English Dub Review: In the Clear Moonlit Dusk “Unawareness”

Shut up and date me!
OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Yoi decides to take the plunge and try dating Kohaku, though finds herself dumbfounded at how to approach actually dating someone, let alone one of the most popular boys at her school.

OUR TAKE

This week’s episode brings us the bittersweet fruit of relatable cringe, where, at least in my experience, you can see exactly where you were when you went through what the character on screen is going through. It’s gotta be at least somewhat universal if this is being written by another human being from a completely different country and culture than me, but I really saw a lot of myself back when I was in my first long term relationship as I watched Kohaku scramble to think of ways she can enter this relationship with Kohaku on her own terms. That’s part of what is so scary and yet exciting about being in a fresh new romantic relationship. Yeah, you like this person, but how do you remain yourself as an individual while also being together with them? What do you like about them? What do you want to do WITH them? How do you keep some guard up while also allowing yourself to be vulnerable? I imagine these are the questions that flow through any person’s head when they find themselves in a more intimate relationship with another person, romantic or otherwise, but it can feel like there’s more pressure when it’s romantic due to societal expectations of what makes a good one of those.

Though that doesn’t mean the pressure is all on Yoi, since Kohaku is the other half of this double act. He has a bit more experience with women being interested in him, but it seems he’s never been in a relationship himself, since those who want one with him aren’t ones he feels mutually towards. For him, he’s finally actually checked off the box of meeting someone he DOES want to date, so he’s just sort of taking this in stride, which both makes Yoi more nervous and also a bit annoyed by how casual he is about it, especially when he can just outright say that the initial reason he wanted to date her was that he found her attractive and not much else. And hey, that’s not exactly a bad thing to say about how you became interested in a future partner, but it can be a bit of a turn off if you just blurt out that’s all you really liked about them initially. Still, it looks like they’re off to a solid start to their romance, and perhaps we’ll see some more relatable blunders as they get to know each other better.