(CR) Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun 2nd Stage (Bottom-tier Character Tomazaki 2nd Stage)

[Thor's Hammer]

And with Episode 2, we might have gotten a hint on how Aoi became a sociopath (she called her old self lower than trash at one point in Season 1) since she completely broke her gamer persona after seeing Tama/Hanabi get bullied by Erika. Aoi acted emotionally and out of character out of a desire to get revenge on Erika, which is why she is currently seeking to turn everyone in the classroom against Erika, and Fumiya wants no part in Aoi's scheme. I'm guessing something similar to this probably happened to Aoi in the past to the point that she even changed schools due to the fallout, and Aoi is acting out in this way in an attempt to get a proxy victory over Erika for what she likely experienced in the past before she became like this. I highly doubt she is acting in this way because Tama is her friend. She seems to be acting purely out of malice right now as she doesn't care what happens to Tama as a result of her scheme.

[FlareKnight]

For a moment I thought this was going to be resolved way too fast and too easily. Though not the case in the end. Goes to show that just because you get a jerk like Erika to participate in the sports festival doesn't mean all that much in the bigger picture.

Sadly while Aoi has decent information and tips...she's not a whole lot of help past a certain point. Honestly just brings back the issues that sent her and Tomozaki in different directions near the end of season 1.

All she does is connect events and go "voila, it was destiny." This is one person being a scumbag and attacking an unrelated third party. There's nothing logical about that. Konno could have done that as much as she could have started any number of hostile activities. And blaming the victim is beyond ridiculous here. "Konno's at fault...except she isn't." And only until the situation points towards someone she actually does care about.

My god Aoi has a god complex. She'll decide who is worthy in her good graces to be saved and who isn't. It's nice that her holiness would help out if Hirabayashi tried to resolve things and failed. But what shy person is going to risk turning their life into a living hell by fighting against the class queen without any known safety net? I'd say Hirabayashi has a good grasp of her ability to win that conflict. Hoping a bad situation doesn't get worse is a more logical choice than risking it all on a low odds chance that standing up to Konno will work.

Heck even Izumi isn't keen on going up against Konno. That's why she didn't openly reveal her relationship. And someone even less adept at managing that kind of situation than her is supposed to just go for it?

Props to Tama. Both for being able to take action and for gauging the need to change something in the end. Since while someone dumping Konno's body in a river would also resolve the situation, we might as well explore options that don't involve murder. While it's annoying that everyone has to bend and weave to avoid this jerk, I respect Tama's willingness to avoid seeing those that care about her hurt. It'd be one thing if Tama was just grinding out this by herself. But seeing Mimimi struggling as a result of it makes that a less satisfactory solution.

Hopefully they can get through this. Just a real pain in the rear situation.

[Thor's Hammer]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

My god Aoi has a god complex. She'll decide who is worthy in her good graces to be saved and who isn't.

What you call a god complex, I call being a sociopath. Fumiya astutely realized that Aoi abandoned any pretense of looking after Tama/Hanabi with how Tama will be affected by Aoi's scheme not being considered at all by Aoi in how her approach changed.

To put it simply, I see this event as being possibly very triggering for Aoi because she might have experienced similar except over a much longer timeframe with a worse outcome for her.

I hope Fumiya doesn't end up with Aoi at the end of the series as I do not want him paired with a sociopath. Pairing him with Fuuka or Mimimi would make for a much healthier relationship than him with Aoi. Sociopaths just do not make for good partners. Aoi would probably try to kill the goodness within Fumiya eventually.

[Frontier]

Honestly I feel like this was Hinami at her most human because the moment her actual friend got involved she started immediately acting and got frustrated that she couldn't solve the problem.

[Zolton]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I guess because she's the "class queen" or at least acts the part more than Hinami does.

What does "class queen" even mean?

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Zolton

What does "class queen" even mean?

Like the attractive popular girl who has a domineering personality that kind of sets the mood for the class and gets her way.

[Frontier]

Makes sense that the first order of business for Tomozaki training Tama would involve practicing her speech just like Hinami did! Though with how effective that "Yay!" and "Woo" are it's obvious speech isn't Tama's problem (moreso just how her straightforward bluntness comes off) .

Well, they try Tama giving Konno the silent treatment, which at least mediates things somewhat and gives Tama more sympathy from the class since Konno won't leave her alone, but it doesn't resolve the underlying issue .

Enter: Mizusawa! Not Tama's favorite person, especially because she remembers how he and Nakamura sided against her in an argument, but he's still willing to help! And who would've expected talk of romance would be enough to break the ice between these two ?

It's nice to see Tomozaki's friends telling him to feel more confident in himself, lead by Mimimi .

Mizusawa's no altruist, he's a schemer and has his own plans in what he does (somewhat influenced by his interest in Hinami), but there's a part of him that genuinely seems committed to helping out .

Hinami really seems uncomfortable with what's going on, even if she doesn't think she can interfere if this is what Tama wants. But it seems like she's trying to undercut Konno by talking with her friends .

Takei is the class idiot, but people like him for that because his stupidity and exaggerated nature shows his vulnerability and that makes people appealing. Even Tama ends up having a lot of fun talking to him. Tama is so closed-off from the class she doesn't even recognize half their names. Seems like the main goal now is to get Tama more involved with the class .

Tomozaki has upgraded from "Brain" to "Leader!" All the more fitting now that he's in charge of Team Tomozaki .

Who is the real Aoi Hinami? She wears so many masks I'm not even sure if she knows what's genuine about her any more .

[grecefar]

I do get where aoi is coming from on not wanting tama to change since tama hasn't done anything wrong for her to have to change. But the situation needs to be solve quick.

While things are looking good on tomozaki's team and his plan, I just feel that there is something off about all this. Tama did say she wants to change but it seems is more like is for mimimi sake instead of wanting to change herself.

[Thor's Hammer]

Aoi comes across as extremely hypocritical when contrasting what she said in Episode 2 about how she'll help if someone takes hold of the controller and tries to have some agency with what she said in this episode about how she is opposed to Tama changing considering Tama is attempting to embrace exactly what Aoi said was required for her to step in.

Aoi saying if Tama changes none of this matters shows that Aoi is likely truely a sociopath with this entire thing being a proxy war to one-up Erika based on something Aoi experienced when she was younger that she alluded to when she said she was worse than trash at one point. Aoi literally giving 0 fucks about how Tama actually feels and continuing to try and influence Erika's friend circle shows that maybe Tama isn't even really someone she considers a friend but a friend of the character she roleplays as.

Maybe I'm being overly cynical here, but I feel Tama was "chosen" to be a part of Aoi's friend circle possibly because Tama reminds Aoi of her younger self with her being a hardcore nerd probably being the main difference between them, and that is why Aoi appears to be so heavily triggered by this chain of events with Erika because Aoi probably became the person she is today because of a past event in which she was bullied, which led to her going against her teachings to Fumiya in the process.

I also noticed in the OP with Fuuka that it showed the shadow of 3 people with one those shadows bearing an uncanny resemblance to Erika, and what this might show is that after Erika stops harassing Tama she decides to target Fuuka, which would be really detestable as Fuuka is just so sweet and adorable. There is really nobody who deserves to be bullied (not saying anyone deserves it) less. Keep away from Fuuka, Erika.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Thor's Hammer

Aoi comes across as extremely hypocritical when contrasting what she said in Episode 2 about how she'll help if someone takes hold of the controller and tries to have some agency with what she said in this episode about how she is opposed to Tama changing considering Tama is attempting to embrace exactly what Aoi said was required for her to step in.

Aoi saying if Tama changes none of this matters shows that Aoi is likely truely a sociopath with this entire thing being a proxy war to one-up Erika based on something Aoi experienced when she was younger that she alluded to when she said she was worse than trash at one point. Aoi literally giving 0 fucks about how Tama actually feels and continuing to try and influence Erika's friend circle shows that maybe Tama isn't even really someone she considers a friend but a friend of the character she roleplays as.

Maybe I'm being overly cynical here, but I feel Tama was "chosen" to be a part of Aoi's friend circle possibly because Tama reminds Aoi of her younger self with her being a hardcore nerd probably being the main difference between them, and that is why Aoi appears to be so heavily triggered by this chain of events with Erika because Aoi probably became the person she is today because of a past event in which she was bullied, which led to her going against her teachings to Fumiya in the process.

I also noticed in the OP with Fuuka that it showed the shadow of 3 people with one those shadows bearing an uncanny resemblance to Erika, and what this might show is that after Erika stops harassing Tama she decides to target Fuuka, which would be really detestable as Fuuka is just so sweet and adorable. There is really nobody who deserves to be bullied (not saying anyone deserves it) less. Keep away from Fuuka, Erika.

I don't think Hinami cares about one-upping Erika, she only cared to get involved when one of her friends became the target of the bullying.

[Thor's Hammer]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I don't think Hinami cares about one-upping Erika, she only cared to get involved when one of her friends became the target of the bullying.

I disagree. Rewatch Episode 2 when Fumiya says he cares about what happens to Tama while implying that Aoi doesn't.

Then watch how Aoi says in Episode 3 if Tama changes that this will be for nothing, which shows Aoi literally doesn't care about Tama and is taking a shot at Erika because of an agenda, not because she personally cares so much about Tama. This woman is a sociopath. Even though Erika is a bitch, I feel not an ounce of sympathy for Aoi given her behaviour.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Thor's Hammer

I disagree. Rewatch Episode 2 when Fumiya says he cares about what happens to Tama while implying that Aoi doesn't.

Then watch how Aoi says in Episode 3 if Tama changes that this will be for nothing, which shows Aoi literally doesn't care about Tama and is taking a shot at Erika because of an agenda, not because she personally cares so much about Tama. This woman is a sociopath. Even though Erika is a bitch, I feel not an ounce of sympathy for Aoi given her behaviour.

She got visibly uncomfortable when Tama started being targeted by Erika and it didn't stop, her reasoning that Tama doesn't have to change is more from her personal belief system than because she wants to take Erika out.

[Thor's Hammer]

Originally Posted by Frontier

She got visibly uncomfortable when Tama started being targeted by Erika and it didn't stop, her reasoning that Tama doesn't have to change is more from her personal belief system than because she wants to take Erika out.

That's not what Fumiya himself thought in Episode 2, and he is a reliable narrator in this series. Aoi saying if Tama changes this will be for nothing suggests that Aoi is taking the situation with Tama and Erika very personally and that she is triggered by this event, possibly because Aoi was the Tama to some unknown bully when she was younger, and that is how Aoi became obsessed with power and being able to blend into any social situation with her never revealing her true self to anyone.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Thor's Hammer

That's not what Fumiya himself thought in Episode 2, and he is a reliable narrator in this series. Aoi saying if Tama changes this will be for nothing suggests that Aoi is taking the situation with Tama and Erika very personally and that she is triggered by this event, possibly because Aoi was the Tama to some unknown bully when she was younger, and that is how Aoi became obsessed with power and being able to blend into any social situation with her never revealing her true self to anyone.

But Tomozaki also doesn't really know the "real" Hinami. I think it's clear she's taking it personally because one of her friends is actually involved and being hurt by this, she didn't care at all when Erika was involving a classmate she's not close to.

[Thor's Hammer]

Fumiya doesn't need to know the real Aoi to know that her approach is wrong, and the show often takes Fumiya's side in the narrative when viewers are not meant to side with Aoi, and I believe this is one of those times. An example of this is when Aoi suggested that he take an insincere approach with Fuuka in the first season when he and Fuuka were first starting to get to know each other.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Thor's Hammer

Fumiya doesn't need to know the real Aoi to know that her approach is wrong, and the show often takes Fumiya's side in the narrative when viewers are not meant to side with Aoi, and I believe this is one of those times. An example of this is when Aoi suggested that he take an insincere approach with Fuuka in the first season when he and Fuuka were first starting to get to know each other.

Oh, I believe the flaws in Hinami's approach for sure, that's especially clear in this arc.

[Frontier]

If you need advice on Tama, Mimimi is the person to ask! Though Tomozaki should've realized she'd turn it into a comedy routine between the two of them...that's just her expression of love! Though realizing the extent Tomozaki is going for Tama's sake seems to have been a critical hit on Mimimi. That definitely doesn't look like how a platonic friend stares at you .

You know it's bad when Hinami is telling Yuzu to avoid her own boyfriend so they don't make anything worse, though it's so adorable how Yuzu wants to hand-knit Nakamura something. He's a lucky dude .

Team Tomozaki is back, and professor Tomozaki is ready to show how far Tama has come in terms of making herself more approachable to the class! Complete with a successful comedy routine that highlights her cuteness and shortness .

Though they need more practical application, and the best place to get that is from Fuka, a fairly neutral party. Though the girl is so sincere and intuitive she doesn't denounce the rest of the class for their behavior but only realizes it's born from their weakness and insecurities, which is why they're weaker than Tama .

It's nice to see Tomozaki and Fuka together again. Even Nakamura realizes there's something there and won't stop egging Tomozaki about it. They do look cute together .

Things with Tama and Fuka go well, and we even get the Mimimi reaction scene with Fuka in tow! Though Hinami sure got them all out of there to give Tomozaki and Fuka time alone. But it was nice watching them walk home together .

So far so good, Tama is now getting long more with Hinami and Mimimi's friends, and if this keeps up maybe Erika will finally give up...well, at least until one of her posse spot Tama with the guys .

[Chosen_Hero]

The more I watch, the more it's cemented that Mimimi is the only girl I care about in this series.

[grecefar]

If the problem will keep going I think it's because of nakamura mostly, I don't see the problem of tama hanging around takei or tomozaki since they aren't that revelant in the class. Takei is but he is just the funny guy.

I knew it wasn't going to be that easy and I'm still in the ship that tama wanting to change "for mimimi's sake" is wrong.

[Thor's Hammer]

Originally Posted by grecefar

If the problem will keep going I think it's because of nakamura mostly, I don't see the problem of tama hanging around takei or tomozaki since they aren't that revelant in the class. Takei is but he is just the funny guy.

I knew it wasn't going to be that easy and I'm still in the ship that tama wanting to change "for mimimi's sake" is wrong.

Maybe that's how it feels right now, but the OP showing Tama in a gray world with her giving herself the push to experience the world in many colours suggests that the point of all this is for Fumiya to do for Tama what Aoi did for him. Fumiya changed at first because Aoi made it gamey for him. He realized that he wanted to change after the fact and that he was better off because of it later.