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In the original we therefore end with Renako deciding to study and sitting at her desk.
But in the anime we couldn’t secure the time (runtime) to include all of that. (That doesn’t mean the scene was unnecessary — it means there were many other scenes we didn’t want to cut if we were going to spend time here.)
What needed to be prioritized most in episode 7 was flipping the audience’s expectation: “In episode 6 she got friendly with Satsuki. Everything’s looking up. Surely Satsuki and Mai will make up now!” — and then overturning that expectation. That’s the main punchline we wanted to show.
So to make the scene end on “something good happened,” it connects to Renako’s line "Maybe phone calls are okay".
Of course, there are limits to how much you can change for the sake of flow and runtime. If it had been an unreasonable change, that would be bad. But I judged this change to be within acceptable bounds.
Renako, who had been afraid of phone calls, thinking "maybe phone calls are okay" when Ajisai actually calls her feels natural. The original used the "she’s more tired than I thought" monologue, but Renako thinking "maybe phone calls are okay" still fits within that character’s wavering.
So, to sum up the reasons for the change:
To avoid disrupting the story’s flow, and to save runtime (for the subsequent Satsuki fight scene), we discussed with Mr. Arakawa and the director and altered the line.
That’s all! — Mikami Teren (the real one)!
Please wait just a little longer for volume 9…!
