English Dub Review: Watari-kun’s XX Is About to Collapse “What They’re Searching For”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Naoto travels to his old home to find an old laptop, but meets a mysterious woman with connections to his father.

OUR TAKE

No, we are not adding another potential love interest, thank god. Instead, we are actually learning more about Naoto’s parents, or more specifically his dad and how he positively impacted people around them, as well as how his wisdom may be able to help Naoto in his current predicament. Okay, that sounds like it can be interesting and wholesome at least, which is something this series is dreadfully lacking in. Meeting Rika, the granddaughter of the landlady who managed his old home, Naoto learns that his father actually gave her advice on how to handle when two boys she hung out with asked her out and she didn’t want to hurt the one she didn’t pick, but Naoto’s father told her to go with her gut and hope that things could be patched up later. It turns out she only went out with the guy she picked for about a week before breaking things off, so hopefully that’s not what happens here, but the point is that just because a decision is made in these terms doesn’t mean people need to be hurt or stay hurt. Also it turns out Naoto’s aunt Tamayo wanted the laptop to get some emails she sent his dad after he was kicked out, which…you know the emails don’t stay in the laptop, right? They’re on his email, on the internet.

Anyway, after taking care of that, Naoto learns that Satsuki already took the laptop and deduces that she did it so she could get a pic of her and Naoto from when they were kids, which actually is on a USB stick that Rika’s grandmother has. And after some probing, Rika gets Naoto to realize that he actually loves Satsuki more than Ishihara. But alas, it is too late, as she has already moved away to a new boarding school and has instructed Ishihara’s friend (who seems to have some complicated feelings of his own) to keep Naoto as far from her as possible. Now, Naoto is stuck with these unresolved feelings and has no way of telling the girl he loves that he wants her back, just after she decided to finally move on. With that, I’m pretty sure we’re at the end of the third quarter of the story, so the last handful of episodes will probably be about Naoto making one last ditch effort to find her and confess his feelings. Honestly I’d say he dodged a bullet, but what do I know.