anywhere.

Voice acting feels pretty standard. This is a romance drama after all and that’s all there is to expect. So yeah, partly it was Kana Hanazawa as Shinako that motivated me to watch this series. She’s pretty okay and within expected range but nothing extraordinary. Other recognizable seiyuus include Natsuki Hanae as Rou, Eri Kitamura as Chika and Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Kinoshita. Again, just pretty okay and nothing extraordinary. Yume Miyamoto as Haru (Hitomi in Murenase! Seton Gakuen) being the liveliest character sounded okay at first until she start getting depressed and losing out, it wasn’t the same Haru anymore. The other casts are Chikahiro Kobayashi as Rikuo (Sugimoto in Golden Kamuy), Maaya Sakamoto as Kyouko (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Takuma Terashima as Fukuda (Shiroe in Log Horizon) and Yuuki Ono as Minato (Isami in Shokugeki No Souma).

I think I know why this series is a little draggy. It has no opening song! Hah. Just a stupid theory of mine. But anyway, this is a very rare full length series without an opener I guess because they need to really drag the drama out. Heh. Just another dumb theory. But it has 3 ending songs to compensate for it. The first one being Kaga No Naka Ni Tori by Yourness. Your typical slow sappy ballad that fits this series like a glove. But I have to admit that it isn’t all that bad. They should have maintained this one instead of replacing it halfway with Aoibashi by Sayuri. This one just sounds pretty generic. Not sure if they copied High Score Girl since the ending credits animation is like an arcade video game. Weird Invaders knockoff with Haru and her crow buddy shooting UFOs. But still ultimately lose and game over because she can’t get to Rikuo who went off with Shinako. Oh damn. Is that a foreshadowing?! My personal favourite is the final one, which is the same name as the title of this series. Sung by Agehasprings featuring Tanabata, this song reeks retro pop style with cool acoustic strumming. My only gripe is that the lyrics keep spamming the title’s name in its chorus. Like a broken tape recorder. Also, the ending credits animation here has the character designs in better and higher quality since it is drawn in a slightly different shade. Maybe the series wouldn’t have been such a bore had they used this art style instead.

Overall, this series is definitely not for everyone. You have to really love this romance genre to appreciate and enjoy every second of it. I won’t go so far as to say this is the worst and most boring show of the season or the year because this series is what it is in actuality. Maybe I haven’t experienced such a crossroad in my life so I can’t really relate to the problems here. Yeah, watching many of such animes doesn’t qualify me either. It’s so much different in real life. But anyway, I can’t blame you if you feel frustrated at the actions of these characters because most of them usually amounts to nothing much ado and the much needed conflict needed in such genres don’t happen to often until the very end. I know showdowns and confrontations over love interests are so cliché and common but that’s the essential ingredient in such genres. Hence turning this simple anime into a really boring one. Sighs. I’m just going to chill myself and move on by singing yesterday once more…

Every sha-la-la-la/ Every wo-o-wo-o, still shines/ Every shing-a-ling-a-ling, that they’re starting to sing, so fine/ When they get to the part/ Where he’s breaking her heart/ It can really make me cry, just like before/ It’s yesterday once more…