Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Shuffle! Episode 07 – Quick Summary
In Shuffle! Episode 7, “Romantic Scramble,” a very popular athletic boy from her class confessed his feelings for Asa by giving her a present. The other girls are jealous. Her friend Kareha wonders what Asa will do. Will she return the young man’s feelings? Does she have feeling for someone else – say, her childhood friend named Rin? And how can Asa get Kareha to stop imagining “weird” things about Asa and almost every boy in her vicinity?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Shuffle! Episode 07
I think it’s safe to say she feels comfortable with Rin. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
We’ve seen Asa flirt with Rin before – only to laugh and pretend she was kidding. I always liked how natural their banter sounded. She sounded like she was completely comfortable with him. He sounded like he wasn’t at all comfortable with the situation, but not in a bad way.
We saw that again in this episode. Asa had injured her ankle during gym, so Rin walked her home. She was going to go get changed, and teasingly, she asked if he wanted to help her get changed. Because of her ankle, obviously. He told her to just hurry up – you could tell that as a young man, there was a small percentage of blood in his hormone stream, and he didn’t want to do anything that Asa’s mom would object to.
When she came home. Did I mention she wasn’t there?
She pretended to go – then stuck her head back through the door and said if he insisted on peeking, he should tell her first. The dude straight up admitted that she needed to go because, being a healthy guy, she needed to cut it out, or he would peek.
“When you do,” she said (14:58) in a voice that suggested her voice actor, Miki Itou, was having a lot of fun with this role. “You’ll get to hear my cute shriek with every peek.”
I admire Rin’s self-restraint. And I think Asa does, too. She wouldn’t be so comfortable with him otherwise!
Favorite Moment from Shuffle! Episode 07
Asa tried to be subtle – but she didn’t take back what she’d said! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Asa and Rin’s Friendship
The previous episode focused on Primula. This week, it was Asa’s turn, and that suits me just fine. Not taking anything away from Nerine, because she has her strong points, but Asa’s always been my favorite. Even back when I first watched the series.
Which was quite a long time ago!
Asa’s affection has always felt more natural. That sounds weird, I know. What I mean is that Nerine felt this profound gratitude to Rin; so did Sia. I don’t want to give anything away for Kaede (yeah, I know the series came out in 2005 — not much left to spoil at this point!), so I’ll just say that she, too, has reason to be grateful to Rin.
Asa just seems to like the guy. They seem super comfortable together – comfortable enough for her to flirt sometimes outrageously. My favorite moment is an example of that.
It must be hard, sometimes, to have a friend as enthusiastic as Kareha. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
The two of them sat on Asa’s bed. Both of them were embarrassed. Apparently, Asa hadn’t gotten around to fixing the lock on the bathroom, and, well, accidents happen. They decided to put it behind them and pretend it never happened.
They chatted a bit about how he used to visit all the time. Apparently, Ama, her mother, misses Rin. They chatted about how they’d actually met through Kaede, who wanted to learn to cook. Rini would wait for her, and that impressed Asa.
Delivery: Asa Didn’t Take it Back
Asa said she envied Kaede because Rin just wanted for her – because he seemed to care about her. Asa went on to say she wished she had had a relationship like he and Kaede seemed to have.
“It made me wish I had someone like that, too,” she said (18:47).
Rin used that to ask her about the guy who had confessed. Rin’s not a brain-dead or oblivious main character (MC). I think he was exploring how Asa felt about that guy. She wasn’t able to articulate it. She ended up saying she just wanted to enjoy her high school friendships.
He said he understood; she said she knew he would. Then she added in a low voice (20:15), “But if it’s with you, maybe I wouldn’t mind doing the romance thing.”
Did she mean what she’d said, but chickened out? Was she just teasing? Does she know at this stage? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
That struck me as bold. Rin didn’t quite know what to say. Asa chickened out and pretended she was only kidding by saying (20:28), “I have no interest in competing against Sia-chan and Nerine-chan and Kaede!”
But did you notice something? She didn’t take it back. She just said she didn’t want to compete! Things are still relatively calm in Shuffle!, and I’m glad we still get little emotional beats like this. Even when I watched this for the very first time, this was the episode that I decided I was going to root for Asa. I just know know what that meant, all things considered.
Do you think Kareha believed Asa protesting that she didn’t see Rin romantically? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to share in the comments!
Shuffle! Episode 07: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- My Anime List (need to be logged in): Shuffle! Episode 7 Discussion
- Random Curiosity: SHUFFLE! – 07
- Umai Yomu Anime Blog: Shuffle! (Episode 7) – Morning!
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Shuffle! Episode 01: The Man Who Could Become a God or a Demon!
- Shuffle! Episode 02: I Wanted to See You!
- Shuffle! Episode 03: Do You Remember?
- Shuffle! Episode 04: Egg Omelet of Happiness
- Shuffle! Episode 05: Where I Belong
- Shuffle! Episode 06: Smile!
- Shuffle! Episode 07: Romantic Scramble
- Shuffle! Episode 08: Panty Date
- Shuffle! Episode 09: Survival Swimming at the Beach
- Shuffle! Episode 10: Moonlit Confession
- Shuffle! Episode 11: Girls of Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 12: Frozen Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 13: House of Twilight
- Shuffle! Episode 14: Lycoris
- Shuffle! Episode 15: What Was Regained
- Shuffle! Episode 16: Kikyou
- Shuffle! Episode 17: Honest Feelings
- Shuffle! Episode 18: The One Rin Loves
- Shuffle! Episode 19: Unforgettable Sentiments
- Shuffle! Episode 20: Indelible Sin
- Shuffle! Episode 21: Where Feelings Go
- Shuffle! Episode 22: Towards a New Tomorrow
- Shuffle! Episode 23: The True Revealed
