Seihantai na Kimi to Boku Ep.05 - Yamada and Nishi! Finally parents approved?

Episode 5 of the anime series Seihantai na Kimi to Boku (正反対な君と僕), as expected, focuses on a new side couple (Nishi Natsumi and Yamada Kentarou), and it was honestly the sweetest episode so far. It also features some developments for the main couple, of course, but the first half was the most impactful to me.

Nishi is a shy, reserved girl who likes to listen to other people's stories and often laughs along with them, but she is unable to actually enter a conversation because she overthinks things whenever she speaks with someone she isn't used to. She can easily talk a lot with her best friend, Rikako Honda, but that is the extent of her social circle. The scene of her visualizing her thought process when trying to talk with someone (see the attached video) was hilarious.

This final scene between Nishi and Yamada was so cute that I had to stop for a second to recover from the sweetness.

Now, this is an interesting position to be revealed to your grandmother. Still it's progress, now closer to being 'family approved'

Yamada is the complete opposite character; he is outgoing and friendly with everyone, but seemingly oblivious to anything even remotely romantic. Following the tradition of this series, the two are polar opposites. After a few exchanges, Yamada becomes interested and starts using Rikako as an excuse to start conversations with Nishi and become friends.

Rikako, on her part, is having the time of her life watching the two get closer, as it is so obvious they are interested in each other. Honestly, she perfectly represents my own emotions during the episode. It was a mix of sweetness and thinking "just get together already" while watching the two ping-pong around with their feelings.

Regarding the main couple, we saw some progress with the two having a study session at Tani's house and being discovered by his grandma. Things were resolved quickly when Tani nonchalantly introduced her, and this, together with Suzuki talking about the relationship with her mother, creates the first connection between the two families. Sure, it is still only one person on each side, but things will definitely become even more intertwined.

I like how the series is taking its time developing the relationships between the various couples, showing how they get to know each other instead of just jumping to the "goal". I know it is unrealistic compared to real high school romance, but we are here for sweet fiction, right? Not harsh reality.

Admittedly Yamada wasn't the type of guy you'd expect to come out with such a line.

Rikako's reactions to Nishi and Yamada approaches were hilarious. Loving her.

What will be the focus of the next episode? Technically, they should be done with the side characters, as I don't remember anyone else missing at this point. Is it going to be a relaxing episode showing some fun across the board, or will they continue the developments on the main romance side?