Amagami SS+ - Episode 5

Ai ♥

I'm feeling slightly depressed after watching this episode. I can't say I know exactly how Ai is feeling, but I'm certain that she must be in a lot of pain now. And for once, it is not fully Junichi's fault. Sure, his careless mistake of answering his cram school test questions on the incorrect row deserves a facepalm, but ultimately, the blame can be directed at the school itself for conveniently scheduling a training camp near Christmas Eve; it's like they intentionally did so to spite those who have plans. Nonetheless, I have hope that a happy ending is waiting for the two of them at the end of the road.

Unlike his relationship with Tsukasa, Junichi seems like less of a coward when he's with Ai. It may due to the senpai-kōhai relationship which is evidently still upheld despite their familiarity with each other (i.e. Ai still calls him "Senpai"). Still, there were times where I found Junichi to be a total annoyance, particularly the infirmary scene, where I began to ask myself why Ai would choose someone like him. It seems like the recurring theme in all the arcs is showing how useless and perverted Junichi is. It was effectively done in this episode via the common "peeping on girls in swimsuits" situation. But in the end, I've got to admit that Junichi is really trying hard to be the best he can for Ai. Even while struggling to handle both regular and cram school, he still found time to think about her (shown by him stopping to look at a nice, but most likely expensive, winter coat, on his way to cram school).

Similarly, Ai is also doing her best to support her boyfriend. However, the feeling of helplessness after learning that Junichi had been taken to the training camp earlier than expected must have downed her spirits, erasing any sense of prior optimism. The fact that she was about to give him an early present but is now unable to doesn't help either. The culmination of all these depressing turn of events has resulted in one lonely girl walking down the brightly-lit city streets, in the middle of a crowd of happy couples. Just this scene itself was enough to allow the viewer to get a sense of the emotional pain that Ai is in right now.

Personally, I'll be going into the next episode with optimism. I'm expecting Junichi to somehow manage to get out of the training camp earlier than expected (maybe due to his "surprising improvement in academic performance", or something cliché like that), buy the coat he saw earlier, find Ai, and give it to her just as she is about to break down from the pain of being alone. After some romantic dialogue (including some tears?), the two embrace/kiss/etc. and spend the rest of the night with each other. I'm actually confident in my guess since Amagami SS has always been one of those shows whose plot is way too predictable. But who knows? Maybe this arc will be different. No matter what may happen, I only wish for Ai to be smiling at the end~