Simple confusion seems to be what Chizuru is all about.
What They Say:
The five boys decide to go to a shrine together. While there, Chizuru accidentally throws the bicycle key he picked up into the box of offerings. The owner of the key “Akihiro” forces the boys to carry his unrideable bicycle. With entrance exams looming over the third year high schooler, Akihiro finds the laid back attitude of the boys irritating. Akihiro receives a charm from his girlfriend, but because she has already been accepted into a university, he finds himself unable to reciprocate her kindness.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The shrine traditional kicks into full gear here as the new year is underway and the five young men make their way to the local one to make their offerings. It’s traditional material to be sure and You & Me doesn’t stray from what most series do, though at least it’s kept pretty much peaceful and calm when you get down to it. The lack of excessive drama or hyperactivity is pretty welcome. What the situation does bring in is a little bit of an adventure though as Chizuru comes across a key on the ground near the shrine and, through an accident, tosses it into the offering bin just as the man who owns the bike it belongs to arrives.
Doing all of this in front of the owner, a young man named Akihiro, just adds insult to injury and the next thing you know the guys are all helping him with what’s going on. Chizuru is pretty much beaten into submission over his action for mistaking a key for a coin and the rest, Kaname in particular, have no problem with pushing him even harder because of it. Since he can’t ride his bike, they get into having Chizuru doing the carrying of it and it just goes further downhill hill from there. Essentially, any time spent with this gang of five invariably draws other people into the danger zone. What looks to separate Akihiro from them a bit though is that while he doesn’t have a girlfriend, there is a girl named Yuri that likes him as becomes evident during their travels.
Akihiro does kind of dominate the episode, which isn’t a bad thing since he definitely fits in with the other boys but brings a little something different to it. With the rest of the gang halfway tagging behind him, it’s just kind of silly but they’re simply so intent on helping him and making up for what they did. The loss of his bike, the not getting his mail delivered in time and the instance with the girl is small but sweet and Chizuru really does his best to help out here. Putting Akihiro together with Shun, Yuki and Chizuru works surprisingly well as does splitting the group up in general. It keeps it from being a bit overwhelming as they try to help him and it also goes a realistic route in that some just wouldn’t want to bother.
In Summary:
You & Me continues to be a show that charms me in small ways and I find it simply endearing to watch. The story here strays from the norm a bit by bringing in someone else for the catalyst of events in the form of Akihiro. With Chizuru being the cause of the trouble, it’s good to see his nature having him not wanting to let things stand as they are as he tries to make amends. He’s a character I still have a bit of a hard time with, but Chizuru really does have a good personality and can do so much. His nature is in full display here as he tries to help Akihiro and drags a few other friends along the way. It’s more about Akihiro in the end though, and while I wouldn’t mind a return appearance, I’m glad the show focuses on the core five themselves overall.
Grade: B
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.
