The Makeup Exam That Became a Stay of Execution
S01E05 opens with the kind of mundane academic dread that feels almost nostalgic after the extravagance of Guam. The gang faces exam results, and Meiko, our responsible country girl, lands a proud 20th place. From the bottom, naturally. The deadpan delivery of that correction sets the tone for an episode that knows exactly when to undercut a moment with a punchline.
What follows is a study camp crammed into Hedgehog’s tatami room, and the series leans into its established character beats so comfortably that the comedy lands without strain. Rie’s entire study method for world history involves personifying countries and writing elaborate headcanon, which she then submits as doujinshi drafts. The kicker, of course, is that her teacher is an otaku who actively encourages her, complete with a red-ink note that reads, “Please turn this into a doujinshi. I’ll be waiting. By your teacher.” It’s the kind of detail that tells you exactly what kind of school Amamiya really is, and why Rie fits in perfectly despite her financial chaos.
Neo, ever the systematizer, demonstrates Pavlovian conditioning by dangling new cat manga in front of Meiko and declaring the resulting excitement a textbook conditioned reflex. Meiko’s only objection is that being compared to a dog is insulting. “At least make it a cat,” she protests, and it’s a throwaway line that somehow encapsulates her entire personality. Michika, the tsundere cat café owner, materializes to help explain the concept, then immediately bristles when the group labels her reaction a conditioned “tsundere response.” She hates English, but she’s drawn to these idiots anyway, and the episode knows she’s already one of them.
A Sister’s Voice Across the Distance
Underneath the gags, S01E05 quietly builds out Meiko’s home life. We see her younger sister Miori via a video call, and the brief exchange fills in more of the context that the series has only implied. Meiko is the eldest daughter of a large family in Akita, sending money back home from her part-time work at the café. Miori speaks with the bluntness of a younger sibling who respects her older sister but won’t pretend the situation isn’t what it is: “We’re still broke, so we’d rather prioritize the money.” Yet the affection is unmistakable. She thanks Rie directly on behalf of the whole family and asks her to keep looking after her clumsy, mother-hen of a sister. It’s a small scene, but it reframes Meiko’s constant anxiety about being found out; she’s not just protecting herself. She’s sustaining a household.
The subplot also sets up a quandary. Meiko has a Shinkansen ticket home for the summer break. Rie, who isn’t leaving the dorm because she’s managing both the café and the building, would be completely alone. Meiko wants to go home, but the thought of abandoning Rie gnaws at her.
The Most Convenient Failure
Then comes the twist. Just as Meiko is wrestling with the decision, and just after everyone else has cleared their makeup exams, her homeroom teacher appears with a stray answer sheet. Meiko technically passed, except she shifted her answers by one row. The result: a failing grade and mandatory makeup classes that will keep her at the dorm through most of August.
Meiko’s immediate response is not despair but genuine relief: “Looks like we can stay together after all!” The teacher has accidentally solved her emotional dilemma, and the scene plays out with a warmth that doesn’t need to overexplain itself. Meiko wasn’t going to choose herself over Rie, but now she doesn’t have to choose at all.
Three Weeks Later, Everyone Comes Home
A time skip lands us at the end of the break, with Neo and Marika returning early because, predictably, they missed the chaotic warmth of Hedgehog. Neo placed second in a tournament. Marika’s subscriber count exploded after a little devil cosplay at the summer festival. They run into each other right outside the building and walk in together, and the episode lingers just long enough on Meiko’s expression to sell the reunion.
The final few minutes are a victory lap of small, affectionate moments. Rie still hasn’t drawn that doujinshi cover for her teacher. Marika’s experimental drink bar concoction (“coffee, an energy drink, and black tea”) remains a crime against taste buds. Meiko is still the group’s older sister figure, but now it’s explicit that she’s not just filling a role. She’s genuinely, messily needed.
Where This Leaves the Season
S01E05 doesn’t advance the “Morita-sensei” misunderstanding in any major way, but it does something more important for a slice-of-life ensemble: it confirms that the living situation isn’t a temporary arrangement anymore. Meiko’s family has given their blessing, Rie’s dependence is no longer one-sided, and the other girls treat Hedgehog as a home they’ll abandon their own plans to return to. The makeup exam arc was never really about the exam. It was about giving Meiko permission to stay, and the series understood that without needing to say it aloud.
The post-credits sting lands on an exhausted, sun-baked Meiko stumbling toward the café, drawn by a “70% off” sign and the promise of all-you-can-eat soft serve. The series has always known how to end an episode on a perfectly timed gag, and this one doubles as a quiet reminder that Hedgehog is where she belongs now.
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