Warning: Spoilers for Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included episode 5The recent increase of important characters in Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included is clearly expanding the story beyond the original premise, which revolved around the implied romance between Shintaro and the eponymous winged Towa. Although a fun focus, the first few episodes effectively captured the best aspects of what that type of relationship would look like if the original writers had decided to make the entire series solely revolve around that type of dynamic. But ever since the change in Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included episode 4, the fifth and latest episode has now kept with that shift, making it official.
Episode 5 clearly establishes the roles that the previous installment began alluding to by moving all the romantic tension between Shintaro and Towa to his relationship with Tsumugi so that the anime can focus more so on how Towa will try to give Shintaro and humanity a better life. Meanwhile, the latest installment also confirms that Noel will serve as the one in desperate need of friendship as opposed to romance.
The overall structure of episode 5 couldn’t have made this shift more clear. The one scene with Shintaro and Towa is treated more so as a teaser before the episode actually begins. It’s quite short and quickly ends right before the opening song. The real bulk of the episode explores Shintaro’s other relationships with Tsumugi and Noel.
Why Towa and Shintaro Shouldn’t Fall In Love At All
Based on the manga by matoba, produced by Okuruto Noboru
Of course, subsequent episodes might put more of a focus on the adorable, awkward encounters between Shintaro and Towa, which is understandable since they live together. However, Angel Included is now clearly becoming more complex than this. Moreover, this will allow Towa to remain pure and innocent, which is a critical part of her character, especially since she’s an angel. Having an angel fall in love might be a little too much character development for a rom-com. However, the romance won’t disappear if Towa and Shintaro don’t get together, which is the initial appeal of the series, since Tsumugi is taking over in that department.
Having an angel fall in love might be a little too much character development for a rom-com.
Although the initial background of Tsumugi’s relationship with Shintaro might feel common, the fact that Tsumugi feels like she must compete with two supernatural beings like Towa and Noel adds a rare dynamic that is less common with the “living together with a supernatural being” trope. Meanwhile, what Shintaro shares with Noel in episode 5 is clearly going in the direction of a more friendship-based type of relationship.
What’s unique, however, is that Noel’s situation is much more extreme, since she has never had a friend before. It’s likely that subsequent installments will continue to explore what episode 5 covers, where Noel has many “firsts” with Shintaro in terms of what friends do as opposed to romantic partners.
With each girl representing a special type of relationship that all conspicuously diverge from each other, fans are undoubtedly more intrigued now than ever about the mysterious third and fourth girls who have been featured in the opening and closing songs but who have yet to make an official appearance in the actual show. Viewers now expect what they end up sharing with Shintaro will more likely symbolize wholly different types of relationships based on past precedent in Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included – and that’s a good thing.
