Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku Episode 8 Discussion

I'm in the middle of the episode, but I had thought.

I think this is one of the best school drama romance anime I have seen in a long time.

The story is more realistic and down to earth, school students dealing with real life issues / concerns / relationships, that you can imagine them being real people.

So far this has been a nice ride.

Making a general comment without any explanation, context, examples … doesn’t help your case.

@ejleon simple u will understand if u watch it with ur eyes and thinking with ur brain, real people dont talk like this.

Binged 8 episodes over the weekend because our friend @aurora_yuuki dragged me here~

I will list my thoughts on all 8 episodes here.
Disclosure: I have not read the manga, I have only watched the anime because our friend dragged me here. I mainly read light novels, not watch anime nowadays. I am a sci-fi fan, and romance is not my main genre. Hence, my thoughts might be different from other MAL users~

Synopsis is straightforward, a private school beside a public school.

I live in Asia so I know the difference between private school, and public school are the following:
Private schools are usually the rich, children of rich families. The students there are usually better at academics, well-disciplined, BUT they tend to lack social skills, especially when interacting with commoners. Private schools are usually located in the upper-class neighbourhoods.
Public schools are meant for commoners, less disciplined but tend to be more adventurous and better social skills. Usually located at lower-class neighbourhoods.

University is when students from public schools and private schools mixed. A very huge difference between them. They struggle to get along unless there is a mediator.
I think the anime depicts the situation very well for this case. However, I have never seen a private school beside a public school.

The elite school and commoner school difference trope is also not entirely new.
Some other romance novels have done these such as Takane No Hana and Villainess Fiancee.
But I believe this show depicts it quite well as compared to these two romance light novels.


Now to the characters, female lead, Kaoruko is commoner but enrolled in private schools through scholarship. In most cases, these types of students can get along with students from public schools and private schools.

To think of it, Kaoruko reminds me of Ichijo Ai from Life Reversal. Their personalities are similar, able to detect that the male lead is a kind person with little interactions. The only difference is that Ai is willing to manipulate people to stop bullying and suicides while Kaoruko is bubblier.

The male lead, Rintarou, a tall delinquent.
Is he really 6 ft 3? I am 6 ft 3 too, pretty sure he will not have that huge of a height difference with Kaoruko, unless she is shorter that 5 ft. Oh wait, Kaoruko is 4 ft 10. XD
I don't understand why he has ear piercings and dyed hair, does that make him look scarier?

The other 3 boys are interesting, remind me of my classmates, since I came from a public school, adventurous but still kind and trust each other. Karoke is not part of our culture, we usually just play basketball with one another and have laughs~

I was quite hesitant to watch this because of character designs of Subaru.
Based on my past experience reading romance light novels.
Silver hair Blue eyes = Foreign heroine.
I have seen enough foreign heroines for now~

Now to the romance, this romance story is a mixture of Ice Princess and another romance novel I don't remember the title (because the title is too long for me to remember).
Not entirely new. I dislike Ice Princess because I am tired of all these copied-and-pasted silver-haired blue-eyed foreign heroines.

The drama is straightforward, Kaoruko cannot be seen by her teachers, or she might lose her scholarship. Not a fan of this trope.
No family drama as of now.
I will stick to another romance novel if I want to read family drama.

The aquarium date reminds me of the date in Kano Dere. The difference is that in Kano Dere, the little child is terrified by the Polish heroine's silver hair. XD

I have not decided if I should finish the anime, read the manga or drop the series.

Apologies for using non-mainstream romance light novels as reference, I am more of a LN reader, but romance is not my genre~

Alright, back to reading TS Medic Battleground Diary, hopefully I don't get dragged around by anyone~

I thought chu were going to watch only one show this year~? I didn't think chu'd concede... chu was so adamant~ (❀╹◡╹✿)



chu is 190cm~!? chu soooooooooo muuuuch taller than this smol, little ol' me~ (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)



I plan on reading the light novel~ <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

But dunno if it'll be worthwhile so I wanna hear chu's thoughts~ (⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)



𖦹So chu judged a character based on appearance? Am disappointed in chuu... (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)



˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚...friend!? (⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝) am really..... chu's friend~?



ehh, this is a unique story~

chu keep seeing links cos' chu read too many romance LNs~ ✰ | ≧◉◡◉≦ | ✰



chu still aren't hooked~? sounds like chu didn't like it much after all... or didn't like it enough... (⁠╯⁠︵⁠╰⁠,⁠)

My initial plan is to watch 2 anime this year, GQuuuuuux and Hathaway Flash, both sci-fi anime made by studio Sunrise. Well, more than half of the anime I watched nowadays are from studio Sunrise~

But you dragged me in to watch another anime~

Hopefully, nobody drags me in to watch Chitose Is In The Ramune Bottle next season. That romance LN is very popular in Japan but I fell asleep reading volume 3~



I don't know about your tastes.
As I mentioned 6 months ago, it a romance novel with more psychological warfare than COTE. The main heroine, Ichijo Ai manipulates people to protect people, unlike Ayanokoji Kiyotaka who manipulates people to exploit them and breaking girls' hearts.

And Ichijo Ai is as sharp and kind as Wagari Kaoruko.




Because I have seen too many foreign heroines. Not sure if you have seen my recent conversation with a romance fan in the LN/WN Discord server I invited you~
On this silver-haired blue-eyed heroine.


I enjoyed this silver-haired stepsister novel until the end of volume 1 when the novel mentions the father of the girl is a foreign exchange student. :(




I have different perspectives when it comes to romance genre~
As I have mentioned many times, I read very few romances as compared to other genres because I am not a romance fan. :|

You should have approached the romance fan in the LN/WN Discord server instead of me, a sci-fi fan~



Not really, I have seen this type of romance many times.
I struggle to understand why many people call this romance anime cute, wholesome or diabetes-inducing when there are other better romance options such as Like Snow Piling Up, my choice for the best romance novel of 2025. :)


The only things I like in this romance anime are the 3 best bros. :)

I love 𝓜𝔂𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝔂, 𝓓𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓪, 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮, 𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓻, 𝓢𝓾𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓮~

Neutral against every other genre.



Now chu do~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹



H⊙.⊙w come chu remember something from that long ago!?! ( ˶o˶˶o˶) !!

chu even remembered when chu said that and where!!

it's almost superhuman~...(⸝⸝๑﹏๑⸝⸝)



⸝⸝

ᵂᵃᵍᵘʳⁱ*~

⸝⸝



You are good enough for me. I know chu~

Besides, I can't be comfortable enough to ask anyone else other than you.



𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗎𝗍~? (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ

Life Reversal has Mystery, Romance and Drama.

Many people read it for the psychological warfare~
Personally, I read the light novel because the side characters are interesting~



I am a normal human~
I remember it because I barely use MAL to discuss anime or light novels nowadays~



I am not good in remembering characters' names, I have read too many novels~



But I am not a romance fan~
I think there are readers who read many more romance novels as compared to me~

You are the second person from MAL I invited to that LN/WN Discord server~
The romance fan I mentioned to you is a very nice person. He even helped someone with Python programming because he is a data scientist~

I think you should join and examine how I discuss romance novels with him.
We recently discussed about this Higehiro rip-off~
I am definitely not baited by the illustrations. :)


If you approach him, he will most likely recommend you Shimizu-san and some other gyaru romance such as this gyaru stepsister.

Don't worry about the other users in the LN/WN Discord server. Unlike MAL, there are no personal attacks.
Most of the users are Indonesians, I live near Indonesia, so I know how to interact with them with their slangs. ;)



The male lead, Seichirou is not as dense as majority of the male leads in romance novels~
Interesting family drama.

Interesting drama~
Both leads are in debt, working in a cafe to pay their bills~

✿˚ It's still impressive~ (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)

I know I'd never be able to do it.

♡⸝⸝ so that means chu only come to MAL to talk to me~ (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)

ᓚ₍⑅^..^₎♡ or at least it's part of it~ ⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝



I thought it'd also have 𝓢𝓾𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓮 since it has that~ /ᐠ˵- ⩊ -˵マ



⋆˚✿˖° it's okkeee~ ☃︎ɞ

I appreciate chu~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹

⚡︎ as aforementioned, you are enough~ (˶◜ᵕ◝˶)



so chu also read Higehiro~ ˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚

๑ I've watched the anime while it aired... such happy times~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Dunno if chu watched it... what do chu think about the adaptation?



that must be one of his favorites~ ⸝⸝> ̫ <⸝⸝


that means he suggested it to chu too~ (•̀ᴗ•́)

did chu like it? ₍^. .^₎⟆



Have chu been attacked on MAL~!? (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭



That means they're extremely likely to be Muslims~

Which means chu understand Indonesian, or have some grasp to an extent~ ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ

I think chu is from Malaysia or Singapore~ (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)ﾉ

am gonna rule out Philippines and Timor Leste~ (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)



How did chu two meet?

✿˚ It's still impressive~ (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)

I know I'd never be able to do it.

♡⸝⸝ so that means chu only come to MAL to talk to me~ (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)

ᓚ₍⑅^..^₎♡ or at least it's part of it~ ⸝⸝0⸝⸝0⸝⸝



I thought it'd also have 𝓢𝓾𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓮 since it has that~ /ᐠ˵- ⩊ -˵マ



⋆˚✿˖° it's okkeee~ ☃︎ɞ

I appreciate chu~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹

⚡︎ as aforementioned, you are enough~ (˶◜ᵕ◝˶)



so chu also read Higehiro~ ˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚

๑ I've watched the anime while it aired... such happy times~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Dunno if chu watched it... what do chu think about the adaptation?



that must be one of his favorites~ ⸝⸝> ̫ <⸝⸝


that means he suggested it to chu too~ (•̀ᴗ•́)

did chu like it? ₍^. .^₎⟆



Have chu been attacked on MAL~!? (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭



That means they're extremely likely to be Muslims~

Which means chu understand Indonesian, or have some grasp to an extent~ ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ

I think chu is from Malaysia or Singapore~ (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)ﾉ

am gonna rule out Philippines and Timor Leste~ (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)



How did chu two meet?

Not really, I come to MAL in case I miss out of any LN or anime news from my main sources.
But your replies make up more than half of my MAL notifications since I posted the British Stepsister novel in Roshidere thread last year.

I even question how you keep finding me on MAL forums and I rarely use MAL nowadays~



I did not read Higehiro novels, I only watched the anime.

The synopsis did not interest me and some LN/WN readers keep mentioning Higehiro so I checked the anime without reading the novels~

I did not enjoy the anime~



He did not recommend the gyaru stepsister to me, I asked him about it because the novel keeps appearing in my recommendations~

I have not read the gyaru stepsister novel yet~



Very rare, because I tend to avoid the toxic fanbases such as Demon Slayer, etc.
Nowadays, I only get attacked by Mushoku Tensei fans sometimes~



They are Peranakans, not Muslims. I am a Peranakan too~
Don't worry about the other Indonesians. :)
Indonesia might be burning as of now, but they are very friendly. :)
Just don't panic when we start discussing about bribing the fat policemen, exploiting Islamic boycott Pizza Hut sales. :)

I can only read a few Indonesian words~

And why do you keep guessing which country I am living in? You have guessed Switzerland, Belgium and now you are guessing ASEAN nations. XD



The romance fan I mentioned to you joined the LN/WN Discord server much earlier than me, he joined in 2021 while I joined in 2022.

In that Discord server, he is a romance fan who frequently mentioned about the lack of romance novels that interest him~

In around 2023, when I got really bored with Angel Next Door Volume 5 because I don't see any direction after the confession in volume 4.

So I asked him for Angel Next Door alternatives, and he get really excited because romance LN fans are very rare.

He then recommended me Quderella Next Door.~

And then we eventually get along really well~

Not sure if you have seen us discussing Like Snow Piling Up volume 2 a few hours ago~


I think you should approach him in the Discord server instead of approaching me~

I rarely check MAL recently and he reads much more romance novels than me~

But if you join the Discord server and scroll up high enough, you will know which town I am living in. :/

And yet, I had to mention chu twice to make you notice me... (˶˃⤙˂˶)



so chu have read MT too~

Why were chu attacked...?

I think we had a similar conversation before... (っ,,- ‸ - ,,ς)



What's that?



That's a no-brainer~ (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)

why would chu ask if chu were me~? (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝) ✧



chu remembered that bit from almost a year ago too... am speechless. (⊙ _ ⊙ )



ASIAN*~










Gonna see chu next year~ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

I have mentioned multiple times that I barely used MAL nowadays.
Because many light novels I am interested in are not even in MAL database. :/

British Stepsister is getting volume 4 on 25 Sept but still not in MAL database~

Even some of the sci-fi LNs I am reading are not in MAL database~

Well, there is one LN reader on MAL that can keep up with me on non-mainstream novels. XD



We had the conversation in May.

I was attacked because Mushoku Tensei is not my favourite isekai. Not sure why MT fans on MAL are a cult~
They get pretty angry then I start naming isekai protagonists that have more character development than Rudeus~
Not sure why they cannot have civil discussions~



Peranakan is a racial group of people that are mixed in race.
Don't think too much about it unless you are interacting regularly~



I don't usually ask someone's nationality~
I don't judge a person by the nationality~



ASEAN = Association Of Southeast Asian Nations
This term is our local word~



Don't know, I rarely use MAL but you find me on MAL forums so easily~

I will be appearing less on MAL because I will be reading more romance novels recently.
I just noticed I read very little romance because I get really lost when interacting with romance readers in a different romance reading Discord server~

I will be reading Shimotsuki Loves The Mob next~

am gonna lose ma ability to be astonished at this rate... (,,>﹏<,,)



why do chu think that is~? ≽ ^⎚ ˕ ⎚^ ≼



so chu a mixed race~? tell me more about chu! (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)


aren't we~? ≽(•⩊ •マ≼



◕⩊◕ dummy chuu~! ꉂ (≧ヮ≦)

₍^. .^₎Ⳋ when one asks a certain someone regarding their country of origin, it means they would like to get to them better~ ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

this signifies that chu have never had a girlfriend before...








or now~ (≧∇≦)




gomen, gomen... i just love teasing~ (>/////<)

i think am a hiyakasudere~ ฅ^>⩊<^ ฅ


but ma profile bio says that am Dandere~


maybe am a Dandere with a Hiyakasudere personality? (◍•ᴗ•◍)





Why do chu think that is~? ( 〃● ₃ ● ) ~


have chu finished reading MT?


Ehh, I feel like I've asked you this before too... and chu also gave me an answer..... uuuuaaaahh am so forgetful... pardon me (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)






≽^•⩊•^≼ bye bye @NewestPersonHere~!! ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡


၄၃ dunno if we will ever talk again... but I hope to!! (⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)



ッ maybe chu gonna miss ma @ tsunamis and occasionally swing by ma profile... something @Zaru...taku did. maybe chu two have interacted before. he would also remember when, and where I've said something, just like chu! ૮₍ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ₎ა

chu two have that in common. (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)









˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚ P.S.: chu may wish me on September 11th~ (⸝⸝> ᴗ •⸝⸝)