So, hello again! Another day, another blog—but today, we’re not going to do any blog. 😂

We’re doing an episode review, as I promised.

And yeah, I know I was a little late than usual, so sorry about that. 😅

For anyone who’s new here, let me quickly tell you what we’re doing today.

Today, we’re doing an episode review of The Ramparts of Ice Season 2.

So, without wasting any more time, let’s get into the episode.

⚠️ Warning: Spoiler Alert!

Disclaimer

This blog contains major spoilers for Episode 1 of The Ramparts of Ice Season 2.

Since this is an episode review, we’re going to be discussing the entire episode, including important scenes, character moments, and everything that happened throughout it.

So, if you haven’t watched Episode 1 yet, please go and watch it first. And if you’re reading this without watching the episode, then you’re doing so at your own risk. 😂

But seriously, if you haven’t watched it yet and you were planning to, I strongly suggest you watch the episode first before continuing.

Or, if you want to experience the episode completely spoiler-free, please leave the blog right now. 😅

Quick Summary — Episode 1: Clouds and Rain

Well, let’s first give you a quick summary of what happened in the entire episode. After that, we’re going to get into the in-depth part—what I liked, what I didn’t like, the big, big points I noticed, and the moments I actually loved.

So, let’s start with the quick summary.

As usual, the episode starts with the Netflix logo—well, obviously, that’s something we’re going to see. 😂

And to be honest, I was lucky enough that someone on my team had a Netflix account, which I just stole without permission. 😂

Well, that’s aside for now.

Back to what actually happened in the episode.

The episode starts with a voice-over from Momoka Kuriki. We also get some visuals where she talks about a few things that give us an idea of what her character is going to be like moving forward.

For example, she already knows from the very beginning that Koyuki and Minato love each other. But Koyuki isn’t the type of person who would confess first. She’s the kind of person who would rather back down so she doesn’t hurt someone else.

And Momoka hates that part of Koyuki.

That’s something we find out very early on.

At the same time, Momoka is determined to go after Minato herself.

The episode then moves forward with Momoka inviting Minato to a concert. She calls him while it’s heavily raining, and Minato accepts the invitation.

However, Minato also says that he’s going to invite the others.

And that’s where Momoka’s reaction changes. 😂

She wanted it to be just the two of them, but now that Minato wants to invite everyone else, her mood is basically ruined.

And that’s where a lot of the episode starts building around everyone’s feelings.

We also get Miki thinking about what she did at the end of the previous episode—rejecting Yota—and she starts becoming confused about her own feelings.

That’s going to be one of the things we’ll talk about in more detail later.

Then, of course, there’s Minato and Koyuki, and their feelings are another major part of the episode.

So, overall, the episode is mostly about the characters talking about, thinking about, and trying to understand their own feelings.

And honestly, I think that’s most of the summary.

Why?

Because the next part is where we’re going in-depth.

We’re going to talk about the actual highlights, the moments that stood out to me, what I liked, and what I think is important moving forward.

So yeah, that’s basically what happened in Episode 1.

And if you think this wasn’t a proper summary…

Well, that’s how I know how to do a summary. 😂

Maybe from next time, I’ll just skip the summary altogether. 😅

Now I Understand Why You Guys Hate Her 😭

So, now I understand why you guys hate her. Well, being honest, from the very beginning of this episode review—literally around 30 seconds after the Netflix logo—I just wanted to say, “Okay, now I understand why people hate Momoka.” 😭

And to be honest, whatever was happening on Instagram and whatever people were saying before this episode came out, I was thinking, “Okay, I think this is a little too much.” But now, after watching this episode, and thinking about what I said in my last The Ramparts of Ice blog a week ago…

I just want to take that back.

I said she didn’t deserve that much hate.

I take it back.

She deserves hate.

She deserves more than just hate. 😭

That was literally my reaction from the beginning. Why? Because right from the start of the episode, we get a very clear idea of what kind of character Momoka is.

She’s this sweet-looking character who knows exactly what’s going on, but at the same time, she wants what she wants. And that’s basically what it comes down to.

To be honest, I also want to say that the way manga readers and people on Instagram were already pointing out that Momoka’s character was going to become that kind of character…

Now I understand it. 😭

And honestly, I want to apologize to all of you for what I said in my previous blog about this anime. Can I join your team now, guys? 😂

Because seriously, I get it now. From the very beginning, Momoka was clearly trying to go after Minato. And look, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to be with someone. If she likes Minato, that’s fine.

But the way her character is presented right from the start is what makes the situation completely different. Within those first 30 seconds, we already get a clear indication that she hates Koyuki.

If she were simply someone who loved Minato, wanted to be with him, and was genuinely trying to confess her feelings, then okay, I could understand that. But that’s not what we’re being shown.

And honestly, that opening alone was already enough for me to understand why everyone was talking about her the way they were.

Did I say too much?

I don’t think so. 😅

Miki and Minato Talk

Well, this is another one of the important highlights of the episode, and I definitely wanted to cover this part.

This is one of those moments where Minato also starts understanding something about himself, while we finally get a better idea of what Miki is feeling after rejecting Yota.

Miki was basically asking Minato a bunch of hypothetical questions without directly telling him what she was actually talking about.

But Minato had already started to understand what was going on.

He already knew that Yota liked Miki, so he could pretty much tell what she was trying to ask him.

Miki asks him about his past relationships and how he used to date people.

Not exactly a “playboy”—that’s just me saying it. 😂

But basically, she asks him whether he ever dated someone even though he didn’t actually have the same feelings for them.

And Minato’s answer is actually pretty interesting.

He explains that when he used to date someone, it wasn’t necessarily because he had some strong reason to be with them.

He also didn’t really have a reason not to date them.

So, if someone liked him and there wasn’t a reason to reject them, he would just go along with it.

And another reason was that he didn’t want to hurt anyone either.

He thought that maybe he might eventually fall in love with them, but that never really happened.

And that also connects with something else: Minato was usually the one who got dumped, rather than being the person who ended those relationships himself.

Then Miki asks him how it feels when someone breaks up with you.

And Minato basically says that he doesn’t really know, because he never actually fell in love with any of them in the first place.

That’s where Miki starts understanding something.

She realizes what it means to half-heartedly fall in love with someone—or say yes to someone—simply because you don’t want to make them feel bad.

And that’s when Minato starts questioning himself too.

He begins thinking about his own past.

Was what I did actually right?

Was I being a jerk?

Did he hurt those girls without even realizing it?

And honestly, this was one of the more interesting parts of the conversation because Miki came to Minato looking for an answer about her own situation, but Minato ends up questioning his own past as well.

Then the conversation goes even deeper.

Miki is trying to figure out what she actually feels about Yota. She knows that Yota likes her, but she doesn’t feel the same way romantically.

And that’s what makes everything so complicated for her.

Because if she were to say yes to Yota simply because she didn’t want to hurt him, wouldn’t she just be doing the same thing Minato did in the past?

She doesn’t want to lead him on.

She doesn’t want to pretend to have feelings that she doesn’t actually have.

And that’s why she rejected him, even though she feels terrible about it afterward.

At one point, Minato is also trying to console Miki.

But somehow, the conversation turns around, and both of them end up needing to console each other. 😂

Miki is struggling with what she did to Yota, while Minato is suddenly thinking about all the relationships he had in the past.

And then we get the flashback.

Minato remembers something Momoka told him before.

And this is the line that actually comes back into his mind. Why? Because Momoka had told him that Koyuki also thinks about it in the same way.

“If you think about it, you have a friend you really like. But then you find out that he loves you and looks at you in a different way. Wouldn’t that feel a bit disgusting?”

That’s what Momoka had told Minato before.

And now, during this conversation with Miki, that thought comes back to him.

Because if you think about it, that’s basically what Miki is dealing with right now.

She has a friend—Yota—who she cares about.

But then she discovers that he doesn’t see her only as a friend. He loves her in a completely different way.

And that changes the way she has to look at the entire relationship.

So while Miki is trying to understand her own feelings, Minato is connecting everything together in his head.

He’s thinking about what Miki just told him, what Momoka told him before, and his own experiences with relationships.

And that’s what makes this conversation important.

Miki came to Minato because she was confused about Yota and her own feelings.

Minato tried to help her.

But while doing that, Minato also started questioning his own past and the way he used to approach relationships.

So, in the end, neither of them really gets a simple answer.

They just end up with more things to think about themselves. 😅

One Misunderstanding Gone, and Another One Begins

Well, this is the point where the first episode finally reaches its main point.

It starts with Koyuki inviting Miki.

And Miki is immediately confused because Koyuki isn’t really the type of person who just invites someone out like that. Even Miki herself isn’t someone who usually makes the first move and invites people.

So Miki starts thinking:

“Does she know about Yota? Does she know what happened between me and him?”

She even starts wondering if Koyuki might be talking about Yota, because Miki thinks Koyuki likes him.

But that’s not what Koyuki wants to talk about.

Koyuki is actually frustrated and wants to ask Miki for advice. But Miki is thinking to herself:

“I just rejected someone. How am I supposed to give someone else advice about this?” 😂

Still, she agrees to meet her.

At the same time, Minato and Yota are going out together as well.

Yota is the one who invites Minato, and Minato immediately thinks that he needs to console him.

But Yota is like:

“No, I didn’t ask you to console me. I was just thinking about eating out.” 😂

So they end up going to a burger shop.

And this is where things get interesting.

Koyuki asks Miki to come with her because she wants to talk about something important.

She wants to tell Miki that she actually loves Minato.

But Miki has been misunderstanding the entire situation this whole time. She thinks Koyuki loves Yota.

So while Koyuki is trying to explain her feelings to Miki, something else happens.

Minato and Yota arrive at the same restaurant.

They sit in another part of the restaurant, separated by a wall, so neither side can properly see the other.

And while Koyuki and Miki are talking, Yota asks Minato something.

Earlier, Momoka had told everyone that she and Minato were going to a concert, so naturally, everyone started wondering:

“Are Momoka and Minato dating?”

Yota wants to confirm it.

He asks Minato whether he’s actually thinking about dating Momoka.

And Minato is basically like:

“Why would I?”

Yota reminds him that they were going to a concert together.

But Minato explains that he never said it was just the two of them. He was planning to invite other people as well.

And then Yota starts calling Minato out.

He’s basically saying that Minato can’t just keep agreeing to everything people ask him to do because he’s giving girls the wrong idea.

And that can eventually end up hurting them.

Minato argues that he can’t just reject someone for no reason, can he?

And Yota’s response is basically:

You can’t reject them, but you also need to understand what your actions mean.

If you keep accepting everything without thinking about how the other person feels, you’re giving them the wrong idea.

And this is another moment where Minato starts thinking about what he’s been doing.

Because deep down, he knows Yota has a point.

Minato is already questioning whether the way he handled his previous relationships was right or wrong, and now Yota is basically confirming those doubts.

But then, while they’re eating, things get completely different. 😂

Minato was supposed to be the one consoling Yota.

Instead, somehow, Yota ends up questioning Minato.

And this part genuinely made me laugh.

Yota asks Minato:

“Have you ever fallen in love with someone?”

And Minato immediately tries to dodge the question.

He’s basically like:

“Yep. I love everyone.”

Yota is like:

“Really?”

And Minato says:

“Yeah, I really like you.”

Then he mentions Miki as well.

And Yota asks:

“What about Koyuki?”

And this is where everything becomes important.

Minato remembers what Momoka told him, including what she said about how Koyuki also thinks about this kind of situation.

So Minato says:

“I love her.”

And then he pauses…

And adds:

“As a friend.”

And unfortunately for him…

Koyuki is right there on the other side of the wall.

She hears everything.

And this is where the entire situation becomes painful. 😭

Because the truth is, Minato actually does love Koyuki.

But he doesn’t believe Koyuki would ever love him back.

Meanwhile, Koyuki actually loves Minato.

And that’s basically the entire situation of Episode 1.

One misunderstanding gets resolved…

And another misunderstanding immediately begins.

But then we get to the final part of the episode.

Miki and Koyuki are still talking while Minato and Yota leave.

Koyuki starts crying—not completely breaking down, but you can clearly see tears in her eyes.

And that’s when she finally tells Miki the truth.

She tells her:

She loves Minato.

Miki is completely confused because, until that moment, she had been thinking that Koyuki loved Yota. 😂

And honestly, Miki’s reaction was hilarious.

But that’s aside. 😂

Koyuki decides that she’s going to move on.

Because after hearing Minato say that he loves her only as a friend, she believes she doesn’t have a chance.

She starts thinking that maybe the way Minato treats her isn’t actually special.

Maybe he treats her the same way he treated everyone else.

At least, that’s what she thinks after overhearing that conversation.

And that’s how the episode ends.

Minato is left thinking about his own unrequited love and wondering whether anything will ever come from it.

Does Koyuki actually love him?

Does she have any feelings for him?

Meanwhile, Koyuki is thinking about moving on because she believes she doesn’t have a chance with him.

And that’s where the next misunderstanding begins.

One misunderstanding is finally gone…

And another one has already started. 😭

And honestly, that’s basically everything that happened in Episode 1.

Outro & My Final Thoughts

Well, I already told you pretty much everything I was feeling about this episode throughout the review, so I don’t think there’s going to be too much more to add here.

Let’s go with the remaining topic of this section—the outro song.

Just like the first season, this one is also good and calming.

I don’t know who is singing it or what the meaning of the song is yet, but next time I’ll do a little more research and tell you guys about it.

But yeah, it’s the kind of song that you can listen to multiple times.

It’s genuinely likable.

I loved the Season 1 song so much, and I think this is also going to be one of those songs that’s going straight onto my playlist. 😂

I don’t even know the name of the song yet, but somehow…

It’s going on my playlist anyway. 😂

Well, that’s aside.

That’s basically the entire Episode 1 review.

And honestly, it’s kind of funny that the episode itself was around 25 minutes long, but somehow this episode review turned into almost a 20-minute reading session. 😭

So yeah, I apologize for making this one so long.

But I hope you guys enjoyed this blog—

I mean, episode review. 😂

⭐ My Rating

And I think we should make it clear that there are two different ratings here:

Episode 1 — 9/10
The episode is genuinely likable. The misunderstanding could have dragged on for a long time, but the episode actually resolves one misunderstanding instead of stretching it unnecessarily. That’s one of the reasons I’m giving Episode 1 a 9/10.

Music — 9/10
As always, the music didn’t disappoint. It’s calming, enjoyable, and exactly the kind of music I was expecting from the series, so I’m giving the music a 9/10 as well.

And your note about the music rating is important. We

Stay Updated!

Well, that’s it for today’s episode review.

I hope you guys enjoyed it, and if you actually read all the way to the end, then thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. ❤️

And let me know in the comments:

Did you enjoy Episode 1?

What did you think about it?

I’m ready to hear what you guys thought, so definitely let me know.

I’m going to continue covering this series, and if you want to see the Episode 2 review, that will be coming next Tuesday.

And before you go, if you like our content and want to support us, you can always buy us a coffee. But if you can’t, that’s completely fine.

Honestly, just reading our blogs and enjoying them with us is more than enough. ❤️

And yeah, make sure to bookmark Anime Addictive, because we’ll be back with the next episode review.

So, I’ll see you guys in the next episode review.

Until then, thank you for reading and stay tuned with Anime Addictive!

This EP Review Write By : Prince Sanatan Kumar
(Yuu-kun)