This episode ofUzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out!starts with Uzaki-chan taking a bath and reminiscing over being told that her and Sakurai’s compatibility. Remember, it’s “eye-poppingly good.” She starts drowning in the bathtub as she daydreams about it.
After the fun intro, Uzaki sits in the café talking with the others about Sakurai must like her. She mentions that Sakurai bought anew game, and he’s grinding through itat home. They ask why she isn’t there with him, and she mentions that Sakurai wants to get through the first playthrough on his own, so she doesn’t want to get in the way of him having a good time. How uncharacteristically thoughtful of her. Surely, most viewers thought the same thing, but don’t be fooled, this is still the same old Uzaki-chan. Asai and the others realize that Uzaki is just scared of what could happen if she went to Sakurai’s house since she believes he likes her.
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Just a Regular Workday
Sakaki mentions, isn’t she passed that point since she’s spent the night there before, and she’s said that he’s the safest creature in the world. Uzaki says maybe he’s changed. Funny enough, Asai almost snaps and her father has to hold her back as she mumbles what viewers can only imagine are anime obscenities.
Sakaki thinks to himself about how he would’ve expected Uzakito go full-steam ahead, but he’s seeing that she’s pretty passive when push comes to shove. He makes a good point. Uzaki is undeniably the more proactive between her and Sakurai, yet even with such supposed certainty, she’s still stuck in place.
Sakurai calls Uzaki and mentionshe’ll play the gamewith her if she gets a copy. She says she’s busy, and he starts to say never mind, but she’s quick to backtrack. She hangs up and tells the others that she tried to say no, but he was so insistent she decided to go. She leaves and they’re left standing in shock.
In the meantime, Sakaki and Asai areplanning their co-op offenseon Uzaki and Sakurai. So begins their oddly named plan: the “Siege of Uzaki.” On a different day, Sakaki visits the café while Sakurai is off and Uzaki’s working. Sakaki and Asai planned Uzaki and Sakurai’s shifts so that she would be alone as they enact their plan.
Sakaki calls Uzaki out on the fact that she’s just been saying that Sakurai likes her with no proof. He says she needs to make sure that’s how Sakurai feels. Apparently, Sakurai ispopular with his classmatesand the café owner agrees that Sakurai has fans among the customers at the café too, all to Uzaki’s shock.
Basically Dating
Sakaki throws Asai under the bus for checking Sakurai out, which she denies. Viewers even get a flashback of Asai leering at Sakurai as he works. Her father even sells her out and sides with Sakaki. Sakakilifts his shirt to reveal toned abs, and she can’t help but leer at him too. She gets flustered at their claims and proclaims that she’s only interested in Sakurai’s body. Nice cover, Asai.
Sakurai shows up unexpectedly to pick Uzaki up for dinner at her place. How these two haven’t realizedthey’re basically dating by nowis the greatest riddle mankind will ever face. Sakurai notices that Asai is staring at the ceiling with her back turned to him the whole time and asks if she’s okay, to which she apologizes and says this will have to do for today. She literally can’t even face him.
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At Uzaki’s home, Sakurai prepares dinner. Uzaki and her mother are teaching him how to “eye” ingredients without using specific measurements. As Sakurai practices, Uzaki tells her mother that Sakurai is the obsessive type that doesn’t stop something until he’s mastered it.Her mother mentions shedoesn’t mind him coming over. Uzaki also says that’s not the only reason he comes over and asks what she thinks of Sakurai. Uzaki mentions that people have been saying how popular he is with girls, and she wanted to get her mother’s opinion. The moment is interrupted by Uzaki’s cats, and she goes to feed them while thinking to herself about Sakurai’s popularity.
Uzaki’s mother sits on the couch, wondering to herself what Uzaki could’ve been asking her about before Sakurai appears behind her and unintentionally startles her. He’s done with thefirst step of their cooking. Uzaki’s mother takes him to the next step of frying the croquettes. As they fry, he thinks to himself about how he startled her and should’ve called to her from the kitchen, but he doesn’t know what he would’ve called her. He asks her for her first name, and she drops a croquette patty out of shock.
Say Her Name, Say Her Name
She ponders why he would want to ask for hername considering that it’d make them closer. She remembers watching a show where a character found herself in a similar dilemma. When the woman didn’t tell the man her name, the man was happy about the idea that not telling him her name meant he was still prominent in her mind. He should’ve gotten an Olympic medal for those mental gymnastics, but okay, let’s go with that.
Back to the current moment, Uzaki’s mother tells Sakurai her first name, Tsuki. He asks to call her Ms. Tsuki and she nervously agrees. Uzaki returns as they’re cooking and starts chatting it up with Sakurai. Tsuki, as she will forever be known, watches them and thinks about how she can’t get a read on them. She calls Uzaki over and mentions that Uzaki must be unsure about him, but the most important thing is that he’s sincere.
Sakurai finishes the food and Uzaki tries one. She’s satisfied and he’s happy. In her mind, Uzaki thinks back to Asai and the other women she may have to compete with for Sakurai’s heart. As she’s lost in thought, she hears Sakurai thank Tsuki for teaching him and Tsuki compliments him for being such a quick learner. The episode ends on a rather menacing note,reminiscent of the yandere vibesfrom Future Diary, as Uzaki thinks about how anyone could be her competition. The show gives off a creepy tone with slightly ominous music, a spooky choir, a slow zoom on Uzaki’s blank stare, Uzaki repeating the phrase “everyone else”, and a cut to black for a few seconds before the closing sequence begins.
Overall,Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out!has topped the last two episodes with a modest episode where not much happened, but there was still comedy throughout. There could’ve been more humor and more moving moments. Still, it was an enjoyable watch and the eerie ending was an unusual turn of events that gave the series possibly its biggest cliffhanger to date.
