[relentlessflame]

Vena: good observations all around.

Originally Posted by Vena

To note, I don't know how much I buy him doing everything for the sake of his personality and not liking bad atmospheres. I think that it is true to a very large degree that he did it because he hates a negative environment and most of his actions line up perfectly with that (from trying to calm Airi in school to taking on the load of the work to being a nice guy with everyone to smiling) but his asking for something in return which could possibly throw him into more of said negative atmosphere (had the problems not started getting sorted out after he made his request) is somewhat bewildering if only taken from the point of: he did it for himself because he hates bad atmospheres. Probably, his actions there were a bluff to calm Airi and make it easier for her to leave but I feel that that was a pretty terrible bluff if he was just out to avoid tension in the air.

Well, I think he had a few trump cards that helped. First, that initial encounter in the park that clued him in that Airi wasn't a bad person. Second, Airi's continued friendship with Sakuno, and Sakuno's reassurances. Third, some minor past successes where Airi momentarily showed her true self. And finally, Airi's own arguments, which he effectively used against her, leaving her with nowhere to run.

I think he wasn't just trying to diffuse tension in general, but specifically with Airi, with whom he took a particular interest (due both to that initial encounter, and her role in the class). At the end of the day, they were forced together and would have to keep working with each other anyway, so he wanted to diffuse the tension with her as much as anything else.

Of course, your observation about the potentially two-faced way we could take Shingo's actions is clear for another reason that is more evident when we consider the source:

Spoiler for comparison to the game, to this point only -- no future spoilers... but do not read if you want zero source insight:

Everything we've seen so far happens whether you're on Airi's route or not -- it's the "common route". At this point, Shingo has a friendship that could rather easily be turned into more, but there are other possible routes that Shingo can follow. So the anime is playing it coy here, not wanting to absolutely confirm what route we're on. Incidentally, all of the decision points up to this point in the game have also been deftly avoided (such as in the grocery store, and when Miu asked Shingo to join the club). They are deliberately trying to ensure game players don't know what route they're following, though logic based on simple observation does lead to certain conclusions...

Originally Posted by Vena

Shingo, I don't think its all that much of a mystery where his affections lie: Miu and Airi, and he clearly loves his sister. He likes the former two if his subtler actions and reactions are of any indication. Now which of the two does he like more, well who knows. [...] If we follow formula, the current design leans towards Airi with a possibility of Miu. This can easily change to lean more towards Miu, but I can't really see the other girls having much of a central role as to be the main heroine by the end of the show. The next episode or two will probably make it more or less perfectly clear where this show is going.

Those were my feelings as well. Based on what they've shown in the anime, and the emphasis they put on Shingo's reactions to certain characters, that certainly seems to be what they're hinting. But as you say, the next few episodes should provide more hints about the "turn", if there will be one.