Impression:

I have already watched this episode twice and I am still trying to process all of the little things that took place. Let’s start with Kodaka’s sabbatical from the Neighbor’s Club. While walking down the halls of the school, Kodaka encounters Aoi struggling with some boxes and Kodaka offers to lend her a hand. This draws the attention of the student council president who offers him a position. Kodaka turns it down, but he does agree to help with some of the grunt work which takes up his time after school and gives the Hinata an even better reputation with the students. This was something that really surprised me because I didn’t think that the student council would play such an important role in the story. I say important even though they were only relevant for about an episode. Aoi finally knows that Kodaka is single and she is obviously into our awkward protagonist. I mean, I love the idea of Kodaka being with Sena, but Aoi is hilarious and I do want to see more of her. I guess you could group the rest of the episode into three parts. The first one is an encounter with Yukimura where she gives Kodaka a run down of what the Neighbor’s Club has done in his absence. Sena and Yukimura being the only ones that stayed makes sense, but Yukimura can’t be a completely serious character. The confusion over yaoi holes continues and I am glad to see that Yukimura has only changed for the better. The next part is the biggest one which is a rooftop confrontation with Rika. This part of the episode is the reason that I decided to watch said episode a second time. I needed to take in everything that went down when Rika takes on the voice of reason again. The confrontation on the rooftop normally involves some punches being thrown, but Kodaka is the only male member of the Neighbor’s Club. Thus, Rika uses some metal ball technology to knock some sense into him. At first I found this entirely comedic because I was watching the episode with some friends and I can never truly take things seriously unless I am watching them alone. However, upon a more personal viewing, the entire scene was perfect. Kodaka received the serious punishment that he deserved in a way that only Rika could dish out. Everything that was said needed to be said whether it was for the laughs or the serious situation that was underway. Kodaka saying that he fell in love with Hinata’s personality made my heart skip a beat, but it was a love of admiration which settled my nerves. After that, you have to notice the fact that Kodaka addressed his relationship with Yozora in a very different way than he did with Sena. During the confrontation with Rika, Kodaka talks about how those memories from ten years ago were all that Yozora had. This triggers in my mind that he did not plan on picking her because you would not say that about someone who you planned on making new romantic memories with. I didn’t hear anything from Kodaka’s tone regarding Sena other than the fact that her confession was not timed very properly. All of this lead to the true confession that Kodaka didn’t want to disrupt the dynamic of the group that he had come to love. However, Rika was quick to call him out regarding the fact that he abandoned said group. Rika finally admitted that she just wanted friends and that makes her and Kodaka one in the same. Through all of this, Kodaka and Rika have grown to be great friends that can rely on one another in order to further their goals. Obviously, they were friends all along. Another reason that I think Yozora isn’t going to win is the way in which Kodaka finally confronts Sena. The blushing and atmosphere that was established just made me feel that he was going to respond positively to her feelings. Although, all of that was ruined by Yozora’s text which stated that she too was running away.

I really liked the weapon choice for Rika’s encounter with Kodaka.

Current Opinion of the Show:

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next was everything that we needed it to be and more. The character development was off the charts in terms of its broad reach and overall quality. The character design saw a big improvement in my opinion with the everyone seeming more refined. I love the relationship that Kodaka and Rika have built together and the transition from Sora to Rika that we saw in the ending gave us a direct example of Kodaka’s new go to friend. Even though love is always a big deal in this series, the focus on friendship saw a big time increase and that really made the story great. Aoi stated that everyone has friends, but that is only an assumption that a lot of people make. The characters in this story are more than just lovestruck maidens in a story where only one of them can win. The establishment of friendship will help all of them and that is what led Kodaka down the path of cowardice. I think we all could tell that this story could not end in just two seasons because the story is more than just an endgame romance. Even if Kodaka picked someone in this episode, there would be more things to be done. Overall, I was extremely impressed with Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next and I am excited to see the Neighbor’s Club continue to bond.