Shonen Beam

[scanlation by iMangaScans]

Yuki counters Seiji’s date offer with a different date offer of her own, but her attitude and delivery make it quite clear that this won’t be a straightforward date.

She set up Seiji and Shou on a date together. This is absolutely unacceptable. There’s only so long I’m willing to root for Seiji to get the “right” girl if she’s constantly going to be putting up ridiculous obstacles in her own path to happiness. What a horrible plot development.

Meanwhile, Seiji compounds the problem by going along with the date. He’s almost as frustrating as Yuki.

Shou’s cheating ex-boyfriend is here, too. Surely this will lead to a moment of closeness between Seiji and Shou.

There’s the “accidental” hand-hold.

... you're dumb enough to forget Yuki.

To top it all off, a sudden rainstorm. This is embarrassing writing, really. One or two coincidences here and there are acceptable; an entire chapter of perfect arrangements is not. The pieces are all lining up, they’re just the wrong pieces forming the wrong result.

Shou invites Seiji to her house. She deserves credit, at least; she’s direct and honest with her feelings. Even if she’s the “wrong” choice of Seiji’s potential love interests, her character integrity alone makes her a better character than either Yuki or Oonuma.

Final Flash: This series continues to move away from everything that made it good. It’s still not beyond hope, but as always, its redemption depends entirely upon Seiji growing a backbone, which looks less likely by the page.