The following contains spoilers for Tomodachi Game Episode 3, “There’s No Way I’d Believe That,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
In the previous episode, someone had revealed Sawaragi and Mikasa’spast romantic relationship,shocking Shibe, who is known in the group to harbor feelings for Sawaragi. The group is then stunned to learn that Sawaragi has had plastic surgery in the past. Startled by the information, Shibe questions her if this revelation is fake, prompting a defensive response from Sawaragi. However, not much else is said about her procedure. Additionally, one of the members discloses two secrets: Shibe bathed with his mother until junior high, while Yuichi had once not bathed for a week.
While tension continues to rise between the group members, the viewers remain uninformed about the identities ofthe two girlswho had been introduced in the first episode. However, it is known that these two girls seem to be watching the game live on a screen. The question of ‘who are these girls?’ emerges as they continue to make an appearance in the episodes.
RELATED:Tomodachi Game Episodes 1 & 2 Review
Episode 3: “There’s No Way I’d Believe That.”
The third episode reveals a significant secret about sweet and shy Kokorogi: she’d participated in ‘compensated dating’ in junior high. This secret ultimately shocks the members of the group, evidently not expecting such a past from Kokorogi, who’d always appeared innocent. Therevelationof Kokorogi’s secret triggers a panic attack as she uncontrollably sobs, crying out to Sawaragi and questioning why she had revealed her secret. However, Sawaragi is adamant that she didn’t write that card.
Manabu then orders Kokorogi to move five spaces, seeing as she received first place, being the only one who was bad-mouthed. As the game progresses, Manabu reveals that Sawaragi is unfortunately in the lead, implying that she will receive everyone’s debt from the game if she reaches the end first. Meanwhile, Mikasa places last.
As Kokorogi struggles to come to terms with her big secret getting leaked, Yuichi approaches her in hopes of comforting her. Kokorogi, who also has romantic feelings for Yuichi, tells him the truth about her past. She informs Yuichi of the bullying she had suffered during junior high, including but not limited to gossiping, having water poured on her in a bathroom stall, and destroying her homework. Kokorogi recounts feeling alone and abandoned by her former friends andteachers, and that the only way she could make the bullying stop was by bribing her bullies with payments. However, Kokorogi had limited funds and desperately needed to find a way to make an income.
RELATED:Spring 2022 Preview: Tomodachi Game
As a result, she tried ‘compensated dating,’ where she met an older man. Although she affirms that it wasinnocent initially,she acknowledges that the man gradually pushed her into doing more. However, she is adamant that she never let him do more than touch her as she became so frightened that she ran away before he could try anything else. Yuichi, whose friends mean more to him than anything, asserts to Kokorogi that he will never leave her before leaning forward to whisper something in her ear. However, what was said remains mysterious to the audience.
Taking this confession into account, the third episode then unexpectedly reveals the culprit whostolethe 2 million yen from the school trip fund. In a flashback to the day of the incident, Sawaragi placed the school trip fund envelope into her locker and walked off to meet a teacher. This was when a pair of footsteps made their way toward her locker. However, before this person could reach Sawaragi’s locker, they bumped into Kokorogi, causing her to drop her papers. While Kokorogi remained distracted by revealing that she secretlywrites manga, the mysterious individual made it to Sawaragi’s locker and snatched the envelope of money before returning to Kokorogi. However, as this person did so, Kokorogi noted that their face was bleeding, perhaps after getting cut by her pen. Regardless, the individual assured her that everything was okay.
Then the flashback ends. This is when the individual reveals himself to be Mikasa, who claimed to always be watching and listening to Sawaragi. His unhealthy behavior affirms that all of this was done because of hisstrange obsessionwith Sawaragi. In other words, he knows that if he ruins his friend group, he will have Sawaragi all to himself.
Episode 3 takes a different approach from the first two episodes because Yuichi doesn’t necessarily narrate or reveal the events from his perspective. This episode centers on his friend group, namely Kokorogi and Mikasa. Now that Mikasa has been shown to be the perpetrator, what will happen in the next episode? Is Mikasa really the culprit? Or is there more than one?
