Go For It, Nakamura! Episode 10 Review - All Anime Original
Wow, this episode is completely anime original! None of the contents shown are from the manga! I’m amazed! I feel like the anime studio took a lot of risks to make an completely anime original episode and I think they did a good job having all of them stay in character while also bringing out new information for characters we don’t really see that often.
One of the best things about this episode is that Nakamura is actually treated well this time around. He doesn’t get punished for his actions as often as he does in previous episodes. Hirose includes him in his friend group and he’s mostly treated well, except for the part where Takeuchi spits out his drink at him. It was honestly nice learning new information about the other characters like how they’re just boys. Some of them like games. Hirose likes certain bands and will only listen to them if he’s hooked. Takeuchi is mostly girl crazy as he mostly watches a drama for a female actress. It kind of shows that Nakamura is doing his best to try and fit in, but isn’t treated weirdly for that. I honestly like that. I honestly like that the most common ground the boys’ friend group has is that they all like to roast Takeuchi in some way. A few things that we learn about Nakamura in this episode is that he likes drinking coffee instead of soda like the other boys. Hirose isn’t too fond of black coffee himself.
The second half of the episode mostly revolves around Love-Ben getting an anime adaptation and Nakamura traveling to another city for a signing event. If it’s possible, I’d honestly love to see an actual anime of Love-ben! The premise feels crazy! Sometimes, I think the fictional stories in these fictional stories feel like they can work as actual stories like Flower Princess Blaze in My Dress-up Darling. I think the one good thing about the episode is that Nakamura is finally seen wearing something other than his school uniform. While he’s not the most fashionable guy out there, it’s still nice seeing him wear casual clothes.
Kawamura and her friends get some spotlight in this episode as Kawamura also got a ticket for the signing event; Hamaoka and Okuda tagged along so that they can go to animate and buy goods while she goes to the book signing. It’s honestly really interesting to see the major differences between a boy’s friend group and a girl’s. Unlike the boys where they all have a mutual frustration towards Takeuchi, the girls all equally love each other. While Okuda did make Kawamura be the one to order the food at the collab cafe, it’s not out of malice. Also, whoever designed the girls’ fits need a raise because all three of them were looking like divas.
It’s also nice to finally see Kawamura and Nakamura solidifying their friendship. While Kawamura still has a crush on him, she still found joy in talking about their favorite BL manga together and doesn’t seem to think Nakamura is weird for liking it; in fact, she already knew since she’d see him reading it during lunch breaks. While I don’t ship them romantically, I like seeing them together. Also, I’m a bit surprised the author of Love-ben is a man; not that it’s weird, but it’s usually because BL authors are usually women—then again, I can’t be too sure on that since they like to keep a low profile. Kometani-sensei is voiced by Shunsuke Sakaya who voiced Simon Blackquill in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies and Graf Granat in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
I think what surprised me the most was that Niou has a crush on another teacher that’s not Otogiri. I guess it’s because this is a BL story that I was expecting a side pair in a way. You know, for a BL story…there’s not many gay people in this one. The only canonically gay people in this story are Nakamura and Matsumura. Still, I do find it interesting how Niou has some parallels with Nakamura in that both have black hair and both have a thing for soft and fluffy brunets. Niou is usually a stickler for rules and such, but the moment he sees the teacher voiced by Ai Kayano, he turns as red as Nakamura does when he’s around Hirose. I wonder if that’s the reason Niou seems to have a soft spot for Nakamura.
Now, I’m curious if the next episode will also be anime original. I think there are 12 episodes in this anime and there’s still one manga character who hasn’t made her anime debut yet. I just hope the fanbase doesn’t go crazy when she appears because she’s a rather sweet girl who just unfortunately happened to be in a BL manga. Anyways, let me know your thoughts on this episode!
