OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)Ishihara’s insecurities lead to her accidentally breaking up with Naoto, so Satsuki takes her chance to strike.OUR TAKEUuuuuuuugh and they were doing so well…but I guess this show felt like we needed some drama, even at the cost of everyone’s brain cells. To be fair, it’s not like this is out of character or anything. Ishihara being insecure about the bond that Naoto and Satsuki has been a long running thing by now, so much so that, if he hadn’t been explicitly clear that he would stop hanging out with her for Ishihara’s sake, I would have suggested she cut her losses and run. But it’s clear that what’s happening is that she’s blaming herself for even thinking like that in the first place, which is not really rational, but is also not exactly being portrayed as such anyway. However, it could also be what ends up dooming this relationship beyond repair, as now, even after being told how she messed up in her communication, she’s LETTING Naoto think they’re broken up to play into some festival legend about getting together. But she’s not completely to blame for this, as a lot of this is at the behest of Tokui, who seems to be working with Satsuki to make sure she ends up with Naoto while he ends up with Ishihara, while also seeming to try and get Naoto and Ishihara back together. Heck, maybe even Tokui doesn’t understand his own motives.Though the main point of contention I have with this episode is Satsuki, who more than ever feels like she has been drained of anything resembling a character with understandable motives and agency, while becoming the full fledged avatar of the author’s kinks. Okay, so she now understands she has feelings for Naoto and sees an opening with Ishihara apparently having shot herself in the foot, I get that much. But further testing the waters by saying that Naoto can use her at any time, even just for lust, and continuing to push the topic of having sex feels less like a thing a person would say, let alone a teenage girl, and more just what the author wants to make her look like the ideal girlfriend who is brash and forward to mess with an anxious and immature guy, IE the author self insert that is Naoto. And the worst part about all of this is that, even with Naoto still eager to try and make things work with Ishihara, I can tell where this story is headed, and it’s right to Satsuki. But hey, the show’s not over yet, to my utter dismay, so let’s see how long it takes for things to completely fall apart.