The Galaxy Next Door ‒ Episode 5

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I think it might be

It is too sweet. I love romance as much as anyone else, but the almost total lack of actual conflict makes this feel more dank than boring, and frankly, even thinking about it that way feels mean to me. It could also be 100% was intentional, though, and this will have implications for the future – Goshiki and Ichiro have gotten all their notions of romance and how a relationship should go Maiden manga, Goshiki’s are rooted in early girly romantic. This may mean that their romance can only be sweet and cloying, because they don’t know what will happen otherwise. Yes, they’ve held their hands (gasp) first date, but that’s because it’s the first step after agreeing to a date, most shoujo Romance (especially in days gone by) shows. Sweet is all they know.

This is sure to change Because Goshiki’s mother is upset that she hasn’t heard from her daughter since she left the island. Watching her angrily throw a koi with fish food while trying to maintain a calm exterior is one of the episode’s strongest scenes, which doesn’t bode well for our happy couple. The entire island has developed an unhealthy attachment to their princess, and finding her basically married to a random off-island guy is unlikely to do well, especially since he touched her without her consent. The way Goshiki gets annoyed with touching the back of Ichiro’s neck or touching him to wake him up can be read both ways, and while I’m mostly in favor of the “consent is sexy” reading, I think it’s probably intentional to show that the islanders are What a reluctance to touch people without warning. Given Stinger’s situation, this makes sense as a hard social rule, and Goshiki’s higher status in her community makes it all the more important.

It’s all just Most of the plot is peripheral, though. Most of the episodes focus on the highly anticipated trip to the zoo, and if there’s something seriously wrong with the gorilla (are we sure it’s not the guy in the gorilla suit?), Fumio and Machi largely make up for everything else . Ichiro’s concern about telling his siblings that he’s dating Goshiki shows touching and very real concerns about how they’ll be received; they’re likely to be frustrated and worried that it means they’ve lost yet another figure of parenthood. Fortunately, the kids are very supportive, though I can see Machi trying to take on more so as not to “get in their way” as the story progresses. But now, she and Fumio are very satisfied, because Fumio has always been an easy-going, soft-spoken little sunshine. (The look on his face as he packs away the giant encyclopedia is the highlight of the episode.) He also does a particularly good job of petting a guinea pig or three; Giving Goshiki a chance to help him proves her investment in the entire family. Of course, she’s the kind of person who likes to find the toughest guinea pigs in the petting area, so maybe she just likes a challenge. Maybe we should hope so, because I think her mom will give her one when she finally finds out what her daughter has been up to. Rating:

is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.