Ramparts of Ice

Episodes 13-14

Sports Day! Cheer squad! Camaraderie! Youth! Isn't it so wonderful to be a high school student with friends! That's what Koyuki gets to experience in the first part of “Perception,” which she sorely lacked in her first year of high school. It's a nice little “look how far we've come” moment, even if I wish they'd had a bit more fun with the cheer squad part. Ouendan teams are fun! They have a great aesthetic! Show us more than a couple of little arm waves and everyone coming together for a picture. It's a grand old time.

As is proper for the end of a season, both the main couples scoot right up to the verge of everything changing. Koyuki has come to terms with her feelings for Minato, even willing to say it out loud to Yota, albeit whispered in his ear. I'm still not particularly enthralled by the two as a couple, but watching the two of them go through the motions of realizing their feelings, followed by the growing suspicion that it may be mutual, is pretty adorable. Koyuki herself begins to notice the ways that Minato treats her like she's special to him. Mundane moments like taking a photo together after an event become steeped in butterflies and nerves about the possible special meaning. It's cute! Cute, damn it!

When Momoka approaches Koyuki at the cheer squad's yakiniku party, admits her own feelings, and whispers to her that everyone knows that Minato likes Koyuki, I'm not sure what she's getting at. She's been playing nth-dimensional chess since her first introduction, actively trying to push Koyuki out of the way so she can pursue Minato uncontested. What's her aim in doing this? Is there something obvious I'm not catching on to because my brain is broken from working on the preview guide? My best guess is that she's preying on what she believes is Koyuki's non-confrontational tendencies, putting her on the spot so that she denies her crush in a panic, leaving the way open for Momoka.

But the scheming third party in the love triangle is old hat. When Momoka comes onscreen, I patiently wait for her to leave again. She feels like she's been tossed in to keep Koyuki and Minato apart so they can progress at a similar rate to Yota and Miki.

Oh, Yota. Oh, Miki. These two good kids. I love both of them so much.

Meanwhile, Yota finally gets up the nerve to tell Miki his real feelings: he's liked her as long as he's known her. Unbeknownst to her, their every interaction has been colored by his romantic feelings for her.

What does Miki do? Does she accept his feelings and start dating him? Does she let him down gently and ask to just stay friends?

No, she freaks the hell out and starts avoiding him.

In fairness to her, part of it is that she's taking time to process her feelings. Unable to turn to anyone in their friend group, she talks to her older coworkers, a.k.a. the two best characters in the series. What I loved about this scene is that the two of them have very different takes on the situation, because there are few, if any, universals when it comes to dating. As her female coworker points out, gender has a lot to do with it; it's much more dangerous for a woman to reject a man than to hope to be friends than vice versa. Even if Miki assures them that Yota is a gentle soul from top to bottom, Ramparts of Ice once again demonstrates a nuanced understanding that both gendered dynamics and individual personalities can inform these situations.

And indeed, Miki's own experiences inform her reaction to Yota's confession. She's gone on lots of dates, but every single time, the relationship fell apart when the guy realized what she was like under her veneer of perfection. Friendship and romance have not gone together for her in the past, so when she finds out that Yota has had a crush on her the whole time, their friendship feels like a lie. If those two kinds of relationships are mutually exclusive, those years together just completely vanished. If she rejects him, will he stop wanting to spend time together? It's heartbreaking.

As a side note, I love that the female coworker asks if the friend who asked Miki out is a boy or a girl. Check those heteronormative assumptions at the door!

The episode, and thus the season, ends with Miki tearfully telling Yota that she can't date him now, because she'd never even thought of him that way, as he gently smiles and accepts her response.

Rating:

Ramparts of Ice is currently streaming on Netflix.