As this pair's conversation continues, so we see the rather odd juxtaposition of hatred and kinship felt by Kurumi towards Sawako, who finally finds someone she can talk all about Kazehaya with while simultaneously hating said person for taking his focus away from her.
That aside, we also find ourselves taken back to Kurumi's past and what could be seen as a glimpse of some of the goings-on which moulded her into the girl she is now, as she finds herself the centre of attention not for her personality so much as her popularity; a blessing which becomes a curse when it backfires on her before showing her Kazehaya's kind side in a scene which doubtless cemented her love for him.
Sawako's thoughts and opinions clearly have something of an influence on Kurumi as we return to the present however, as she eventually finds herself meeting Kazehaya to explain about the misunderstanding surrounding Pin, before she even finds herself plucking up the courage both to confess her feelings to Kazehaya and to let him see her "real" self for the first time.
Scene for scene, this episode of Kimi ni Todoke managed to be almost perfectly realised in every way, from its animation through to its dialogue and on to its sense of plot progression - Every emotion and every moment was simply compelling to watch, and occasionally really quite beautiful with it. As has often been the case with this series, there are plenty of great moments that promise to live long in the memory, and each one was expertly played, be it Kurumi's confession or Sawako's predictably odd positive response to being called a "rival". Once you dig down beyond the animation and story alone, the major characters also play a huge part in driving this series along so well, with all of them (apart from Kazehaya himself, arguably) showing both depth and a realistic streak when required of them - An important facet in a world where too many romance-based anime series tend to go off at the deep end with unrealistic stereotypes. This series, on the other hand, feels at least something like the school days that I remember, and that in itself adds yet another element to the interest that I can't help but feel towards this wonderful show.
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