Ep 2. Living Together Is Dangerous

Kotoko continues to recuperate from the injuries she sustained during the earthquake and is staying at the Irie household. Despite their initial reservations about her presence, Naoki's family begins to warm up to her, with his mother even assigning her a list of chores to do around the house. Meanwhile, Kotoko struggles to adjust to living among the Irie's, particularly since she cannot quite figure out how to get along with Naoki. Though she fervently wants to get closer to him, he remains cold and distant, much to her chagrin.

Kotoko also begins to encounter some difficulties at school as well. The other students view her as "the girl who confessed to Irie-kun" and treat her with a mix of disdain and pity. Kotoko is heartbroken when she learns that Irie-kun had told his classmates about her confession. She is further devastated when her class prepares their "tanabata" wishes, and she realizes that none of her classmates left her a positive message. She begins to feel utterly alone and isolated, and it seems like no one will reach out or include her.

One day, Kotoko decides to take a shortcut home through a dangerous, mountainous path. Irie-kun had warned her not to go that way, but she ignores his advice and decides to go anyway, spurred on by her own stubborn pride. However, Kotoko soon realizes that the route is much more arduous than she thought, and she becomes lost in the wilderness. She struggles to find her bearing and calls out for help in terror, convinced she will never be found.

Luckily, Irie-kun is on his way home from a trip to the library when he hears Kotoko's shouts. He comes to her rescue, and though Kotoko is furious with herself for getting lost, she is also overwhelmed with relief that Irie-kun came to save her. As they walk home together, they have a meaningful conversation about the value of friendship, and what it means to rely on someone else. Though Irie-kun is still stern with Kotoko, it is clear that their relationship has taken a decisive turn.

When they arrive back at the house, Kotoko's relief is unmistakable. She is so happy to have found a friend in Irie-kun that she doesn't even care about his gruff mannerisms anymore. Meanwhile, Irie-kun seems to have softened a bit, and there is a hint of a smile on his face. The two spend the evening together, eating dinner and avoiding the chores that Kotoko was assigned earlier in the day. Though it does not seem like anything has necessarily changed between the two of them, there is a new camaraderie that was not present before.

The second episode of ItaKiss is a poignant vignette about the human tendency to pridefully charge ahead, even when our instincts tell us otherwise. Kotoko's reckless decision to take a perilous route home underscores her own inexperience and naivete, as well as her stubborn pride. Moreover, her struggle to find acceptance and friendship at school underscores how tenuous those bonds can be, particularly for teenagers who crave validation. Through Kotoko's journey of self-discovery, viewers get a glimpse into the inner workings of the adolescent mind, and see how one individual's outlook can change over a short period of time.