Controversial New Romance Anime Subverts a Popular Trope With a Fascinating Twist

Warning: The following contains spoilers for A Condition Called Love episode #3!!

Summary Episode #3 of A Condition Called Love subverts the typical "sick at home" trope in romance anime.

The scene with Saki and Hotaru isn't meant to be heartwarming or comedic.

The outcome does not adhere to the usual results of the trope, with Hotaru calling Saki's family for help.

The latest episode of A Condition Called Love just subverted a well-known trope in romance anime that usually involves the guy or girl visiting their love interest's house for the first time because they're sick. This development is always a massive step in their normally misunderstood relationship, especially since neither of them know for sure if the other has romantic feelings for them. In the spiciest instances, the sick character's parents aren't home at the time of the monumental visit, causing all sorts of temptations to come into play.

An already completely cliche-free anime, the scene does involve Hotaru Hinase coming to Saki Hananoi's house while his grandparents are away, and Saki is actually not feeling well, either. However, Hotaru isn't aware of Saki's malady, since he's keeping it hidden quite well, and Hotaru's visitation doesn't involve her taking care of him.

In fact, the moment when Saki fully succumbs to his severe cold serves a completely different purpose than for Hotaru to treat him.

A Condition Called Love's Sick Scene Doesn't Result In Anything That's "Supposed" To Happen

Original series created by Megumi Morino; anime adaptation produced by East Fish Studio

It actually takes place during a massive cliffhanger that began at the end of the second episode. Saki had just pinned Hotaru on the floor after she asked him to kiss her to see if she would feel anything. Then, a few minutes into episode #3, Saki collapses, at which point Hotaru realizes he's sick and calls his grandparents to come take care of him. How the scene ends definitely adds another layer to the overall controversy surrounding A Condition Called Love. Many fans are mistakenly interpreting Saki's overbearing nature as love bombing, and the fact that he faints right when she tells him to stop leaves enough doubt in some people's minds to believe that he wouldn't have complied had he not fully succumbed to his cold.

Most importantly, these scenes are meant to be heartfelt. There is nothing adorable or funny about what transpires during this particular scene in A Condition Called Love.

Of course, there's no way of truly knowing what would have transpired had circumstances been different, since the development is naturally open-ended. Saki will just have to prove himself capable of stopping whenever Hotaru tells him to do so should another opportunity ever arise. It's also possible that he was partly acting in a delirious state set about by his illness, rather than full-on passion.

In other words, the scene clearly doesn't adhere to the aforementioned "sick at home" trope. Hotaru doesn't visit him for the sole purpose of taking care of him because he's sick, even though Saki is actually not well. She would have had to have been aware of his malady for the scene to be a cliché. Moreover, the outcome is in no way compliant with the same trope, either, especially because Hotaru panics and calls Saki's family to take care of him, so she doesn't have to.

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Most importantly, these scenes are meant to be heartfelt or even comedic. In some of the greatest instances, they result in the healthy guy or girl confessing their true feelings to the object of their desire, but only for the audience's benefit, since their love interest is usually incapable of comprehending the situation. In fact, such a moment not only occurs in Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro, but is arguably the cutest scene.

There is nothing adorable or funny about what transpires during this particular scene in A Condition Called Love. Of course, there's a brief second that's complicated by a very deceptive soundtrack when Saki fawning over Hotaru could be considered heartfelt, but knowing how Hotaru feels should have negated any semblance of any mutual form of true romance. And that's because A Condition Called Love is so fresh in almost every way, for better or for worse.

A Condition Called Love is simulcasting on Crunchyroll.