Carol has always presented herself as a smiling, silly, sometimes naïve girl. But is there more to her than we’ve been led to believe?
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Carol has always presented herself as a smiling, silly, sometimes naïve girl. But is there more to her than we’ve been led to believe?
| Aired (Crunchyroll) | March 1, 2023 |
| Director(s) | Hisashi Isogawa |
| Writer(s) | Megumi Shimizu |
| Previously Noted Characters | |
| Carol | Sally Amaki |
| Misaki | Kōhei Amasaki |
| Jun | Kaito Ishikawa |
| Tomo | Rie Takahashi |
| Ferris | Oohara Sayaka |
| Misuzu | Rina Hidaka |
Recap
This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.
Where It All Began – Carol, Misaki
Believe it or not, there was a time when Misaki wasn’t friendly and like a golden retriever. At one time, he was a smart but aloof kid. However, Carol broke him away from that way of living, and it seems he is forever grateful.
When In Doubt, Get Better Or Get Petty – Misaki, Tomo, Jun, Carol
Misaki’s decision to join the Tomo family gym is a surprise, but after Carol’s situation, he wants to get stronger. However, in the pursuit of getting stronger, he praises and says things that lead to both Jun and Carol getting upset. What specifically? Well, just praising Tomo and saying nice things about her make both jealous.
So, upon hearing this, Carol tries to make Tomo jealous by hanging out with Jun, who picks up on her game quickly enough to roll his eyes. However, they somehow end up in Jun’s house, and Carol, to really do something bad, she mounts Jun, which freaks him out. But nothing happens.
Misuzu Believes In Any Means To Suit The Ends – Misuzu, Carol, Misaki, Tomo, Ferris
With Misuzu seeing how far Carol is willing to go, she decides that she can’t just let things naturally progress between Misaki and Misuzu. Especially since it seems Misaki is too cowardly to just ask out or confess to Carol. Why? Well, because he sees Carol in a similar fashion as Jun sees Tomo. He doesn’t feel worthy because he isn’t strong enough.
So, to show Carol is vulnerable after Misuzu learns so much about Misaki, she says to Carol that Misaki doesn’t like her. This sends her into a meltdown that Misuzu knows could get her in trouble. However, in the long run, it doesn’t.
The reason? It forced Misaki to confess, and alongside that, it gets him to see a different side to her. Then, to reinforce that, Ferris explains why Carol is always smiling and chipper, which is basically a coping mechanism she got accustomed to. But now, with Misaki, she has someone she can be real and honest with – all thanks to Misuzu.
Someone who she forgives after presenting the vibe that she is pissed and going to cut her down into pieces.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- What or who inspired Carol’s dark side? Her going publicly after her friend’s crush and even mounting him like she was going to do something? There has to be more to her than what Ferris presented. She got a dark side and a potential horny side that is untapped.
What Could Happen Next
- Carol and Misaki, with being a couple, setting precedents that lead to questions from Tomo.
Review
Notable Performances or Moments
All Sides to Carol
Carol has presented themselves as someone simple. However, increasingly that appears to be a ruse. Yes, there was a point when she was lonely and often seemed vulnerable. But, clearly, she isn’t this dumb blonde she pretends to be. There is something more to her. She is someone who suppresses her emotions and urges, seemingly to attract and maintain what relationships she can.
Now, as for why she does this after creating secure friendships? That’s hard to say. But, with a boyfriend, loving family, and friends, it’ll be interesting to see if this allows her to open up and be her full self.
Highlights
Recognizing Misuzu’s Emotional Intelligence
It’s becoming clear why Misuzu and Carol may look like an odd couple, but they might be perfect friends. Take note, both are highly intelligent and try to be subtle about it.
Carol plays dumb to hide her feelings and intelligence, potentially for safety reasons. Misuzu, on the other hand, acts cold and indifferent to hide how attached she is to people or worried about them actually walking away. Her fear and guilt about hurting Carol is a prime example. We’ve never seen that part of her, but because Carol gets her maybe even deeper than Tomo, that’s both nice and seemingly scary to her.
Yet, what Misuzu has an edge on her with, despite being single, is an understanding of boys enough to lead them to desired results and confessions. Hence Misaki confessing his feelings or the long game Tomo and Jun are on. That is her work.
So as much as this episode revealed new layers to Carol, it also showed us who Misuzu is out of her role in her core friend group.
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