EPISODE CONTEXT

After Episode 1 established Ichikawa's warped self-image and his initial fixation on Yamada, Episode 2 starts the real work of developing their dynamic beyond first impressions, using school life as a catalyst. This is still early groundwork — the season has ten more episodes to escalate their connection — but the patterns set here in how they share space and stumble into each other's routines become the backbone of everything that follows. It bridges the premise-setting opener with the deeper character exploration that begins to ramp up in the episodes ahead.