Kokoro Connect - Episode 10

That lovely smile~!

And with that, the thrilling second arc of Kokoro Connect comes to an end. In what was arguably a Himeko-centered arc, fans of this loveable, black-haired tsundere should consider themselves blessed by the sheer amount of character development that occurred in these five episodes. Throughout the arc, Himeko's tough exterior was slowly being chipped away, culminating in the revelation of her true self—someone who just wanted to preserve the only valuable friendships that she had managed to make. Ironically, her criticism of Taichi being a selfless freak could also be applied to herself. The difference was, his usually brought physical distress, while hers was more on the mental/emotional side. But like they say, wounds of the flesh will definitely heal over time, but wounds of the heart may not.

However, it wasn't just Himeko who took center stage in this episode; Iori also showed how great of a character she is. Even after finding out that her friend is now officially her love rival, Iori didn't develop a sense of hatred or anger, but instead, even encouraged Himeko. Now, obviously this increases the chance that it will come back to bite her later on, but even so, I think she did the right thing; exactly what a good friend would've done. To be honest, it's hard for me to decide whom I want Taichi to end up with as both girls have their fair share of positive traits, appealing to two different fanbases. Right now, I'm slowly leaning towards supporting Taichi x Himeko, given the recency of this arc and the lovely ending of this episode where Himeko showed her surprising cute side.

As the next arc begins, the main question for many viewers is obviously "What's Heartseed got up his sleeve this time around?" And with a title like, "We Were Told About it Before it Started", something tells me it's going to be an event in which, even if the five knew about it, it'd still be hard to deal with. I mean, come on, it's Heartseed we're talking about here. Whenever he says he's going to make something "interesting", you better believe he will. Despite his seemingly antagonistic motives, I have to admit that it's because of him that Kokoro Connect has been such a wonderful series so far. Keep up the good work!