“Please Choose the Best Chocolate for Me”
What They Say:
The girls welcome the new year and Adachi seems to be acting weird again. She later tries to ask Shimamura if she’d want to hang out on Valentine’s Day.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Episode seven of Adachi to Shimamura is perhaps the most wholesome so far. The episode begins with Shimamura’s little sister and Yashiro innocently playing around until little Shimamura brings up Yashiro’s sparkling hair, making her the first and only character to bring it up thus far. Even Yashiro doesn’t seem to know why it sparkles, which is odd, so little Shimamura decides she’ll solve the case, and Yashiro smugly agrees. After the opening credits, the episode then cuts to Shimamura studying on the night of New Year’s eve till she is contacted by Adachi. The two have an idle conversation about their plans and Adachi’s thighs before courteously greeting each other and hanging up. After the call, Shimamura then reflects on her relationship with Adachi, something she usually does not do, and Adachi ponders her infatuation with Shimamura as usual, only this time with an added twist.
For some strange reason, Adachi starts to fantasize about seeing Shimamura’s chest, signifying the first time she’s ever thought about her crush in a sexual manner. In school, Adachi is noticeably acting weird (again), perhaps due to her newfound feelings, which Shimamura notices. After greeting Hino and Nagafuji, Shimamura is finally approached by Adachi, who wants to hang out after school. As the two go on their outing, the episode then cuts to Hino and Nagafuji in their usual antics, only this time they seem to be getting even closer to each other. While on their outing, Adachi not so subtly leads Shimamura to a valentine’s day poster as a way to squeeze it into the conversation so she can ask Shimamura out (or at least exchange friendship chocolates) when the day comes.
It’s quite clear this puts a slight mental strain on Adachi as she’s seen adorably hiccupping before making the request. Shimamura is reluctant at first, but after some inner reflection, decides to agree. After the outing, Adachi has yet another dream about Shimamura. Oddly enough, after the ending credits, the episode decides to introduce a new character called Tarumi, Shimamura’s childhood friend referenced in a previous episode. Her appearance will no doubt complicate things, especially with the Jealous Adachi.
In Summary:
There’s a lot to talk about in this episode. For one, this is the first episode to highlight the odd nature of Yashiro. It’s pretty easy to dismiss her claims of being an Alien, yet it is odd how she behaves noticeably different from the other characters, especially with her mature demeanor. This episode is also shows how Adachi’s thoughts on Shimamura have evolved in a slightly sexual direction, which is somewhat natural, so I’m glad the anime decided to accurately depict this not so wholesome part of having a crush.
What’s more, I noticed that we see Hino and Nagafuji get slightly closer with each episode, perhaps hinting at their own romantic development. Finally, the episode clues us in that Shimamura might be aware of Adachi’s feelings for her but decides to ignore the obvious signs because she finds it hard to connect to people in general, but the series is yet to give us a reason as to why. Luckily this episode also shows some notable growth on her side as she seems to be warming up to Adachi and is now putting in the effort to get closer to her. I’m not sure how Tarumi’s introduction will affect the show’s dynamic, but things are sure to get interesting in the next episode.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Funimation
