Thank you for stopping by Anime Rants. It’s time to cover episodes 8 and 9 of With You, Our Love Will Make It Through. My thoughts haven’t really changed on this anime and I have a few issues with it despite still enjoying it overall. As I write this, it’s New Year’s Eve, but I haven’t finished my New Year’s post about the best anime of 2025 yet. I’ll finish it as soon as possible. In the meantime, Happy New Year, everyone!
Episode 8
Episode Rating: 6/10
Kisara grabbed Mari and took her away to where they could talk alone. She was at first a bit hostile, pointing out that she could tell by the smell that Mari was there on a date with Tsunagu. She accused Mari of coming to the Beastfolk town without any real resolve. However, after Mari explained that she was no longer scared and only full of love for Tsunagu, Kisara started to accept the human girl. After all, she was so cute, genuine, and humble. Kisara was actually worried about Mari and even apologized for growling and insulting her scent when they first met.
Despite her begrudging acceptance of Mari, Kisara was still frustrated that she needed to let go of Tsunagu. There were tears in her eyes. Just then, two male Beastfolk appeared out of the bushes, one that looked like a black panther and one that looked more canine. They took Kisara’s tears as an excuse to bully Mari. The dog-person grabbed Mari and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to speak. Kisara acted quickly and bit the ruffian, making him release Mari. The thug responded by trying to swipe his claws at Kisara, making a racist remark against cat-people.
Mari acted quickly and jumped at Kisara so they both fell to the ground and weren’t hit by the dog-person. Kisara said it was reckless for a human to get involved, but Mari insisted that this showed her resolve to love Tsunagu and those around him. Suddenly, Tsunagu appeared and subdued the ruffian. The attacker was brought to the police station. Mari and Kisara also had to answer some questions for the police. The officer – a dog-person with white fur and gentle eyes – was very kind and apologized that this happened on Mari’s visit. His voice sounded very familiar, but I couldn’t place it by name, and MAL’s cast listing did not include him. (As of Dec ’25)
After Mari was done being questioned, Kisara welcomed her warmly. It was cute. Since Mari had protected her and proved her resolve, Kisara was now loudly in favor of the relationship. She refused to let Tsunagu treat her scraped hand, saying that he should focus on Mari. She also whispered to Mari that she should treasure Tsunagu and that if Tsunagu ever stopped marking her, she might steal him away. With that, Kisara left to give her statement to the police. Tsunagu’s tail wagged happily now that his relationship had been accepted by his childhood friend.
Mari followed Tsunagu to his house. There, in Tsunagu’s room, the young lovers shared some intimacy and enjoyed touching each other. Tsunagu wore a muzzle to prevent him from losing control and biting Mari. I’ve often said that I would prefer if this show was less sexual with its highschool characters. While that is still true, I was relatively okay with this scene due to the fact that they had a healthy conversation about consent first. It wasn’t perfect, but it was acceptable. Tsunagu and Mari stopped when they both felt like it was too much. I felt relieved when the scene was over.
Mari went home after that. She felt lonely at first, but then she and Tsunagu got a text from Yukihiro. He invited them to a study session to work on the homework they were supposed to do over summer break. Soon, the three friends met up at a family restaurant. It was good to see Yukihiro again. The classmates worked on some homework and chatted. Then Tsunagu and Yukihiro had an idea. They kept Mari in the dark until the very end, wanting to surprise her. The boys led her up a huge flight of outdoor stairs and then through a patch of forest.
As they approached their destination, Yukihiro told Mari to close her eyes. She was holding hands with both Yukihiro and Tsunagu for support. When she opened her eyes, Mari beheld a beautiful scene. They were standing far above the town with a great view. Glowing paper lanterns were floating everywhere. Fireworks started as well. Yukihiro explained that both the humans and Beastfolk were having festivals today. The Beastfolk used paper lanterns and the humans set off fireworks. From this rare vantage point, one could see the lights from both celebrations. Mari, Yukihiro, and Tsunagu were once again breaking the boundary between their species and growing closer.
This episode wasn’t bad, but I still wish some of the writing and pacing were better in this anime. For example, it doesn’t quite feel believable that Kisara would so suddenly change her mind. Don’t get me wrong; I’m very glad she came around and started supporting her friend. But in the previous episode, it seemed like she was bound and determined to pursue Tsunagu or at least refuse to accept his current relationship. I’m not exactly sure what could have been differently, but I feel that Kisara’s character development needed some work. Anyway, let’s move on to episode 9.
Episode 9
Episode Rating: 6/10
Tsunagu was now used to Mari’s sweet scent that he didn’t need to worry about assaulting her at school. I can’t believe that’s a real plot point. Wow, this anime is trashy. Anyway, Mari began to worry that she might not be very attractive to Tsunagu if her scent was considered normal. It was an irrational concern because Tsunagu obviously wanted to be with her, but it was also very normal for a teenage girl to want to look pretty for her crush. At lunch with Tsunagu and Yukihiro, Mari was obviously zoned out and worried. However, she avoided telling Tsunagu the truth when he asked her.
To everyone’s surprise, Kisara showed up after school to take Mari shopping. She remembered that Mari’s hair tie broke in the scuffle with the ruffians last time, so the cat-girl offered to buy a new cute hair accessory for Mari. The two girls had a fine time on their shopping excursion, though we didn’t get to see what Mari picked in the end. Kisara was able to listen to Mari’s concerns like a good friend should. With her replaced hair tie, Mari wore her hair in a new style at school the next day – a classic bun.
The ace of the basketball team asked Yukihiro to come help him after school, leaving Mari and Tsunagu alone on the roof. They shared some tender touching but had to stop suddenly so they weren’t caught by other students. One of those other students was a boy with black hair who worked for the school newspaper. I couldn’t find his name on MAL, but ANN has a listing of a male student named Kotaro Ikeda who appears in episodes 9 and 10, so I’m going to assume the newspaper dude is Ikeda. He wanted an exciting story for the newspaper, and he had his eye on Tsunagu for an interview.
Now that summer break was over, the school was holding a culture festival. Tsunagu was in high demand in his class for his excellent skills in creating decorations, arts, and crafts. The other members of the class had grown used to Tsunagu and were happy for his company. However, the wholesome moment was ruined by Ikeda, the newspaper dude, who took Tsunagu away for an interview. He was asking baited questions to try to get entertaining answers from a beast-person. Tsunagu was rightfully annoyed and even confessed later that he wanted to growl at the newspaper boy.
While that was happening, Mari and Yukihiro were sent to go shopping for some decorations. Yukihiro asked what Mari wanted for her upcoming birthday, but Mari turned the question back and said she wanted to get a present for Yukihiro for being such a supportive friend. When Mari asked what he wanted, Yukihiro replied, “Mari” while looking straight at her. There was a pause before he smiled and said, “Mari, I would love anything you give me.” Though childish, that moment made my heart ache a little.
As dense as she could be, Mari still got the impression that there was something Yukihiro wanted to tell her. She kept asking about the gift and Yukihiro promised to tell her his real desire at a later time. The two friends pinky-swore to seal the agreement and then headed back to school. While Yukihiro got the chaotic classroom back under control, Mari went to get Tsunagu. She boldly interrupted the interview and lied, saying the teacher was calling for Tsunagu. It was obviously her way of protecting her boyfriend. Unfortunately, Ikeda started throwing a tantrum to get his way. With no polite choices left, Tsunagu and Mari took off running. It was a humorous moment.
The newspaper boy was so determined he started chasing Tsunagu and Mari. To escape, Tsunagu took Mari in his arms and jumped out the window. It was a little scary but thrilling for Mari. Once that was over, Tsunagu and Mari went back to the classroom, where the other students put up a sign saying newspaper members were not welcome. As they all started making decorations again, one of the male students observed that Tsunagu and Mari got along very well. He couldn’t help wondering, he said, if the two were dating. Silence followed as Tsunagu, Mari, and Yukihiro wondered what to say. The episode ends on this dramatic social cliffhanger.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 
“Tsunagu was now used to Mari’s sweet scent that he didn’t need to worry about assaulting her at school. I can’t believe that’s a real plot point. Wow, this anime is trashy.”
One word: Twilight.
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