Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” is a rather interesting character study for Saki Aoi. Also, a fairly depressing one. When you realize just how depressed she is, you can understand just why she is so melancholic in this episode instead of her usual cheery self.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”: Details

Senpai is an Otokonoko NA key visual.
Saki isn’t smiling so much in this episode.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” is the eighth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, and Ep. 7 here) of this LGBTQ+ romantic comedy anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Pom. Project No.9 (Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Love After World Domination) is the animation studio behind this anime. Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime in NA region.

Production Cast

Chuan Feng Xu is the director behind Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”, with Seiko Takagi as the writer, Lin Yingchen as the storyboarder, and Shōto Shinkai and Pei Fei Wang sharing credit as the chief animation director. As for Senpai is an Otokonoko as a whole, Shinsuke Yanagi is the director behind the anime. Yoriko Tomita is the writer behind the same, with Yukari Hashimoto as the composer for the music you hear in that anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song is “Wagamama” (我がまま, “Selfishness”) by Kujira. Meanwhile, “Are ga Koi Datta no kana” (あれが恋だったのかな, “I Wonder If That Was Love”) by Kujira feat. Nishina is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” features the voices of Shūichirō Umeda as Makoto Hanaoka, Akira Sekine as Saki Aoi, and Yuma Uchida as Ryuji Taiga. Other notable voice roles in this episode include Kaori Maeda as Konatsu Taiga, Ai Satō as Masako Aoi, and Yūji Murai as Yūji Aoi.

When and Where to Watch

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” made its airing and streaming debut (read: simulcast) on August 29, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch the anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll due to it being an exclusive there.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”: Synopsis

Makoto’s not the star this time, but we do see him/them.

Alas, Senpai is an Otokonoko is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” only just made its debut six days ago as of this writing. Thus, I will present to you Crunchyroll’s official synopsis for this episode instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

Saki rushes to the hospital because her grandmother collapsed. Her father also rushes back to Japan which means she can spend Christmas with him. Meanwhile Ryuji also proposes a promise for Christmas to Makoto.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”: The Good

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 "Wound" screenshot showing Saki eating breakfast with her dad.
One of the few times Saki is actually happy in this episode.

Holy shit, the story of Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” is without a doubt what kept me watching it. All because this entire episode is basically a character study for Saki Aoi. And hoo boy, after watching this episode, you can see just why she would have issues. Without spoilers: her father means well most of the time, but oh boy, is he flaky as heck. So flaky that he’s seriously neglecting Saki’s mental, emotional, and even physical health to some degree. Needless to say: Yūji Aoi isn’t the worst father in the world, but he’s also far from the best. Saki’s mother isn’t much better, being just as neglectful in her own way in Saki’s past. Alas, this has consequences for Saki that leave you desperately wanting to give her a hug in this episode. Pom can write some emotionally traumatized characters when he wants to.

Complementing that story is the ever-wonderful animation from Project No.9. Even better, the seriousness of this episode means that there’s a lot more high quality animation to admire. So much so that you long for the silly chibi animation just to give you a break from the drama. Fortunately, we still get bits of that chibi animation to do just that. There’s lot a whole lot of it, but it does relieve some of the tenseness of seeing Saki so traumatized/depressed.

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound”: The Bad

Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 "Wound" screenshot showing Saki running past Makoto's back.
Just missed her by that much.

Alas, Senpai is an Otokonoko Ep. 8 “Wound” will not be an episode for action junkies. In fact, this entire anime is devoid of any high-intensity action. It’s just not that kind of story. If you want that, then might I suggest Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, and/or The Elusive Samurai? Those anime series should have more than enough action to satisfy any action cravings.

Also, a reminder that a significantly large minority is going out of their way to review bomb this anime. If you like Senpai is an Otokonoko, then please do your part to fight that review bombing.

Tune back to THS to learn more about Senpai is an Otokonoko and other anime series when we do.