The following contains spoilers for Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You Season 2, Episode 5, currently streaming on Crunchyroll this Winter 2026 anime season
It hasn’t exactly been a secret from the start of Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You. Everyone in Mizuho’s friend group is in love with her, except for Airu. He’s in love with Kizuki, who’s in love with Mizuho, but Airu is gonna be just fine. I know it in my heart.
Up until now, Shugo played things pretty close to the vest. Unlike Kizuki and Shin, he lingers in the background and waits. Even in high school, while Kizuki and Shin rival for her affection, Shugo’s been playing a long game. He holds everything together for Mizuho, making sure that no matter what’s going on, she doesn’t worry about losing their friends. Even as she and Kizuki become a couple, Shugo supports her. But he has ulterior motives.
Shugo Won’t Stand Back Anymore in Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You
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From the start of Anyway I’m falling in Love with You, Shugo keeps his feelings to himself. Though we did see him playing the role of shameless flirt in Season 1, he’s very secretive about what he really wants. There is even a scene when Shugo encourages Shin to let himself fall in love, which is pretty bold. He knows Shin is in love with Mizuho. So, if Shugo likes her, why would he tell his friend to go for it? Because he’s a smart guy, that’s why.
Or at least, he thinks he’s smart. Shugo believes that when Kizuki and/or Shin hurt her, he’ll be the support she needs. He’ll take this opportunity to step up to the plate and comfort her. She’ll see that he‘s the one she should be with, and he wins. Love by default. Not exactly a sound strategy, and definitely not the kind of love anyone should accept for themselves.
The fact that it’s been ten years, and all three of these guys are still in love with her is commendable. But wow. Shin and Shugo put their love lives on hold, waiting for her. She’s sweet and adorable, but that’s a long time to wait on a “maybe.”
Mizuho’s Original Crush Graduates High School
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Way back in Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You Season 1, there was a guy Mizuho had a huge crush on. And he wasn’t one of her childhood friends. Swim team captain and Mizuho’s senpai, Saito, was the guy she wanted to date. On her 17th birthday, and after learning the pandemic would see swim championships and meets cancelled, she ran into Saito at the station. Her confession didn’t go well, and he was feeling pretty sorry for himself, which made for a pretty cruddy birthday.
That same day, Kizuki confessed his feelings to Mizuho at her birthday party. She had never seen him that way before. Though it took until Season 2 for them to officially get together, she has quickly come to understand her feelings. On the day the seniors graduate, everyone gathers. There’s a lot of discussion about how the pandemic really robbed the senior class of opportunities.
Kizuki feels a little guilty because he will get to explore opportunities Saito-senpai didn’t. Saito, on the other hand, has come a really long way since Mizuho’s birthday. Gone is the defeated guy who feels sorry for himself. And he kind of has Mizuho to thank for helping him get over it. As Mizuho and her friends play around with the other students in the emptied pool, there’s a heavy feeling underlying the celebration.
They are going to be seniors. Kizuki and Mizuho are a couple. Everything is changing.
Kizuki’s Return Is the Sign Mizuho’s Been Waiting For in Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You
Mizuho’s heart may be broken, but she is still in love with Kizuki. That much is obvious. When she gets conned into going out to dinner with a co-worker, it’s uncomfortable. They think she has no life, that she doesn’t have any romantic prospects. At her age, shouldn’t she be married? It’s enough to make her get up and go outside for fresh air.
And who just so happens to be walking into the restaurant as she steps outside? Yeah. It’s Kizuki. And he’s coming to dinner with the same group of people Mizuho is out with. Things go quick from uncomfortable to agonizing, as she sits beside him listening to everyone talk to him. Watching as one of the girls at the table shamelessly flirts.
When Kizuki finally decides he’s had enough, he takes Mizuho’s hand and says they’re getting out of there. Everyone’s shocked because no one had any clue they knew each other, much less that they were once a couple. Outside, he begins walking with her, practically dragging her by the hand at first. As she looks up at him, she flashes back to their past, particularly remembering a moment when he told her that no matter what happens, he wants to be her first and her last boyfriend.
Enter: Shugo, Knight in Shining Armor?
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As she’s trailing behind Kizuki up the stairs, Mizuho is overwhelmed by her emotions. She hurts so much, just being there with him. Her eyes glass over, and she can’t stop thinking about how much it hurts to be holding his hand. She finally tells him to let go.
She’s trying to pull her hand away, but before Kizuki can even react, another’s hand tears hers away. Shugo shoves her behind him, and he starts yelling at Kizuki. Telling him to keep his hands off her.
Next thing we know, they’re face to face, Shugo gripping Kizuki by his shirt. Mizuho keeps calling out to Shugo, but he’s not listening. He shoves Kizuki up against the stairway railing, over traffic, and demands that he apologize to her, and the moment is so tense.
Someone is going to get hurt. As they near the edge of the stairs, Shugo’s shaking him, even as Mizuho keeps telling him to stop. We hear the sound of sirens, and we see Kizuki falling backwards, a shocked Shugo trying to hold onto him. I swear on all that is sacred and holy, if one of these idiots gets seriously hurt or worse, I’m screaming. And, of course, that’s the end of the episode. I think I might still scream because that was too much.
Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You S2E5 on a Scale of 1 to 10
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Love triangles are a bad thing, ya’ll. Love squares are even worse. I definitely didn’t hate this episode, and I didn’t see Shugo’s intervention coming. What? Is he following Mizuho around, wherever she goes? How did he even know the two of them were at the same restaurant? That they left together.
I want to like everyone, but Shugo’s been giving me bad vibes since he was shamelessly hitting on his teacher back in high school. He seems harmless enough, but there are times he says things that just feel… wrong. Like I noted above, he’s telling Toya he’s going to be the last one standing and the one to win the girl. On what basis in reality is this happening, Shugo? I know. I know. Anyway I’m Falling In Love With You is an anime. Fictional people shouldn’t get me this worked up, but Shugo…
I think the fact that Shugo made me so angry is testament to the goodness of this episode. Not quite a 10, but it was still really good. There are times the animation’s colors go too light, and it creates an almost blurred effect that feels off. I noticed it last season, too, and it’s not something that really detracts too much from my enjoyment. But, it’s still a notable shortcoming. I also worry about Mizuho’s willingness to just sort of let a three guys sort of drag her around the way she does. Friendship is one thing, but these guys all obviously want way more.
VOID RATING: 8/10
