Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me released episode 9 and while I was hoping for a good sports episode, it only ended up stressing me out. Tension involving the main trio – Runa, Ryuto, and Maria — ensues. In the last episode, Runa volunteered to be part of the cultural festival committee because Maria volunteered first, and we all know that Runa wants to rekindle her relationship with Maria.
One of Runa’s friends, Akari, decided to volunteer and persuaded Ryuto to join as well. They were still missing one person, so Ryuto chose his friend Ijichi to join too. This not only added another member to the committee but also provided an opportunity for Ijichi to interact with Runa’s friends, as he doesn’t often engage with girls. An awkward moment ensued within one of the smaller committees involving the main trio – Runa, Ryuto, and Maria. They were tasked with designing a festival theme poster but conflicting opinions created tension. Ryuto favored Maria’s design but was hesitant to hurt Runa’s feelings, considering she was his girlfriend.
Later, while stressing about the situation during cram school, Sekiya intervened to alleviate Ryuto’s stress. They shared a meal of ramen, during which Ryuto discussed the poster issue and the dynamics among the girls. Sekiya empathized, sharing a bit about his own high school experiences. Ryuto continued to struggle with deciding on a design so he evaded the issue, claiming he still didn’t know which direction to take. However, he later bumps into Maria who shares the reasons behind her school transfer and why she specifically chose to attend their school. Maria recognizes one of his cram school books, which is the same cram school they both attend, so Yruto starts to panic. He assumes she isn’t aware of his attendance, but she actually is, which then causes Ryuto to freak out. In response, Maria runs off.
In my honest opinion, if I were in his position and believed that someone else’s idea was better than my partner’s, I would express it. I tend to be straightforward, although I try to soften the delivery while conveying that I prefer another person’s idea over my partner’s. However, I acknowledge that everyone has their own opinions, and he is a high schooler, making this a particularly awkward situation for him. This is especially true since Maria was the girl he asked out in middle school, only to be rejected. Additionally, he had also rejected her confession in previous episodes, placing him in a challenging position. This episode shows how this poor kid is in his “I’m screwed” moment.
Continuing in Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me episode 9, it’s sports day for them and they engage in all the classic activities we’ve seen in anime shows. One memorable moment occurred when Runa was slowing down in a race but Ryuto cheered her on, prompting her to speed up and secure first place. Another classic event was the scavenger hunt. Runa received a paper with the task “Somebody you like,” and she got Ryuto to run with her to the finish.
Meanwhile, Maria was preparing for cheerleading to impress her mother who also attended the sports day. However, Maria sees her mom talking to Runa so she runs away to avoid the interaction. The mother later inquired about Maria’s whereabouts, and Runa and Ryuto, unaware of Maria’s feelings, decided to find her. Ryuto eventually discovers Maria on the school roof. She then confessed that she felt inferior to Runa and desired their mother’s attention, which is what led to her upset reaction when she saw them together. Ryuto encourages Maria to greet her mom but she refuses, to which she reveals her lingering feelings for him and asks him to stop being nice to her.
Meanwhile, Runa overheard this, felt hurt, and ran off. The episode concluded with the committee finally deciding on the festival design. Despite mixed feelings, Ryuto served as the tiebreaker, favoring Maria’s design, and bringing the episode to a close.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about the episode. I mean, you share the same mom; what else would you expect? Is it so unreasonable to think that she would say hi to her own mom? It’s just crazy how Maria feels that way. Can’t you both just say hi to your mom at the same time? Maria’s reaction stressed me out, and it’s worth noting that I’m currently sick—I was coughing a lot when she ran off because that seemed pretty irrational on her part. Episode 9 shouldn’t be stressing me out here.
Overall, I think Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me episode 9 was okay. It was stressful, but there was a cute moment when she fed him and it was amusing to see his friends feeling grossed out about it. Aside from that, nothing particularly special was happening, except for the ongoing family conflicts and the difficulty of choosing what was better. There’s no perfect answer to everything in this episode, and it was stressful. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see that they still have their cute moments. I just hope they don’t break up in the next episode because that would stress me out even more.
I give Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me episode 9 a 7.5/10.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
© Makiko Nagaoka, magako / KADOKAWA / Kimizero Production Committee