A Soaked Hug with a Tsundere Childhood Friend! Episode 2 of "You Can't Be In a Rom-Com with Your Childhood Friends!" Delivers Heart-Pounding Moments Starting from a Shared Umbrella

The second episode of the anime "You Can't Be In a Rom-Com with Your Childhood Friends!" (scheduled for sequential broadcast starting January 12) has fans buzzing. The frustratingly sweet interaction between Yonosuke Sakai (CV: Takehiro Urao) and his tsundere childhood friend Akari Hiodoshi (CV: Yu Serizawa) under a shared umbrella sparked a wave of excitement, with viewers commenting, "This slow burn is killing me! lol" and "She’s totally dere! DERE!!!"

Akari, Yononoke’s childhood friend, clearly has feelings for him but struggles to be honest, often acting cold instead. In Episode 2, titled "Even on a crowded bus, even if we get wet in the rain, even if my love is exposed, even if I long for it, we still won't become a rom-com," the two end up walking home together under one umbrella when it starts to pour. A moment of pure panic ensues when their hands accidentally touch while trying to hold the umbrella handle.

The tension spiked further when a car nearly splashed them with water. Yononoke instinctively pulled Akari into a protective hug, shouting, "Watch out!" A blushing Akari managed a soft "Thank you..." Afterward, a bashful Yononoke told her, "I’m glad we got to walk home together today... even if we did get a bit wet." However, the romantic atmosphere was cut short when he realized Akari’s shirt had become see-through from the rain. Noticing his gaze, she promptly delivered a signature slap.

Fans loved the sudden shift from a sweet moment back to their usual bickering, leaving comments like: "I love this frustration! lol" "Yep, still not a rom-com." "That was 100% Dere! DERE!!!"