hontou ni sou omou?

Honoka-chan’s attempts to get closer to Yamato goes nowhere despite being his personal cheerleader for much of his PE trials, trying to share an umbrella home with him and going karaoke with him. She doesn’t even appear in episode 6 - but it’s then that her best chance germinates when SUZAD (Suzuka Asahina Aerospace Defense Command), after some hesitation, orders SAM batteries to shoot down Starblazer Yamato-kun.

The umbrella attempt was a good try but Yamato was, of course, completely preoccupied with waiting for Suzuka and he couldn’t think of a good excuse to brush off poor Honoka-chan. I think Yasunobu’s interception saved them both quite a bit of embarrassment. Then again, Yamato just could bear being under a pink umbrella with a cat-head handle.

The art for the karaoke scene was particularly bad with Honoka-chan’s face shape being strangely long. I have never understood this anime preoccupation with "indirect kisses" - it just seems to emphasize the swapping spit part of kissing which is one of the less exalted properties of that esteemed activity.

It was hilarous how off-balance Honoka-chan became when Yamato casually asked her if she had ever confessed to someone she liked before and what it meant to be a couple. So we find out that she’s never had a boyfriend before - not that she should lack suitors as Kobayakawa clearly finds her attractive.

While I admire Yamato’s persistence, his lack of finesse and impulsiveness can be really excuriating to watch. Many facepalms. With ep 5 and 6, my impression of Yasunobu has improved tremendously. He could be really callous, cheerfully getting Yamato into all sorts of trouble, but it seems that he really has Yamato’s welfare at heart and is one of the best wingmen I’ve seen in recent series.