The Manga Club Scene Goes Places I Didn't Expect

I knew Tasaki was in the manga club. What I did not know was that the manga club is actually a BL study group operating undercover, and that Tasaki has been drawing her classmates as the leads.

The cold open of episode six throws Poem straight into this revelation, and her confusion is the audience’s confusion. When Tasaki asks if she’s ever “savored the taste of BL” before entering the club room, you know something has gone sideways in the best possible way. The club president, Chono Fujiko, leads the group with the solemn dignity of a literary society, and the members evaluate Tasaki’s latest work with the intensity of art critics. Koganei calls it “absolutely inspired.” Abukawa admits defeat. Hachiya is simply overwhelmed.

Then Poem reads it and realizes Tasaki turned Togo and Izubuchi into battle-shonen protagonists with sealed powers in their armbands and coats.

The manga-within-the-episode is genuinely funny. Togo’s character has wind powers sealed in his left armband that he must release against the “Secret Committee.” Izubuchi’s white coat turns out to be weighted training gear, and when he removes it, he declares he is no longer a health representative and won’t be taking anyone to the nurse’s office. The club members read this with complete sincerity while Poem sits there trying to find the BL in what is essentially a boys’ action manga.

“The BL isn’t prepared for you,” Tasaki tells her. “You have to discover it yourself.”

Fujiko’s response to every question Poem asks is “That’s exactly why it’s there!” and “In spite of that!” This circular logic is the most honest depiction of fandom brain I have seen in anime. When you are deep enough in a niche, you stop being able to explain why something works. You just know.

Poem flees. The narrator confirms her curiosity about BL has been “completely crushed.” I respect her self-preservation instincts.

The Study Session and Togo's Self-Imposed Rule

The episode shifts gears to something more grounded. It is the week before finals, and the group gathers at Poem’s house to study. Akina immediately claims the bed. Tasaki immediately starts investigating Togo’s feelings about being in Poem’s room. Togo compliments how cute and clean it is, then adds that it smells nice. Poem shouts at him not to smell it. This is just their dynamic now, and I have accepted it.

Akina pivots the conversation to summer break plans. Beach. Pool. Swimsuits. Togo, being Togo, tries to steer everyone back to studying, but Akina brushes him off by calling him a “diligent bookworm.” He does not take this well.

What happens next is subtle enough that I almost missed it the first time. Togo excuses himself, goes downstairs, thanks Poem’s mother, and prepares to leave. When Poem catches up to him at the door, he explains: he cannot afford bad grades this time. If he gets even one failing mark, he will give up on going anywhere with them during summer break.

Poem asks if his parents imposed this rule. He says no. He decided it for himself.

This is such a Togo thing to do. Nobody asked him to punish himself in advance. Nobody would blame him for studying with friends. But Togo operates on an internal code that he enforces more strictly than any external authority ever could. If he cannot maintain his grades while enjoying himself, then the enjoyment must be sacrificed. The logic is absurd, but it is also completely consistent with who he is.

Poem, frustrated, asks if he just hates hanging out with them. Togo’s response is immediate and almost loud: “Heavens no! I’m really looking forward to it a lot!” He practically shouts it through the door. Then, quieter: “Let’s make sure we can hang out together!”

The moment lands because Togo’s sincerity has always been his most disarming quality. He cannot hide what he feels, even when his methods for expressing it are baffling.

Tsukishima Gets Dragged In, Grumbling All the Way

The next day at school, Togo asks Izubuchi to tutor him. Izubuchi protests that his grades “aren’t actually good,” but he helps anyway, explaining formulas with sound effects. Tsukishima, watching from nearby, makes a snide comment, and Izubuchi immediately turns on him. Their bickering escalates until Tsukishima casually mentions he ranked 20th in their year on midterms.

Izubuchi tells him to die. Tsukishima says he would not mind teaching Togo if Togo got on his knees and begged. Togo seriously considers whether he should kneel. Izubuchi yells at him not to.

Later, when Izubuchi has committee work, Tsukishima appears and offers to help. He claims he “can’t bear to watch” Togo struggle. He tells Togo not to bother kneeling. And then he adds, almost as an afterthought, that he already got to see “something unusual that wasn’t groveling.”

We cut to a flashback. Poem, in an empty classroom, bowing her head to Tsukishima. She asked him to help Togo study. She did it quietly, privately, without telling Togo or anyone else.

Tsukishima calls her “Sleeping Beauty” and agrees. The framing makes it clear this is his dynamic with Poem. She asks. He obliges. He is sharp-tongued and dramatic about it, but he does not actually say no to her.

Finals End and the Villa Appears

Togo passes everything. He runs up to Poem practically glowing with relief. “I didn’t get a single failing grade!” The three girls all passed too. Akina, for the first time ever, avoided failing marks entirely. Summer is officially open.

Togo immediately wants to invite Tsukishima and Izubuchi to join their beach trip. Tsukishima protests, but Poem cuts him off with “Shut up! You’re coming too! It’s mandatory!” This is not a request. It is conscription.

The swimsuit shopping scene that follows is pure fluff in the best way. Akina obsesses over what Bucchi might prefer. Tasaki tries to push Poem toward something more daring, and Poem’s internal monologue reveals she does care what Togo will think, even if she insists he “doesn’t matter.” The visual of Togo’s imagined reaction to a skimpy swimsuit, a flustered “H-How sexy,” hovers in her mind, and she immediately vetoes the more revealing option.

Then student council president Nadeko appears in the swimsuit store, shopping for herself with complete confidence. She tries on something the clerk recommended but finds the coverage lacking. Akina, in a moment of beautiful honesty, hands her another option and admits she could never wear it that well herself. Tasaki asks to take pictures. Nadeko, delighted, obliges.

The payoff is that Nadeko invites the whole group to her friend’s beach-side villa. What was going to be a normal beach trip is now a villa vacation. Four girls, four guys. Nadeko mentions she will have one male friend with her, so the numbers work out evenly. Tasaki and Akina lose their minds. Poem just accepts that her summer plans have escalated beyond her control.

A Few Visual Touches

The screenshot at the 417-second mark captures the club’s reaction to Tasaki’s manga. Fujiko’s “I see, I see, I see” repetition pairs with a frame where every club member wears an expression of genuine artistic evaluation. The contrast between their seriousness and the absurdity of the manga’s content is what sells the joke.

The later screenshot at 678 seconds shows Togo and Poem at her front door, the moment after he admits he imposed the failing-grade rule on himself. The composition is simple, Poem in the doorway and Togo just outside, but the distance between them reads less as physical space and more as the gap between Togo’s self-punishing logic and Poem’s desire to just have him stay.

Mirai's One-Line Interruption

I have to mention the tiny moment when Togo leaves the study session. Mirai, carrying tea, sees him at the door and says, “Oh? I just made some tea, Sakuradaimon-kun.” He apologizes and thanks her for having him. She does not press. She just lets him go.

Mirai has been quietly perceptive about Togo from the start. She does not need an explanation. She just registers that he is leaving early, accepts it, and wishes him well. That small beat adds texture to a character who could easily be just the “enthusiastic mom” archetype.

Where This Leaves the Group

The episode functions partly as setup for what looks like a major summer outing, but the character work does not feel like filler. Tasaki’s secret BL life adds a new layer to her relationship with Poem, even if Poem is not ready to engage with it. Togo’s self-imposed punishment reveals how seriously he takes his promises, even informal ones. Poem’s quiet request to Tsukishima shows she is willing to act behind the scenes to support Togo, and she does not need credit for it.

The narrator’s closing line, “Their summer beach trip was leveled up to a villa vacation,” carries just enough irony to acknowledge how absurd the escalation is while still letting the audience look forward to it. I know I am.