You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2

Episode 5

I suppose we were due for a Valentine's Day episode at some point, and since it would have been easy for the show to spend it flipping between all three couples, it was a surprise that so much of it gets spent on Yamada and Nishi. Sure, the end of last week's episode more or less asserted that Nishi is ready to start seriously considering being Yamada's girlfriend, but with how content this show is to take its time with the side couples, I wouldn't have put it past it to either revel in their status quo a little longer or simply pull focus towards one of the other pairings. Although I wouldn't have been too upset with either outcome, I'll happily take some actual progress, as it turns what could have been a much simpler episode into a nice little milestone.

While Yamada and Nishi's time together this week finally results in a proper love confession, the process of actually getting there still requires an ever-increasing comedy of errors between them. For one thing, Yamada ends up getting a little too caught up in the idea of proper timing, and even though he knows he's got plenty of opportunities to go for it, he ends up either trying a bit too hard to set the mood or is simply too happy being around her to bring it up. On the opposite end, while Nishi might have fully come to terms with how she feels about Yamada, that doesn't mean she knows he feels the same, and even though she's pretty sure he wants to confess to her, part of her still fears he only sees her as a friend. Those tensions end up lingering into their next not-date, and even though they spend most of it having a good time, Yamada also spends just as much of it overthinking how to ask Nishi out. In the end, it's actually Nishi who ends up confessing first. While it's funny to see her blurt it out after all that build-up on Yamada's end, it's not nearly as hilarious as his reaction since having his “strategy” derailed so thoroughly practically causes Yamada to short-circuit. That little reversal of expectations did make it a little frustrating seeing Yamada take long enough to respond that Nishi nearly assumes he's not interested, but our boy does pull it together long enough to admit he likes her back. There was a brief moment where having Yamada's attempt to ask her to be his girlfriend be interrupted by a passing truck made me think this would get dragged out for another episode, but turning that into a punchline to further emphasize how pointless this need for perfect timing was works as well. I'm happy to finally see these two be an item.

With our second couple now officially hooked up, I would have been content if that was all we got this time around, but it was still nice to get some proper Valentine's Day gags thrown into the mix. Watching Azuma give Taira a tiny piece of gum instead of chocolate was perhaps a little depressing, but that feels like the right energy for those two, and Taira's reaction was absolutely priceless, so even if part of me would like to see those two act a little more romantically, I can't say their comedic chemistry isn't perfect. This whole Valentine's Day theme also lets us see Yamada and Nishi function as an actual couple, and considering the dissonance in their trains of thought between Yamada getting worried about her seeing him with obligatory chocolate from other girls versus her internally freaking out over nearly forgetting to hand him the one she made, it serves as a good indication that their new relationship won't make them any less funny. It is a bit of a shame that Miyu and Tani get the short end of the stick as their screentime doesn't amount to any jokes beyond Tani being weirded out by how bad Miyu's cookies look, but since their relationship is otherwise as healthy as ever, they can certainly afford to take a bit of backseat this time. Now that we've got two couples firmly locked down, only Taira and Azuma remain, which still feels like the most daunting of the bunch considering we're most of the way through this show without them even fully acknowledging having feelings for each other. Still, even if that last one is likely to remain a slow burn for the foreseeable future, it's still good to see steady progress made elsewhere. With over half the season left to go, there should still be enough time for all of these pairings to work themselves out.

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You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.