If you recall the last episode of Hourou Musuko, the reactions from other students are unfortunate and expected. As I mentioned in my editorial, society has a double standard when it comes to crossdressing. This resulted in unwanted attention when Nitori decides to dress as a girl for school.
I was surprised that nobody is willing to support him directly, including his friends. It felt like his friends were afraid of helping him because of the potential backlash from other students. This is shown with Takatsuki’s letter to Nitori that shows her feelings about the incident indirectly. On the other hand, Maho’s attitudes towards her younger brother have changed significantly as a result of his decision. In the past, she acted harshly towards him because she was jealous and she doesn’t know how to deal with his crossdressing. After seeing her brother get harassed by other students, she had a change of heart and becomes very concerned about her brother’s welfare. This explains why she gone along with the maid café for the festival and have Seya, her boyfriend to dress in a maid outfit, she wants to support her brother. Maho may not be the best sister, but at least she is concerned.
On the other hand, Nitori’s actions were pretty brave, especially towards the end of the episode. While coming to school dressed as a girl might be an extreme decision, he decided on his own considering the potential backlash from other students. After some time passed by, he soon realized that Doi was bullying him because he was transgendered. When he walks with Doi, he finally snaps. He reveals that Doi was reading his journal so that everyone will laugh at him. Finally, Nitori tells Doi off by saying that he hates him. To me, this was the best moment out of the episode considering how much courage it takes to stand up to a bully. Nitori’s reaction towards Doi proves that he is not a weak person as most people thought to be.
While there is one more episode remaining in the series, I think that Hourou Musuko is one of the best shows besides Madoka Magica. Even though I felt rushed with the big jump in time, the story was still great. It handled the aftermath quite seriously and showing the emotional effects of himself and his friends. With the last episode, hopefully the last episode will conclude nicely with the 2nd school festival.
but was it Doi’s intention to bully Nitori when he was told off?
I’m not sure… some people on AnimeSuki forums think that Doi has some romantic affection towards him and wants to see Nitori as a girl. In my opinion, he is a bully from day one. Episode 6 and his rudeness shown in Episode 8 is evident that he is a bully and want to screw Nitori over by pushing him to crossdress to school. After the incident, he doesn’t feel any sense of guilt nor he was punished for causing the incident.
To me, Doi is still a bully and will always be.