2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class Episode 9 Was Heavy

Article at a glance:

• Episode 9 took a surprisingly mature and emotional turn, trading standard romance tropes for a deeply realistic exploration of Maki’s complex feelings regarding his parents’ divorce.
• The series masterfully paid off weeks of subtle foreshadowing, showcasing Maki’s impressive emotional maturity.
• With exceptional pacing, a standout female lead, zero unnecessary drama, and now an incredibly well-defined male MC, the show continues to check every single box for an elite romance anime.

I did not expect this anime to deal with some actual heavy topics like this. You know, I thought we would get some more character development, and then we would end on the confession. Well, a more proper confession. Because Umi did her part a few episodes ago, now lol. But either way, 2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class Episode 9 did a great job of showcasing Maki’s character. They had been planting seeds about his issues with his father for a while now. Remains to be seen how it all wraps up in the next few episodes. But I trust this show to handle things well.

So welcome back to yet another article. Today, we are talking about 2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class Episode 9. My review for the series will be a couple of weeks later. I really want to see how Maki’s arc wraps up before writing the review. But I still wanted to talk about Episode 9. So let’s get into it

What did I think of 2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class Episode 9?

I really like how they had been setting up Maki’s issues with his family for the past few episodes. He clearly has a decent relationship with his father and cares a lot for both his parents, despite the divorce. Seeing him break down, remembering the good old times, really does hit hard. But that’s the thing, no matter how much he wants it, he understands that his parents can’t be together again. Which is why I am curious to see what he will do in the next episodes after having that talk with Umi’s dad.

I really like how well Maki’s issues with divorce are handled. He was being very reasonable with it, and, understandably, he has complex feelings about his father dating someone else. Again, remember that he’s still a damn teenager. So the maturity it takes to handle a complicated situation like that really speaks to how well-done Maki’s character is. I am so glad that this anime goes out of its way to give Maki a defined personality. The male MC having a defined personality has become my standard of judging romance anime these days, and I think you can understand why.

So now not only does this anime have some amazing pacing, a great female MC, no stupid drama, and wholesome moments, it now also has an amazing male MC. It checks every box I have for a good romance anime. I am really looking forward to writing my review on this show a couple of weeks down the line.

That is all for now

So yeah, let me know what you guys think in the comments. I’ve been REALLY happy with 2nd Prettiest Girl in My Class so far. But yeah, really looking forward to seeing how all this wraps up in the upcoming episodes. And yeah, I will take my leave here. See ya!

Check out my thoughts on the upcoming Summer 2026 season here!