(CR) Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken

[Frontier]

Itsuki needs to crash at Amane's because his dads' refusal to accept Chitose drove him out? Well, Amane better ask his wife if that's okay! And then Mahiru just ends up greeting him like a wife greeting her hubbies' pal coming to stay over .

I love how Itsuki and Chitose are all over each other while Amane and Mahiru are just the low-key married couple who act like they've been together for years. And yet somehow aren't officially dating. Itsuki and Chitose are straight up the audience at this point .

Chitose pretty much on the money with how closed off and stiff Mahiru can come off in public, to the point where her relationships at school come off more shallow compared to what she's developing with Amane and even Chitose who see more of the real her. And Chitose loves teasing their relationship as much as she loves enjoying Mahiru's cooking .

This tag-teaming couple! Sending Amane an adorable picture of Mahiru cutely hugging Mr. Bear and then snagging a pic of Amane's reaction .

Huh, so Chitose's parents are okay with her boyfriend crashing with them, huh...

The fact that Mahiru pampers Mr. Bear and cuddles with him in bed is too precious for words! I also love her demanding Amane reveal an embarrassing secret about himself. What a cute and embarrassing couple !

Sayo Shiina...I love Mai Nakahara, but there's simply nothing likeable about Mahiru's biological mother. The sheer disdain and hatred for her daughter radiates from her dialogue, without a single ounce of maternal warmth or affection, to it feels less like she's talking to her daughter and more just an annoyance. All she sees in Mahiru is the husband she hates, and it was calling her an unwanted child that lead Mahiru to her despondent encounter with Amane in the rain. What a piece of @#$% .

Her parents had a loveless marriage, her birth was basically a "mistake," her parents barely paid any attention to her and plan to basically cut ties with her when she becomes an adult, and the only mother figure in her life was her housekeeper...Mahiru had it rough. And she became such an angelic perfectionist just so she could get her parents to finally pay attention to her, but they never did. She deserves so much better .

Granted, the flashbacks to Smol!Mahiru and watching her hair growth was kind of cute .

But, as always, Amane is there for Mahiru, to see her and accept the person she really is, someone he likes very much and that should be cherished and adored. And while there are others who see Mahiru as a special, wonderful, girl...there's only one guy she has her eyes on and wants to hear that from .

Please God of Romcoms, let these two be in the same class together! Mahiru loves him so much she's hugging him in broad daylight and even holding his hands amidst the wherry blossoms! It feels like neither of them can really restrain their feelings any longer! We even get a special ED with a lovely illustration of Mahiru in the cherry blossoms while Manaka Iwami sings a love song !

[grecefar]

I wonder if it's that bad with the parents neglect then why bother to visit her personaly?

Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore since mahiru found amane and the others, is just going to be uphill for her now on.

[Rasty]

Originally Posted by grecefar

I wonder if it's that bad with the parents neglect then why bother to visit her personaly?

Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore since mahiru found amane and the others, is just going to be uphill for her now on.

Might be either to take care of some paperwork that has to be handled directly or to do a periodic check whether there are no problems that could cause social trouble for them or even getting into trouble with official institutions for the neglect.

[Frontier]

I kind of wonder if there would be any drama over her dating someone or if they'd just as soon wash their hands of her and pawn her off to someone else/another family...

[serenade_beta]

I know her setting exists only as her reason to be so attached to the protagonist, but that honestly isn't that tragic.
She's pretty (as she says herself) and her parents, who don't give a crap about her, doesn't think to use her
Her parents that don't care for each other but still had sex without protection because the author said so and also didn't get an abortion
They send her money to live a free life
Literally the only problem she has is that they don't spend time with her. Money? No. Looks? No. Friends? No.

[Lex79]

Well she might not qualify for the top ten in the "characters with the most tragic background" contest, but for a kid having parents that not only don't care for you but tell you directly that you were unwanted and they hate you is pretty bad. Her saving grace was having a nice and caring housekeeper who raised her.

Anyway, it's obvious her and Amane are hopelessly head over heels for each other. Just confess already.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

I know her setting exists only as her reason to be so attached to the protagonist, but that honestly isn't that tragic.
She's pretty (as she says herself) and her parents, who don't give a crap about her, doesn't think to use her
Her parents that don't care for each other but still had sex without protection because the author said so and also didn't get an abortion
They send her money to live a free life
Literally the only problem she has is that they don't spend time with her. Money? No. Looks? No. Friends? No.

I think the issue is that she was starved for parental affection and genuine love from her family which they never gave her, and instead outright reviled her for no reason than their own issues with each other.

They said she was a "mistake" so I have to assume her conception was a tryst or some drunken night of hate sex .

They also said they'd cut her off when she's a legal adult so she probably won't have any access to their money. On-top of that her relationships at school are all shallow and there are only a few people, including Amane, that know and care for the real her.

[frubam]

Adorable episode. Truly the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers that we needed... well, they are practically lovers after this episode, lol. It has been great to see them slowly building up rapport up to this predestined moment where we would get to see Mahiru's sorrowful background, and how Akane would comfort her. And it did not disappoint =03. Although the whole thing about the mother being a total b***h to her daughter and their backstory feels so cheap and artificial, I ended up rolling my eyes upon the scene, but like someone already said, it is just a tool to get to the climatic moment(a s***ty tool, but whatever ...)

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

I know her setting exists only as her reason to be so attached to the protagonist, but that honestly isn't that tragic.
She's pretty (as she says herself) and her parents, who don't give a crap about her, doesn't think to use her
Her parents that don't care for each other but still had sex without protection because the author said so and also didn't get an abortion
They send her money to live a free life
Literally the only problem she has is that they don't spend time with her. Money? No. Looks? No. Friends? No.

As always, everything is a matter of perspective. I mean, to me, its like the 'grass is always greener'; the fact that she does have those things(well, "friends" is something i'd say she didn't have, at least in the truer sense of the word), perhaps in some kind of abundance means it probably doesn't hold as much value to her(i.e. the idea is having a lot of something inversely negates its value). The "tragedy" is that shes been working her whole life to try and gain her parents affections only to be treated as less than human, as an unwanted thing, or as a hindrance, and I can feel that being effective enough. I mean, even characters that have none of those things(no love, family, money, friends, looks) may not feel tragic if the circumstances around the character doesn't dictate it as so.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by frubam

Adorable episode. Truly the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers that we needed... well, they are practically lovers after this episode, lol. It has been great to see them slowly building up rapport up to this predestined moment where we would get to see Mahiru's sorrowful background, and how Akane would comfort her. And it did not disappoint =03. Although the whole thing about the mother being a total b***h to her daughter and their backstory feels so cheap and artificial, I ended up rolling my eyes upon the scene, but like someone already said, it is just a tool to get to the climatic moment(a s***ty tool, but whatever ...)

This is like the more wholesome, less spicy version of More Than a Married Couple where they're already acting like an old married couple without being self-conscious about it or needing to be forced into it by their school .

I feel like they set it up enough that it didn't feel out-of-nowhere at least, but I guess it just depends on how you read the drama aspect of the show.

[Rasty]

I find it rather strange that her personality stayed this pure with the lack of attention. Usually, kids are rather extreme in their choices, so if being the good kid studying well and being best in everything gains them no attention, they tend to go to the other side of the spectrum by causing problems, ignoring school, smoking, etc., because then the parent can't ignore them completely.

The only reason why this hasn't happened had to be the "foster parent", in other words, the maid had to have a golden heart, even though it was of course only a poor replacement for actual parental love since she was there only in her work hours and Mahiro obviously knew that part of that is just her work.

[stray]

Originally Posted by Rasty

I find it rather strange that her personality stayed this pure with the lack of attention. Usually, kids are rather extreme in their choices, so if being the good kid studying well and being best in everything gains them no attention, they tend to go to the other side of the spectrum by causing problems, ignoring school, smoking, etc., because then the parent can't ignore them completely.

Its really not that binary and in a lot of cases "causing problems" is just someone working out their identity. For better or worse Mahiro really embraces the identity of being "the angel" so she's good on that front. Moreover harming yourself doesn't typically lead to better results from neglectful family.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Rasty

I find it rather strange that her personality stayed this pure with the lack of attention. Usually, kids are rather extreme in their choices, so if being the good kid studying well and being best in everything gains them no attention, they tend to go to the other side of the spectrum by causing problems, ignoring school, smoking, etc., because then the parent can't ignore them completely.

The only reason why this hasn't happened had to be the "foster parent", in other words, the maid had to have a golden heart, even though it was of course only a poor replacement for actual parental love since she was there only in her work hours and Mahiro obviously knew that part of that is just her work.

Delinquent Mahiro sounds like a hilarious What If though .

[FlareKnight]

Well that's one messed up origin story. Basically an angel born from a couple of devils. What utter scumbags. Tough spot for the housekeeper as well. I'm sure they did what they could within the limits of their position.

At least the episode had some cute moments. The push from the fun couple was helpful. But in the end it will be up to these two to actually take any steps that they are willing to take.

I guess now that they've tackled the emotional hits from Mahiru's side...probably a good time to delve into whatever has gone on in the past with Amane.

[Frontier]

It's finally the new term and our core four are finally all together in the same class! Both pairs of lovebirds are together, and Mahiru and Amane are totally passing glances at each other all couple-like .

Kadowaki seems like he genuinely wants to become friends with Amane, but Amane is anxious because it seems like he became friends with a popular kid under similar circumstances and it ended badly...and probably explains why he went from being more lighthearted and soft to more withdrawn and moody. Although if Itsuki is cool with Kadowaki, that probably means he's a good guy .

Mahiru sees her husband is a little depressed so the best solution is to give him a lap pillow and rub his head! Not that she doesn't enjoy it herself as she freely offers it. Our Miss Shiina seems to be getting quite aggressive! And turnabout is fair play after all the intimacy Amane has had with her at her expense. And she got to stare at him sleeping on her lap. Lucky guy .

These two can barely restrain their feelings for each other, especially Mahiru. Wanting to do anything for him? Wanting to sing his praises for all to hear? Even the slightest compliment towards her cooking and their time together is enough to make her burst with emotion .

Yeah, I kind of figured Mahiru would bristle at not being able to hang out with Amane at school. Especially when the guys can just casually hang out without people batting an eye. So it seems like her solution is to gradually get closer to him to the point where it's the most natural thing in the world !

It's really nice to see how much of a genuine friend group the four of them have become to the point where they can talk so naturally and chummy with each other, even if they all basically dogpile on Amane. But he's fun to tease .

Amane getting to pull a boyfriend move during cooking class and show off how manly and commanding he is when his lady is in trouble! It's a good look for him .

"Friend, huh." Okay, so Mahiru is definitely working towards making Amane see her romantically so they can be an official couple. Except Amane does see her that way, he's just holding back his own feelings because of his own insecurities, but Mahiru doesn't care about that. She wants him, she wants to be with him, and she's doing what she can to make that happen .

[Lex79]

Shiina should just confess, but well, I'm used to heroines in anime and manga wa ting the guy to take the initiative. Just don't tell him you trust him to not make a move on you if you actually want him to make a move on you.

[Rasty]

I can't really blame Amane there. Even ignoring his low self-esteem, he can't really easily make a move. The whole foundation of their relationship was built on him not lusting after her, and she explicitly states she wouldn't approach him if he liked her. He is risking ruining the whole thing by just showing little interest.

On the other hand, Mahiru has it also hard, since Amane won't directly show any interest she has no way to feel out his opinion of her, so direct attempts are a real gamble and Amane won't react to small hints because of his low self-esteem. So I guess that must be fixed first.

[Lex79]

Yeah, from him perspective a confession would be a betrayal of Shiina's trust. She should realize that and take appropriate actions to change the status quo.

[grecefar]

At the beginning it was like that, it felt like one wrong move and shiina would just step aside and be done with him.

[Alchemist007]

Lots of doggy head patting this ep.

[Guardian Enzo]

FFS, just set the date and send out the invitations already.