Haruka Morishima is weird.
In a good way.
The first arc of Amagami SS focuses on Haruka Morishima. She’s popular, beautiful, and more than a bit eccentric, and the fact that Junichi goes for her as his first dating prospect after resolving to pull himself out of the rut he’s been in for two years is impressive in and of itself.
Haruka Lovely Morishima is the school idol. She’s a 3rd-year, a year older than Junichi, making her “Morishima-senpai.” Her best friend, Hibiki Tsukahara, plays the straight-woman to Haruka’s antics, reining her in when she goes too far. For the most part, however, Haruka follows her desires, curiosities, and thirst for fun. As a result, she comes off as eccentric and unapproachable to many, but she’s good-natured and appreciates good-natured people.
Junichi first appears on Haruka’s radar after she catches sight of him helping Sae buy bread in the cafeteria. She runs into him in the hall later, giving her the chance to tell him personally:
“You’re really nice!”
And for a while, that’s all she can say. Later, he carries some books for her, prompting another comment on how nice he is. A few days after, she includes herself in a game he was playing, figuring he wouldn’t mind because of how nice he is.
So it comes as a shock to Junichi when she rejects his love confession.
“I prefer someone who’s reliable and older than me.”
Simple and straightforward. She’s so off in her own little world that she doesn’t even realize she hurt his feelings. As a result, when they run into each other the next day, she’s no different toward him than before. Again, she explains simply and cleanly:
“I don’t think you have to be in a relationship to get along with others.”
What Junichi failed to understand before is that Haruka’s commentary on him being a nice person wasn’t an assessment of him as boyfriend material. Rather, she was just pointing out that he’s a charitable person and pleasant to be around. However, as a result, Junichi got mixed signals. They maturely patch up their misunderstanding and resolve to continue their friendship, but Junichi wants to know what other traits Haruka looks for in a boyfriend.
She lists off a few maybes, but doesn’t quite have an answer for him.
Regardless, he’s just happy he gets to talk to her again, and continues to tag along with her silliness, though he takes a bit more initiative this time, eventually confessing to her again.
Her problem is that she doesn’t actually know what she wants. She’s the most popular girl in school, and she knows it. She’s been asked out by countless guys, and rejected each one. But she’s never had one pursue her. No one’s ever tried again after her rejection.
Since she already finds Junichi interesting, and can’t resist the intensity in his eyes when he confessed, she accepts.
However, Haruka’s weird. She’s unpredictable, a little hard to please, and has a bit of a jealous streak. At the same time, however, her fun-loving nature makes her open to adventure and new experiences. All Junichi has to do is exercise his creativity to impress her.
He has to join her world.
At the same time, Haruka’s conflicted. She doesn’t know if letting him spoil her is the right thing to do.
She has to let him into her world.
Once she does, however, the two of them bond and find that they make each other’s lives that much more fun and exciting.
Take-aways:
· Haruka doesn’t quite know what she’s looking for, but she’s willing to take a chance on Junichi because he’s interesting. She’s tough to please, but open-minded.
· Haruka may not know what she wants, but she does know that “nice” isn’t something to build a relationship off of. Junichi has to distinguish himself from all the other guys who ask her out in order to get on her radar.
· Junichi adapts quickly to Haruka’s playful nature. So quickly, in fact, that Haruka becomes apprehensive about it. But she’s convinced to let him play along, and ends up all the better for it.
