Episode 3 – “There’s No Way I’d Believe That” – April 20, 2022
Episode Summary
This episode contained depictions of sexual assault. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Sugoroku Game continues, and someone unleashes a bombshell – back in middle school, Yutori Kokorogi engaged in compensated dating.
This revelation throws Yutori into a full-blown meltdown, thus confirming its legitimacy. Shio Sawaragi runs to comfort her friend, but Yutori accuses her of being the one who outed her; Shio was, supposedly, the only person who knew.
Yutori turns to Yuichi Katagiri and begs him not to abandon her despite knowing her history. Yuichi tells Yutori that regardless of what her past might be, he will never leave him. He then leans in close and whispers something into Yutori’s ear.
The group takes a second to recover, and Tenji Mikasa checks on Shio. In the last round, everyone learned that Tenji and Shio were once a couple and that Tenji still has feelings for Shio. However, secretly, Tenji recalls how everyone found themselves in the Tomodachi Game.
After all, it was he who stole the money and set everything in motion to crush Shio’s other relationships. With nowhere else to go, she would be forced back into his “caring” arms.
Episode Impressions
This episode was ass.
Why would you reveal such a massive plot detail so early in the story? To be frank, it was the only thing holding my interest. And now that we know Tenji is a colossal prick (assuming this series doesn’t try to weasel some other explanation), why should I bother continuing?
I mean, I’m going to, but good luck having me care.
Also, I finally figured out what was bothering me about this show – before the whole Tenji revelation. Our main group of characters is, fundamentally, dull. We knew almost nothing about them or their dynamic as friends before they found themselves in this friendship-ending game. So, we don’t have any alternative to compare the bleakness of their situation.
Plus, the game’s moderators are garbage. I have failed to talk about this aspect of the show, but the overseers of the Tomodachi Game, at least the ones we have met, have turned an already heavy-handed series into an overly pompous one. Their pseudo-moral commentary over the thoughts, behaviors, and self-preservation tendencies of teenagers is getting on my last nerves.
Tomodachi Game has dug itself into a deep hole, and I doubt it can climb out of it.
