English Dub Review: Tsukigakirei “An Encouragement of Learning”

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Spoilers Below

Kotaro has a bold plan for this week. He has to study enough to get into the fancy private school that Akane is going to, then tell his parents that he wants to go to school over an hour away. It’s still a secret when he and his mom show up to the teacher conference. His mom wants a public school close to home, and when she finds out she’s outraged. Everyone is VERY angry.

He tries to go to bed but texts Akane instead. She’s studying, which still makes me wonder how Kotaro thinks he’s going to get into this school anyway. Akane studies late into the night, and then she starts knitting! Her sister sees this as a sign that the two are getting too serious, and warns Akane against letting Kotaro apply to her school. She thinks they’ll probably break up eventually, which is very most likely true.

At school, everyone is talking about how legendary Kotaro is. At home, his mom sees all his study materials out and gets conflicted. She wanted him to study, but apparently not like this.

Kotaro and Akane meet up just to hang out, and also to open each other’s Christmas presents. She’s knitted him a scarf! They explore the city some more, and of course, it’s adorable, and they promise each other to do their best on exams so they can be together forever.

Akane passes her exam, but Kotaro hasn’t taken him yet. He crams in all the studying he possibly can. When his mom makes him food and tea, he realizes she really cares. That transition wasn’t really planned out.

As Kotaro walks off to his exam the next morning, the music swells and I get the feeling that this is the climax of the series – whether or not he will pass his exam. It is a big plot point. Will he and Akane really get to be together forever? But while the whole series has been building up to some crazy love triangle, it feels underwhelming to have a test fuel all the drama. It’s still possible things could come crashing down. If Kotaro doesn’t pass his exam, his parents are making him apply to public school, and guess where Chinatsu’s also going. There’s one episode left to wrap this all up, and I’m genuinely curious to know how it all ends.