You and I Are Polar Opposites ‒ Episode 10

© Kocha Agasawa/SHUEISHA, You and I Are Polar Opposites Committee

While it was cute to see Miyu and Tani get an episode largely to themselves last week, the content was a bit too overly fluffy for my tastes, so I'm glad that this has brought the show back to juggling multiple couples. It's even got the perfect excuse for doing so as the kids gear up for a big class trip, and they're all coming into it with plenty of their own baggage. That seems like a winning formula for some solid relationship drama, but it comes with the caveat of this being a multi-part event, so while plenty of threads are set up here, we're gonna be in for a bit of a wait before we see how they all tie together.

With that in mind, I might as well go ahead and talk about each of our individual pairings in order of how good their screentime was this week, with the weakest here probably being Nishi and Yamada. What we get with them this week is still pretty good, as Nishi's continued desire to avoid holding a conversation for more than three minutes is still as hilarious as it is relatable, and it's equally great watching Hon attempt to be her wingman while being constantly annoyed at being stuck in that position, but the progress here is otherwise minimal. About the most we get is a follow-up from Hon's question about how Nishi really feels about Yamada, and Nishi finally fessing up to having a crush, but we don't get to spend enough time on them to explore how those feelings have evolved beyond her usual default towards short-circuiting every time she has to try talking to him. I have no doubt we'll see those two have a big moment on the field trip since Yamada somehow convinced Nishi to sneak away with him, but for the moment, we're just playing the waiting game.

On the bright side, there's a lot more going on with Miyu and Tani this week, and most of it is an improvement over their big birthday date. In fact, most of it is about that date, as they've both been feeling a little self-conscious after their kiss, and have been acting awkward around each other ever since. Tani might not wear his emotions on his sleeves as Miyu does, but it's obvious that he's flustered about it, and the fact that (on the surface) Miyu is acting completely normal is only adding to his embarrassment. Inversely, Miyu seems to be frustrated that Tani hasn't used the kiss as an excuse to start getting more intimate with each other, and that desire for intimacy only gets more intense when all the other girls in her class learn about them being an item and assume that they've gotten way farther than they actually have. Thus, Miyu's solution to this dilemma is to try tempting Tani into making a move with the allure of her…post-bath look, an idea that only gets funnier upon learning said look has been entirely faked. To her credit, this stunt at least manages to make his heart flutter, but that's all she accomplishes as Tani still feels flustered around her. This does at least give the two of them an excuse to talk. Miyu doesn't vent any of her current frustrations, but she gains a better understanding of how Tani feels as he confesses that being close with others is still a new experience for someone as used to being alone as he is, and it's one that he's still getting used to. This seems to patch up their relationship for the moment, and even gets Miyu to blurt out loud that she loves him, but considering that the result of that leaves Tani so red that his face scrunches like paper, it does seem like Tani learning how to make the first move would be a big step for the two of them. I hope we'll see him take it before the rest of this arc is through.

This finally brings us to Azuma and Taira, who manage to steal the show here despite having the least going on romantically. Their last time in the spotlight highlighted a lot of Azuma's problems when it comes to always giving herself the short end of the stick in social situations, and we see that pop up again when everyone is split into groups for the trip. Her first instinct upon noticing that there'd be too many people if she joined up with her friends is to remove herself from the equation, and she's willing to spend the whole trip around classmates she's less comfortable with if it means keeping the peace. Miyu saves the day by simply asking if they can have a bigger group so Azuma can join in, but the fact that Azuma didn't think to do so herself shows just how deeply this mentality is ingrained in her. It will take a while to unlearn, but the fact that she has people in her corner who aren't taking advantage of her the same way her middle school friends did is an improvement. She's also gotten better at recognizing just how anxious she actually feels around other people. The only person she truly feels comfortable around is Taira, and while that's almost certainly because he's honest with her in a way no one else is, that's far too nuanced for Taira's way of thinking so he just assumes it's the result of her subconsciously looking down on him to the point where nothing he does could make her put her guard up. It's funny to think about, but I'm glad that Azuma doesn't entertain this train of thought too much, even if she hasn't quite parsed how she feels about him. It's still a really slow burn with these two, and I'm not expecting any progress with this arc beyond the slim possibility of one of them realizing they've caught feelings (which, given Taira's general negativity, is likely to be Azuma), but considering what type of people they are, the slow approach really works. While we're gonna have to wait a bit to see how each of these romantic escapades plays out, the fact that these pairs all have something going on is a testament to how well this show is handling its balancing act, and I hope that it can keep it up as the rest of this trip progresses.

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You and I Are Polar Opposites is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.