Rin & Nadeshiko = Favorite Winter 2018 Couple? (Yuru Camp Episodes 1-6)

Rin and Nadeshiko are one of my favorite pairs of the season right now. A lot of it has to do with how they've been developed over the course of the  six episodes that I've seen so far as of this blog entry. First, we start off with Rin becoming curious about Nadeshiko after seeing her sleep. Which then leads us into Rin helping a Nadeshiko that's in despair. This results in both a thankful Nadeshiko and a Nadeshiko interested in Rin's hobby which is camping. Thus Nadeshiko wants to spend more time with Rin and try out camping a bit more as well. Nadeshiko is essentially making herself a part of Rin's life now.

Indeed the two do start spending more time together (with some help) and it becomes clear that Rin is starting to enjoy Nadeshiko's company more and more. In fact, I'm reminded of those pairs in fiction where the main premise is the two just need to get used to each other to like each other. Except often times in those stories they go out of their way to make that scenario seem implausible, Thankfully both Rin and Nadeshiko are framed in such a way that this feel plausible. For one, they don't make Rin super anti-social and hateful. For two, Nadeshiko is never prevented as super annoying either.

I feel another thing that helps their relationship is their time spent apart. We're shown that while Nadeshiko is part of Rin's life now, she's still allowed to have her own separate life from Nadeshiko. She's essentially been given room to breathe.  Plus let's be honest the scenes of just Rin alone are some of the more relaxing moments of the series anyway. So while I wouldn't want her alone all time, seeing Lone Rin on occaion is actually kind of neat. As long as it's in dose of course.

 We also get to see Nadeshiko spend time with others Even better the two she's spending time with have their own group that camps. Thus showing that Nadeshiko has become legit interested in camping and isn't only doing it as an excuse to be with Rn. It makes her interest feel genuine and not sueperficial. That's not to say Rin played no part in motivating Nadeshiko, just that it shows that Nadeshiko can enjoy camping beyond "Because Rin does it".  

On the subject of being both together and apart, I love how episode 5 framed things with the scene near the end where both Rin and Nadeshiko were taking pictures of different skies or if you want to get technical the same sky from different view points. I'm not sure how to explain this, but it feels symbolic of their relatiosnhip especially near the end of the episode when the two of them are show side by side. As if to say they're together in spirit. Definitely one of the moment that raised their standing in terms of ships/pairs/couples of Winter 2018 for me.

Still what really saeals the deal for me is the scene in episode 6 where Rin is happy about Nadeshiko's happiness. Happiness that came from Nadeshiko getting a present from Rin. So we've gone from a Rin curious about Nadeshiko due to her sleeping on a bench to a Rin that's become fond of Nadeshiko's presence. This doesn't mean Rin rants to be with Nadeshiko 24/7, but it's clear Nadeshiko is now a part of Rin's life that she likes having around at least on occasion. I think Rin will always want her alone time though. Then again you could argue that's teue of many people.

So there you have it, this is at the very least one of my favorite pairs this season. At best there are only two maybe three other couples I feel as invested in as these two. Sure using the term couple in some cases is a bit of a stretch, but I still think of them as such. Or it could just be wishful thinking. Either way the growing relationship between Nadeshiko and Rin has been and will hopefully continue to be one of the best aspects of the Winter 2018 anime season.