When Will Ayumu Make His Move episode 2 has now aired and we had an opportunity to see how a simple sports day episode can be used to naturally introduce side characters. School anime series in general almost always have a sports day episode with the purpose of showcasing the entire cast and how much they’ve grown together. However, it’s less talked about compared to the infamous beach episodes that deliver fanservice and festival episodes that swing the whole story forward or end the series merrily.
Normally, sports day episodes happen in the middle or near the end of the series. But, that’s not the case in When Will Ayumu Make His Move because not only does it happen immediately in episode 2, but also we aren’t all too familiar with the whole cast. Nevertheless, the series successfully managed to introduce the side characters well and we got to see more cute moments between Urushi and Ayumu.
The Lovable Side Characters
When Will Ayumu Make His Move episode 2 has introduced 3 new characters: Maki, Takeru, and Sakurako. Maki is Urushi’s best friend and often teases her with Ayumu. From the way Kana Hanazawa voiced her, we can tell that she’s a bit smug. In contrast to her mischievous personality though, she’s actually really caring and very supportive of her best friend Urushi. We can see it in the episode wherein she gave her spot to Ayumu in order to partner up with Urushi in a three-legged race.
The next two side characters are Takeru and Sakurako who seems to be the side pair in this series. While the pilot episode gave us the chemistry of Urushi and Ayumu, the former pairing is quite the opposite. The major difference between the two pairs is when one pair is actively attempting to hook up while the other couple is trying to avoid admitting they like each other. Takeru isn’t too brave to admit his thoughts and feelings directly while Sakuragi often teases and even hypnotizes him. And while I hate to admit that I might enjoy the new pairing more since I find them more natural and reminiscent of Takagi-san, Ayumu and Urushi still aren’t a bad couple they are also adorable in their own way.
Overall, the side characters of the series that have been introduced so far are a delight to see. The other thing I would like to praise is the number of characters, which thankfully isn’t too big. If we take a look at both opening and ending sequences, almost everyone from the cast is already here. Everyone single one of them has their own stories and background and with only a few side characters, it means we get more fluffy moments with each one of them.
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Images via HIDIVE
© Soichiro Yamamoto・Kodansha / When Will Ayumu Make His Move Production Committee
