All's well in the end. To me this speaks for the idea that ultimately her "crush" on the guy was something superficial, as indeed this is supposed to be her assigned role. Maybe that is too meta, but it does feel like an obligation. Loving Hiyama, that is a feeling all of her own that she developed by constantly being given incentives for.
Yeah, long story short: once Hiyama came into the picture, Kimura's affections fixated on Hiyama (like the library scene) but she rationalized those affections in a myriad of other ways (adoration, "she's amazing," "I feel like this around her because I want to be like her," etc.).
I wouldn't be surprised if she felt these romantic like feelings for a while now but didn't have a solid understanding of her emotions because Hiyama is a girl. We even have the later scene where she continues to assume her jealousy is for the boy, only to actually react when forced to witness Hiyama's (potentially) being taken away by the guy friend.
She had an idealized view of relationships and who she "should" pine for, but it's all flipped. The girl she thought she liked because of "adoration" is actually love, and the guy she thought she "loved" was actually just a friendly kind of like (with some shyness).
last edited at Feb 22, 2023 11:14AM