The focus turns to siblings, to good effect, as Shu’s younger brother is introduced.
What They Say:
After Shun receives a call from his younger brother Fuyuki after school, the boys make a trip to their old middle school. Extremely curious about Shun’s younger brother, Chizuru cannot conceal his surprise when he discovers Fuyuki is the complete opposite of his brother. The rest of the boys are impressed by how much Fuyuki has grown. Recently, Fuyuki got himself a girlfriend, and the boys demand to see her. Fuyuki leads them to the kendo dojo where they participate in the kendo club together.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Over the course of the series, we haven’t had too much to see about the guys families outside of a brief bit of Kaname’s mother for a bit and obviously the twins themselves. The show has focused mostly on their own activities and times together within the school and some of the other external events as well. This time around though things get a little complicated as the group heads over to the middle school with Su in order to meet up with his younger brother, Fuyuki. And as can be expected, Fuyuki is completely unlike Shu in many ways as he comes across as a bit too laid back in a way that makes him seem just lazy. But he’s also quite interested in girls, as befits his age, and his look marks him as someone who can definitely make some progress as he gets older.
Of course, the main group knows all about Fuyuki and other than his getting taller, they aren’t all that surprised by him. Chizuru on the other hand is just in a state of shock over the differences, which is comical since Fuyuki is also the same height. But even the other guys get into th espirit of things when they find out that Fuyuki has a girlfriend and they want to see what she looks like and to know everything about the two of them. Fuyuki actually fits in well with the group as he kind of grouses about things and has a rough around the edges feeling which plays well against their generally smooth and relaxed natures. The introduction of Mamiya is definitely cute since she’s part of the kendo club and doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of match that would fit for Fuyuki, though you can see the appeal they both have for each other.
There’s a good bit of fun to be had as it progresses as Fuyuki ends up in a bit of trouble at school when he gets busted with having his phone on him. It goes in some expected directions since he wants to get it back in case Mamiya calls and that leads to silly stuff where they try to get i tback. But like other parts of the series, it’s all kept relatively realistic and simple in a charming way that lets it work, be cute and not out of bounds. Some of the best stuff comes though when Shu and Mamiya are alone together for a bit and she reveals a bit about herself and her feelings towards Fuyuki in a really cute way that cements the way that they’re definitely ideal for each other, since it reminds Shu of it all as well. It’s brief, but it’s the kind of moment that works really well in making things clear in an honest way.
In Summary:
While the focus has largely been on the core cast for so long, I definitely liked this little excursion to Shu’s younger brother since most of them are familiar with him to say the least and Chizuru certainly has some amusing reactions to him since he’s so different from Shu. While it is a diversion, the episode is a welcome one though I’m eager to get back to the main group for the next (and final) episode of the season to see what they intend to do with the show. You & Me has definitely been a slow charmer but it’s one that has some very good charms to it and episode like this makes it clear that it can expand beyond the core cast to good effect and handle it well. Fuyuki is a good addition to things, though I won’t mind if we don’t see him again in general, since the fun comes in seeing how others are influenced by him and the like. Definitely a cute episode and one that fits the series well.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
