English Dub Review: You and I Are Polar Opposites “The Year That’s Passed, and the Year to Come”

Overview:

Tani tells his family that he’s dating someone, and asks Suzuki over on New Year’s Day. Flustered by the invitation, Suzuki makes one gaffe after another in front of his family. On the last day of winter break, the usual group of friends enjoys visiting a shrine together. Moved by Tani’s words about living with no regrets, each of them steps into the new year with hopes and feelings in their hearts.

Our Take(Spoilers):

I think that we’ve all been in a situation where we were meeting the parents of a significant other at some point in our lives. It can be nerve-wracking, but for someone like Suzuki, it can seem like life or death. I was a little disappointed that she changed her hair color back because I would have liked to see her be herself around Tani’s parents. But I can also understand wanting to make everything perfect for them. Tani didn’t really think it through either; he invited Suzuki over for a New Year’s celebration on December 31st. Giving her less than one day to prepare was kind of mean on his part.

Tani had shown his mother a picture of him and Suzuki together, so maybe if he had let her know that, she would have been less nervous. She might not have changed her hair either, but the hair change didn’t last long. A few days later, the friend group got together for their own shrine visit, and her hair was back to being pink again.

I think what I loved most about this episode is that it showed you can still have “conflict” in a story where the main characters have already become a couple. Tani and Suzuki didn’t fight or anything, but they did have to figure out how to deal with Suzuki being stressed out. He wanted her to open up to him more so that he could be there for her when she starts to feel overwhelmed.

I’d still like to see some of the other characters actually become a couple, but good things come to those who wait, I suppose. I think Yamada and Nishi will be the next two to get together, but as you know, I love getting moments from Azuma and Taira. It would be nice if Taira would stop worrying about how Azuma would be perceived by hanging out with him. If she doesn’t care, why should he?