hontou ni sou omou?

Honoka-chan continues to feel Suzuka’s shadow on her efforts to get closer to Yamato. After failing to seduce Yamato with a sexy swimsuit at the pool theme park, she finally confronts Suzuka. Mentar sees Honoka-chan as trying to get the go-ahead from Suzuka, thus showing some sort of consideration for Suzuka. I could not disagree more.

Far from being considerate to Suzuka’s feelings, I feel that Honoka-chan is challenging Suzuka to "put up or shut up". Here’s how I read the sequence of conversation [in square brackets]:

H: Asahina-san, shall we go home together?
S: Uh? With me? (Surprised)
H: Asahina-san, you… (Hesitates)
S: What is it? [So why did you want to walk home with me?]
H: Ummm, how should I put it… You seem pretty close to Akitsuki-kun? [Do you like Yamato?]
S: Eh?
H: You both seem to enjoy talking to each other. [Sometimes you look like a potential couple.]
S: No way. I just complain to him.
H: Really? Is that true?
S: There’s no way I’m close to a guy like him.
H: (Stops) [Resolving herself?]
S: Eh?
H: So it’s ok with you…
S: What am I ok with?
H: … if I confess to him… [You've had your chance. Now it's my chance.]
I really really like Akitsuki-kun. [I'm not ambivalent about my feelings for him, unlike you.]
Always, since a long time before he met you! [I saw him first!]
S: Why are you telling me this? (Looks away, embarrassed)
H: Because whenever I see you… I feel as if you like Akitsuki-kun. [You are my biggest obstacle and if you reciprocate Yamato's feelings, I have no chance. I need some peace of mind. Let me know if I have a chance to gain Yamato's love. - Honoka-chan's distressed tone hardly seems to indicate concern for Suzuka, instead it sounds like anxiety caused by how much of a threat she sees Suzuka as.]
S: I… I don’t really have any special feelings for Yamato-kun. [I am completely caught by surprise. Maybe I like him. How can I like him? As if you've got any chance with Yamato against me!? I don't care!]
(Yamato appears.)
S: Yamato-kun! [Oh shit!]
H: Oh no! [What a horrible way for Yamato to hear my confession! - cf. Lunar 13 - 03:49] (Runs away.)
S: I… I didn’t really mean… [What have I done?]

Well, Honoka-chan’s gambit succeeds beyond her wildest dreams. It’s a tremendous risk to take but she gets a verbal commitment from Suzuka that she has no interest in Yamato. This will be an additional guilt tool that Honoka-chan can brandish at Suzuka if the latter tries to come between her and Yamato later. And also that commitment has inadvertent third party verification. As that third party is Yamato, that will draw the lines more clearly between them.

Two other observations. Yamato’s dignified reaction to yet another rejection showed that he does have some common sense afterall. And I did not realise how little justice the animation did to the manga (too used to GSD stock footage perhaps?) until I saw Mentar’s comparisons. Argh, now the awfulness of the animation, relative to the gorgeous drawing in the manga, is suddenly all too obvious to my eyes. What a waste! At least the romance story is really captivating.