Score: A

It’s kind of fun how Nagatoro and Naoto really have turned into a cute (not yet dating) couple already. The feelings for both sides and their interactions just continue to get cuter as the show goes along. We’ve long left the rough start of the series and just transitioned into a fun/cute little romcom. Back-to-back episodes of each of them visiting the other while either sick or just recovering has allowed a lot of cute moments between them. This episode was equally good thanks to just the legitimate care and concern from Nagatoro. She was all over going to visit him and actively restraining herself when being reminded that he was too sick for shenanigans.

Understandable that being caught like this embarrassed them

This episode highlights why I generally like Nagatoro more than other similar characters (Uzaki, Takagi, etc). She is a force, but mostly one that keeps events in motion. A lot of things didn’t quite go as she planned out in this episode. She wanted to embarrass Naoto a bit by acting cute. And pushing it repeatedly ended up with the incredible impact of holding hands. Being caught by her friends just added onto the embarrassment for both. It is as much fun to watch Nagatoro pushing things as it is seeing her end up paying for it. Thankfully that never makes her hold back since otherwise the show just wouldn’t be as much fun.

It’s fitting to have the episode end similarly to how it began. Both characters are a bit embarrassed after these sick visits and end up plenty embarrassed when caught by her friends. Of course, at this point none of them are pretending to buy Nagatoro’s excuses. These two are way too obvious about their feelings at this point for her friends to do more than poke fun. You could say there’s some progression in that sense though. The friends are comfortable at this point and rarely impose on Naoto like they might have at the start of the series. They know both that he’s a good guy and that things are building up between him and Nagatoro. So, they’ll lend a hand in giving him an excuse to visit her while she’s sick or just plainly refuse to buy Nagatoro’s lame excuses. Things are comfortable within that group.

Nagatoro wastes little time!

It was sweet how quickly Nagatoro was on top of heading to see Naoto. She noted quickly that he wasn’t at school and sent out messages quickly. It isn’t like with Naoto himself who needed a couple days to wonder what was going on and seek out information. She found out he was sick, called him immediately, and went straight to his place after finding out where he lived. You can say she was less prepared than he was since he went there with homework sheets and a gift. But I think it just reflects how Nagatoro is a character that acts rather than thinking over things. That can be the source of trouble for her, but it is nice to see her just getting things moving in that sense.

There was a good back and forth during that visit. Nagatoro was tempted to tease a bit when visiting, but seeing his poor condition did snap her out of it a few times. Much as she wanted to snoop around this really wasn’t the time for it. Not that she avoided having any fun during the visit. The forehead temperature check was mostly there just for her to slip in some teasing while trying to honestly confirm his condition. Good moment there where she has her fun and gets something done at the same time.

A dream or vision of the future?

My favourite moment came during that fever dream from Naoto. It was a great chance for things to be explored and to further build things up between them. No need to delve heavily into the fantasy of Nagatoro being his caring wife who was nursing him back to health. The fun thing is that it really isn’t much of a stretch since that’s what she was doing, just not being married to him. Even if it currently requires him to be feverish to call her by her first name…I still appreciate it XD. The impact was pretty powerful, and he was too out of it to even realize what happened until the next day. For poor Hayase it took a moment to clue in and she reacted as you’d expect.

It is very much Hayase’s style to escalate or try to even the score when she is thrown off. Too bad for her that Naoto wasn’t in any shape for that kind of game. So, all she could do was single-handedly try to escalate with a kiss, but he wasn’t going to react regardless. To cover her own embarrassment, she had to try and push him to say it again. And then it just transitioned into her just wanting to hear the guy she likes call her by her first name. I’m curious though. How far would she have gone if not for Naoto’s mother arriving? That surprise arrival did make for a good little scene of Nagatoro having to make an embarrassed retreat. Being face to face with Naoto’s mother just left her wanting to escape as quickly as she could XD.

A nice and responsible mother

I want to give props to Naoto’s mother. Not sure if his father has been mentioned, but at least we have a good idea of the kind of person his mother is. She is a nice and caring person. It is also clear that she has her priorities in order. If Naoto hadn’t insisted that she still go to work, then she would have taken the day off without a second thought. She’s a parent first and doesn’t intend to brush off her kid being sick. And she also was considerate enough to offer to drive Nagatoro home. This mystery girl showed up to clearly check on her son and that does give Nagatoro bonus points. But I do think she’s naturally concerned about a young girl walking home alone at that hour. One episode just showed her to be a solid and nice person.

These two just can’t help themselves

This second season has been steady and comfortable. The characters have moved just from just Naoto getting teased to these two developing as a main pair. Both are maturing as characters. They will have some awkward moments in their character arcs, but they are moving in the right direction. I’m curious to see where things go from here. They’ve handled the back-and-forth sick visits well. What will be the next event to drive their story? The preview does give some hints, but I’d rather not focus on previews too much. Will let the next episode tell whatever story it has to tell. One thing I will say is that I’m once again glad that I didn’t give up on this show too fast. It took a bit to find its footing, but it absolutely managed that.