Omo asked:

Want to see how you react to the Iketani romance stuff.

Your wish is my command: I reacted with delight.

The story of Iketani and Mako-chan is nicely tragic. Not tragic in the same sense the story of Simon and Nia is. That one is tragic epically. This one is tragic taxonomically.

It was staged and played well, starting with the very foreshadowing. I could not guess how the chips were going to fall, and in the very last moment I knew they the creators played the uncertainty on purpose.

Characters did well, too. They probably didn't conform to any watcher's wishes. But I don't think I would've done any better. In any case they came out sympathetic, in my opinion.

By the way, it's a great "young adult" demo thing, for the lack of better word. I am so sick of school romance. I think the last good one in this area for me was Dai Guard. Kiminozo? Eyeroll. H&C? Puke.

In the same time, the romantic duo were plugged into the main story of a highschoolers very well. It was not their anime, but they had a lot of screen time, and it was not wasted. It's a great balance and purpose, I would say.

P.S. A little secondary in importance, but I think that for all the heartbreak the protagonists came out on the upside. On the one side, Iketani is a great upstanding guy, an excellent boyfriend material, but no more than that. He lives with his parents and works at a gas station. Worse, apparently has no plans for the future, when even a goof like Takumi considers it. On the other side, Mako is a bit underdeveloped, for her age. It's impossible not to fall in love with her, but knowing what I know now, getting saddled with her is not going to be a picnic for whoever. This knowledge helps to get over it (not helping the characters, but provides a helpful distance for the viewer).

P.P.S. A dog that did not bark: I expected angst on the topic of "my girlfriend is a better driver than I am", but none followed. Very nice.