The third episode of “Skip and Loafer takes a detour and follows another classmate of Mitsumi Iwakura, named Kurume Makoto, as they both struggle to gel into the social life of the high school.
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 3: Recap: Dreamy And Sparky
In the previous episode, we saw Mitsumi decide to join the student council out of all the other choices available to her. She is up and ready to fulfill her desire to join the student council, which could be her first step to becoming a town mayor one day. Her bubble of fantasies is broken by another reticent and awkward girl from her class, Kurume Makoto.
We get to see the world through Kurume’s perspective for a while: her desires and her apprehensions. It so happens that Kurume finds herself unsuited for any club other than the student council, but she worries whether they’ll take her in just on her whim alone. While she was lost in thought, Mitsumi asked her whether she was there to join the club, which sent Kurume into a panic. Kurume sees Mitsumi Iwakura as a kind of clandestine boss of high school owing to her friendships with both the nerdy students and the studs. Her suspicions seem almost confirmed when she sees the handsome Sousuke and the beautiful Yuzuki Murashige beside Mitsumi’s side. Terrified, Kurume denies ever wanting to be president of the student council. Yuzuki senses Kurume’s apprehension and excuses herself from the scene.
Mitsumi takes in Kurume, along with Sousuke, to join the student club, but they are calmly jolted out of their over-enthusiasm by the Council President and its Treasurer. They are told that one can’t simply join the council and that they’ll have to start at the bottom of the ladder if they want to be in it someday. They are told about the Tsubame Society, which may take them on as supporters for the council, and they can then begin their journey of joining the coveted Student Council one day. Mitsumi is enthralled to find this glimmer of hope but also concerned about the time constraint she will be under if she joins society.
They come out of the council room, and Kurume immediately takes off. The experience that was meant to be a solitary one, suiting her temperament, turned out to be a nerve-wracking one because of Mitsumi Iwakura.
She begins to forget the debacle that was the student council meeting and weighs in on joining the literary club instead, but before she can reach a decision, she is once again startled by Mitsumi. This time, Mitsumi asked Kurume to tag along with her and Sousuke to a nearby cafe after school.
A distressed Kurume agrees but isn’t able to shake off her discomfort. The trio message Yuzuki, who laments missing out on the outing. Mitsuki grills Sousuke for showing no enthusiasm at the student council meeting. As relaxed as ever, Sousuke explains that he still hasn’t made up his mind about joining the student council. He pretended to join it only to get Kanechika, the drama club president, off his back. Seeing Mitsumi and Sousuke’s bond, Kurume is bewildered because Mitsumi is a nerdy bookworm while Sousuke is a stud. The pair doesn’t fit her notion of what two friends look like. Sousuke senses Kurume’s discomfort and signals Mitsumi to ask Kurume to share her online profile just to calm her down and make her feel welcome.
Kuruke is indeed thrilled by Mitsumi’s kind gesture. She senses a true connection after a long time. Kurume, riding that emotional wave, musters up the courage to ask Mitsumi to see the movie together, which was also part of their English language curriculum. She is thrilled to get Mitsumi’s assent, but to her surprise, many other classmates get to know about the movie screening, and Mitsumi calls the entire group to watch the movie together.
The class shows up in their fancy clothes and slick hairdos, making it an awkward event for the simpleton Kuruke thinks she is. Yuzuki tries to start a conversation, but a preoccupied Kuruke only manages to make her feel unwanted. Yuzuki, hurt by Kuruke’s attitude, sits away from her during the screening, but they patch up thanks to our accidental fixer, Mitsumi.
Episode 3: Ending Explained – How Does Mitsumi Patch Things Up Between Kuruke And Yuzuki?
Mitsumi sees the rift between Kuruke and Yuzuki and takes it upon herself to resolve their differences. Mistsumi, who is no Miss Congeniality herself and lacks the social skills to make things alright between two polar opposites, asks Sousuke’s help. Sousuke, busy with the screening, doesn’t get her signals. Mitsumi panics and starts munching popcorn under stress. She chews the popcorn like an addict, alternating between the caramel and salted ones, exclaiming that their taste is enhanced this way. Kuruke and Yuzuki understand this metaphor, relating it to their level. Kuruke messages her personally and reveals her desire to know her better and perhaps become friends.
Episode 3: Review
The third episode takes a whole new trajectory by introducing us to the character of Kuruke. It throws us off at the beginning, but when it circles back to revealing the growing world around Mitsumi, we begin appreciating the little details added along the way. The show expands and breathes in more space to feel like a holistic high school drama rather than a show fixated on a cliche coming-of-age story.
The show, however, leaves Sousuke a little too much out of the scenario, having put an emphasis on his storyline in previous episodes. Shedding light on his real desires and true objectives would let the viewer enjoy his character even more.