Maehara Maki hates spring. High school, for him, is nothing but loneliness. Newly transferred from a neighboring prefecture, living with a mother who works too much, he hasn’t had a friend in his life. The only thing he has to look forward to is his video game/movie evenings, with cola and pizza. Even worse, he is so candid as to admit this when he is randomly picked to go first at his high school class’s introductions. When the discouraged teacher inquires about his taste in movies, he admits that he mostly watches B-movies about sharks or alligators. The only relief comes from the fact that the next two introductions make everyone instantly forget his own. These belong to Amami Yuu, the stunning blond girl whose grandmother is from overseas and who used to go to an all-girls school, and Asanagi Umi, a brunette who is her best friend and plays the straight man for Amami’s jokes. Their dynamic soon becomes the center of the class. One day, Maehara overhears Asanagi telling her friend that she has plans. Later, he runs into her at the movie rental. This is not a coincidence. Asanagi happens to like movies about sharks, or so she claims, and wants to join Maehara’s ritual. So they start hanging out every Friday, keeping things secret from the class…

At a point in this episode, Maehara’s mother comically asks him if the friend he speaks about is real or imaginary. Ouch, Mom. But something about that comment gave voice to a nagging feeling I’ve been feeling all episode. Is all this really happening? Would a popular girl suddenly invite herself to the movie night of a high school outcast? Does this slim beauty really enjoy weekly shark movies, video games, and pizza? Or is it Maehara she’s after? And, if so, why not ask him out? The questions just keep piling up. Was she won over by his completely honest self-introduction, perhaps? Why the secrecy? Am I just overthinking all this? My Cartesian uncertainty is not helped by the fact that we go straight from their encounter at the store to their third movie night. Then, all at once, they are so close that she can playfully tickle him! How? Maehara himself seems happy and a tad incredulous that all this is really happening to him. I’ll say I’m intrigued by this story, at least for now. I’m also enjoying the beautiful spring backgrounds, the music, the sounds. I guess I’ll have to come back for answers next week. Until then, here I am, scratching my head.

I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class is available at Crunchyroll.