This post is a reasonably harmless spoiler about ep.4 of Kampfer, which I delayed on purpose because I wanted to see what Natsuru does in the end of the series (a bigger spoiler: he found his testicles).
Anime situations like the karaoke scene invite thoughts how much better I would have done in the circumstances. I would make a short speech, starting with: "Before I decide, I would like to explain something." They will have to listen to the end, because they want to know the decision. Then, speak to the three, in turns:
- Sakura - confess, however say that I have a (terrible) secret
- Prezident - reject her bullying, vow unyielding, see #1
- Akane - swear to be best partners, yet reject due to #1
And then... Sing with Shizuku, because the selection is based on merit in signing. And I think it would've worked (plus the inevitable dust-up with Sakura later, for which I have a rough plan and contingencies too). The biggest danger is that Akane might transform, Sakura - faint, and the rest follow a predictable path. So, it's a tricky extemporaneous speech.
But as early as the competion was proposed, I knew that Natsuru would vote "present". Why? Because when I was his age, I would've done the same. It takes experience to know what must not be let to fester, and it takes resolve to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. I did not have any of it. He has taken a natural path.
I saw bloggers berating Natsuru for not making jumping on someone specific (especially Shizuku's partizans tended to do it), but I honestly wonder just how they imagine that going down?
BTW, I think that chosing Shizuku outright would've been an instant death by a dual-wielding Moderator. Of course, this hunch is based on what we learn about Kaede's ruthlessness later and thus the information was not available to Natsuru at the time, but seriously: he (well, she) would not even have time to reach around Shizuku's waist. Thank goodness for the faithful love, in this case.