So far, really impressed with Mei’s progression in the anime so far. Initially, I disliked Mei for many reasons namely just being a downright bitch towards Yuzu, especially during those times that Yuzu was trying to do something nice for her. I mean, I get the initial reason for her dislike because of her violating the dress code when she first transferred to the academy, and that she tends to get into things without fully thinking about the consequences, but when Yuzu’s mom remarried, Mei originally doesn’t even bother to try to get to know Yuzu, calling her an idiot at one point when they were having dinner, ignoring her, and then forcefully kissing her in order to make a point on how disgusting it was to kiss the homeroom teacher, or for the most part using her as an emotional crutch because she was easygoing. Really, that was my initial reason as to why I just felt hostile towards the pairing because it seemed emotionally abusive, and overall toxic. Those times where Yuzu was practically carrying the weight of the relationship on her shoulders just made me dislike Mei slightly more.
While I cannot in good judgment say that I am okay with the relationship now, I will admit that I was kind of giving Mei a little bit of hard time. I still find her boring, and slightly cold, and I can’t really like her just because she had daddy issues and all that, I will confirm that she is gradually getting better over time. I always find myself coming back to the episode where Mei actually parts on good terms with her father. Really, this is the episode (or chapter since I read that as well), where I feel that Mei truly began to fall in love with Yuzu. She was so distraught over her father basically leaving again, and not only that, but he had no intention of returning to the school, so this of course makes everything that Mei had accomplished at this point meaningless in her eyes. She becomes an emotional wreck, and once again tries to make advances on Yuzu for a number of reasons namely for solace, but also because she saw that as the last resort to at the very least have some power over a situation. This of course ends up not working in her favor because she still possessed that mindset that Yuzu was a plaything meant to make her happy; Yuzu slaps her out of that reality by forcing her to realize that she was family rather than something that she could emotionally manipulate to her fitting. With nothing more to gain, Mei was completely willing to let her father leave again, because at that point, she no longer cared about anything. Why would she? After all, her dream of having her father return to the school was simply that, a deluded dream. But everything changed when Yuzu gets onto the intercom and calls out for Mei, even though she very well could’ve risked expulsion for it. This time, something snapped into Mei, and she willingly comes.
After that whole ordeal is settled, Mei began to read her father’s letters, and actually lovingly caresses Yuzu’s cheek before the two kiss each other. Yes, it was a different kiss from all of the others, because this time, Mei actually initiates it with no ulterior motive. All the other times that she kissed Yuzu was because she was annoying her in some way. So in short, they come off as disingenuous and somewhat hollow. Here, you could practically feel Mei put her entire heart into that passionate kiss because this time it actually meant something. And then you have her behavior in Episode 9. While the whole ordeal with Matsuri was bad, it once again shows how her feelings towards Yuzu were changing. Here, she could relate with Matsuri despite the two very clearly not liking each other in the beginning because they were both closing their hearts towards love or had cynical outlooks on life, and yet they could find common ground in Mei. And of course the ending where Mei makes advances on Yuzu after saying that she should be more direct with her feelings. Of course many like to point figures accusing Mei of being a rapist, but her, her actions take on a different light. Rather than forcing herself on Yuzu as a means of controlling her, in this case, Mei is gentle with Yuzu, and her motivations behind that are also different. All those other times that she tried to have sex with Yuzu was because of emotional distress, but here, she wanted to engage in sex because she was deeply grateful for what Yuzu had done for her. This girl helped her to have closure with her dad. She even helped to save her grandfather even though he originally expelled her for humiliating him in front of the student body. Here, rather than just for the sake of solace, it feels that Mei was truly wanting to get closer to Yuzu. While this doesn’t lead to any steamy moments, it is still pretty clear that Mei is changing for the better.
It makes me really appreciate the relationship between Mei and Yuzu. Even though they are polar opposites, they need each other in their own way. Mei would’ve never been able to close things with her father if not for Yuzu. Yuzu taught her to set her own path…even if that would lead to heartbreak. Yuzu herself also seems to be developing due to her relationship with Mei. If not for that one kiss, I feel that there would ultimately be no story.