Horimiya Season 2 Episode 5 Recap and Ending Explained: How did Motoko’s crush end up liking her brother?

This week’s episode focuses on Iura and his adorable relationship with his younger sister, Motoko. It’s funny how Shuu’s demeanour changes completely when he’s at home versus at school – that overprotective big brother attitude is pure gold. His interrogations and deadpan reactions had us in stitches! Not to mention Motoko and Shuu’s wonderful bond and the unexpected love triangle that left us scratching our heads at one point in surprise and wonder.  

Horimiya Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: How did Shu find himself in an unexpected crush triangle?

The episode begins at Shu’s house, where he and his sister are sitting on a couch. Breaking the silence, he informs her that someone had called over yesterday and was asking for her. 

The issue arose not because someone called her, but because of who called her.  

A guy named Kitahara called on the phone and asked for her. 

When he hears it from him, her tone softens, and in a meek way, he asks him why he did not give the phone to her. But the moment he says that he had hung up the phone, we see a complete change in her mood and attitude. Cue the dramatic shift in her mood and attitude! That blushing red instantly turns into fiery “irritation red”!

It’s like watching a comedy show where the scene changes from sweet and shy to fiery and feisty in the blink of an eye. Talk about a complete 180-degree turn! From sugar and spice to everything nice, and then BAM—she’s got her fiery sass back!

But then again, she gets all flustered when he asks if she likes the guy. 

And we see him turn on his “protective brother mood” that instant.  

She goes all red again in embarrassment and blabbers everything she knows about Kitahara. 

Everyone, our girl here has a crush on Kitahara. Very evident. 

Instead of listening to his sister’s rambling, Shu finally says why Kitahara called yesterday.  

They are, indeed, siblings! 

Back at school, Miyamura and Kitagawa had a troubled time answering their English Essay test. They plan to get something to eat, and the moment Shu agrees to the idea, he receives a message from his sister. 

Let the fun begin. 

He reads the text and immediately rushes back home. 

What might be the contents of the message that made him cancel his eating plans with his friend? Suspicious. 

Well, yes, it was suspicious, but it was evident why his sister asked him to come home late. Isn’t it, people? We have an idea why she is asking her brother to take all the time in the world to come home.

Shu’s on high alert, smelling trouble from miles away. No eating plans with his friends today; it’s time to investigate who the friend Motoko is meeting—that too, in their place. 

It is Motoko’s secret mission—to spend some uninterrupted and quality time with Kitahara, even if it’s just a study session. 

But Shu is the type of brother who will ruin his sister’s plans, especially if they involve a boy. Shu’s brotherly instincts kick in, and he’s like, “Nope, not on my watch!” He’s got that “brother radar” finely tuned, and when it comes to his sister and boys, he’s like a one-man security squad! 

You see, Shu takes his brotherly role seriously. He’s got his detective hat on, and he’s ready to crash the party!  

Shu expected something fishy when he received her text, and his instincts were spot on! 

As Mokoto hears the door open, she’s all prepared to greet Kitahara, only to see his devil brother show up instead. 

Shu’s sister was actually scheming for some cosy one-on-one time with Kitahara, and here comes Shu, being the ultimate buzzkill. 

Oh boy, Motoko can’t hold it in any longer! She’s like a pressure cooker about to explode with frustration! You see, his dear brother is girlfriend-less, and it’s driving her up the walls! 

Why? He is always at home, coming straight from school, with no girlfriend, no dates, nothing, which in turn ruins her perfectly crafted plans with her “friend”. 

While they are in the middle of a heated argument with their replica swords, Kitahara comes in. 

The moment he walks in, Shu immediately approaches him with an intimidating tone, elegantly swinging the sword back in its sheath. 

That’s not the Shu we know. With that manly tone and demeanour, instead of getting scared by him, Kitahara finds him to be extremely cool. 

Shu has unknowingly stolen his heart. Our boy here is smitten by Shu, and Shu has no idea about that. 

Motoko complains to Shu about how Kitahara has changed in the past few days. Lately, it has been this way: whenever he talks to her, she gets a very strong feeling that it is not her that Kitahara is interested in. She assumes that perhaps he is talking to her because she reminds him of Shu. and she blames it on him for making the situation worse.  

It would not be so bad if I were cuter, but I look too much like you to be cute. 

Since Motoko blames it on her oneechan for not being a kawai girl, Shu gets upset about it. He discusses this serious and sensitive issue with his friends the next day at school.

His friends unanimously think that Mokoto is definitely cuter than Shu, despite her being the spitting image of Shu. In the end, they blamed it on adolescence and puberty. Because there is no other possible explanation. 

And then Shu reveals the root of the issue.
The person Motoko likes seems to like me.

Poor Shu is caught in a hilarious web of confusion! When everyone assumes he’s into boys, he’s pushed to yell in protest, declaring his attraction to girls. But then, Igawara pops the ultimate question: “Do you like Sengoku?” And bam! Shu’s caught off guard again, admitting that he likes him too. Shu’s straightness is called into question, especially around Sengoku.

And so the teasing commences, leaving Shu in an awkward position. To ease his predicament, Igawara comes up with the brilliant idea that he should get a girlfriend. But in the world of modern dating, is it really that easy to find a girlfriend?

Our poor boy is caught in a whirlwind of trouble here—no girlfriend to be found, and to top it off, his sister’s crush seems to have a little crush on him too! 

With teasing friends and a quirky love triangle unfolding, Shu’s life seems to have become a delightful sitcom plot.

Horimiya Season 2 Episode 5 Ending Explained: Will Shu be able to escape the teasing from his friends and handle the awkward situation with his sister’s crush?

The next day, it gets more hilarious. It begins with the four idiots, Shu, Kitagawa, Miyamura, and Ishikawa, running late for school. 

Shu did it! Running with toast in his mouth before he is late for school! And showing how incredibly impractical that is! Yoshikawa did it, too! Unfortunately, neither of them had a Meet Cute moment. Ishikawa had onigiri instead, and Miyamura had a meat bun and drink already prepared. 

These idiots did not pay attention to the announcement about the third-years having afternoon classes that day. Dumbness feels like a contagious disease in their case!

The prospective students are here, which is why they have a few middle schoolers in their school that day. 

The day gets even better. Guess who Shu encounters in their corridor? 

Kitahara. The bane of his existence!

He tries to avoid him at all costs, but would his friends allow him to do so? No way!

Not that his friends, especially the girls, are any help and seem to enjoy watching him squirm.

Kitahara was already leaving when Remo called him by his last name and boom. He is busted. He turns around and is almost about to address him as Oneechan but he stops in the middle and addresses him as Senpai. 

What will you do now, Shu? There’s no way you can escape this. 

The more he calls him Senpai, the harder it gets for Shu to avoid him. Kitahara comes and holds the blazer Shu’s wearing, and he gets all blue with nervousness and embarrassment. 

To hide it, Shu yells at him but gets a whack from their English teacher, who thought he was bullying his juniors. 

Remi and Hori pounce on Kitahara with a flurry of questions, but guess what? Kitahara couldn’t care less and turned the tables by asking the million-dollar question: “Does he have a girlfriend?”

This question leaves Shu stunned, while Hori and Remi just laugh to themselves about how they can exploit Shu’s lack of a girlfriend. 

Not leaving the opportunity to mess with Shu, Hori offers Kitahara to have lunch with her and Remi. But Yasuda interrupts their dillydallying and takes the middle schoolers with him to show them the place they are supposed to be. 

Yasuda came as a saviour for Shu that day, and it was the only day he thanked him.

Now, whatever happened in the corridor has to be delivered to the rest of the group. Isn’t that what friendship looks like?  Now the gang has a juicy story to share with the rest of the crew, and they relish every moment of teasing poor Shu.

They tease Shu in every way possible, and while doing so, they finally realise that it was the guy Shu was talking about—Sister’s crush crushing over her brother. 

They finally connected all the dots, and now they are even more excited to see him. 

Even we are excited to see how Shu deals with this awkward situation and solves the issue.