You and I Are Polar Opposites: Sunny & Rainy Prologue + Chapter 1 Summary

08 Jun, 2026

I'm not going to bother with translating these character pages as it's all obvious things you would know if you watched the show. These images are also just my screenshots, so we'll have to make do with whatever quality Bookwalker wanted to give me. Unfortunately, zooming in on their reader app doesn't actually seem to do anything; the image just gets more pixelated.

This novel is written like it's for middle schoolers at best. Not every kanji has furigana, but most of them are common and the sentence structure is easy.

This says this book is set around volume 3 of the manga, so you'd read it after. More specifically, it's set after Suzuki and Tani's festival date.

Each chapter is split into an A- and B-side, with each "side" being a POV from one of the characters the chapter has is focused on. As you can guess, this means Tani/Suzuki, Yamada/Nishi, and Taira/Azuma. In between are interludes from Satou and Honda, but Watanabe is mysteriously missing (why?!). The A & B sides seem to be named as if unnamed background characters are noticing things about the main characters, which is a weird choice, but here we go.

Each chapter is further split into sections that list the location, time (in 24-hour), and whether the sky is clear or rainy. Given the title of this book (literally borrowing the English words "Sunny" and "Rainy" in katakana), I'm going to translate clear skies (晴れ) as "Sunny," even if there is no sun in the sky because it's nighttime or whatever. This is just how Japanese refers to sunny skies; they are clear. Gotta stay on theme.

Prologue: Suzuki-san Goes to School

This section is written from Suzuki's POV. Suzuki does a lot of commenting on the makeup the other girls are wearing, etc., but I'm going to skip such details in this summary.

Konekogawa, Riverside: 19:00 — Sunny

Suzuki and Tani are watching fireworks together. Suzuki is feeling nervous and says that it's good that they were able to come see fireworks together this year too. Tani says they did promise to last year, after all. Tani is wearing the same clothes as always, but he's grown taller. They talk about how Suzuki nearly dropped her phone off the cliff last time. Tani comments that Suzuki's hairstyle is the same as the previous year's. Tani gently puts a hand on Suzuki's shoulder, and she gets super flustered inside.

Suzuki's House: 6:45 — Sunny

Suzuki's alarm, Yeti Gymnastics, goes off. She realizes that the scene before was just a dream. The next part goes through her morning routine. The weather report says that there's only 10% chance of rain, so umbrellas are unnecessary.

School Route: 8:15 — Sunny

On the way to school, Suzuki runs into Azuma, who has apparently gone to the convenience store before class. They walk together and spot Honda. Suzuki wants to know more about her but doesn't have the courage to talk to her.

Watanabe and Satou are at Class 7's shoe-changing area and greet Suzuki and Azuma. Watanabe drops her slippers straight to the ground and changes into them without looking. Suzuki notes that Watanabe is always light on her feet and seems to defy gravity sometimes. The four of them walk to class and chatter away.

Yamada calls out to them. He was apparently washing his hands at the faucet near the classroom.

Suzuki: So even Yamada washes his hands...
Yamada: Of course I do. What do you think I am?
Suzuki: You're all good for the next part? You're not gonna wipe your hands off on your pants? You brought a handkerchief?
Yamada: Yeah, I have one. More or less.

Yamada takes out a crumpled handkerchief and wipes his hands on them. They head to class.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 8:25 — Sunny

Suzuki says hello to Taira, who's in his seat, staring out the window. He's in his gym clothes. He replies listlessly.

Suzuki: Taira, you doing okay? You feel even more like a corpse today.
Taira: I'm always alive and kicking.
Suzuki: So, why are you in your gym clothes already? ...You were so excited for gym class that you couldn't wait?
Taira: Yeah, no. My uniform got wet.

Suzuki wonders if he was playing in the water or something. She goes to say hi to Tani. Tani to her is someone who is natural, always having a calm, grounding air that feels healing.

But today, there's some other boy in his seat. Suzuki is confused before realizing that it's still Tani. He greets her sheepishly as she stares at him and pieces this together.

"HUUUH?! Wh-what happened to you, Tani-kun?!"

Chapter 1

A-side: "Isn't Tani-kun from Class 7's hair kind of different today?"

This section is written from Tani's POV.

Boys Bathroom: 8:12 — Sunny

There are two mirrors in the boys bathroom, and both are occupied. At one, Yamada is setting his hair carefully. At the other, Taira is examining his flyaways. Taira notices Tani first and moves aside for him.

Tani sees Taira staring at the back of his head from the mirror. Taira asks Tani what happened to his hair — the back is sticking up. Tani says it's bedhead while trying to smooth it out. He had tried to get it to behave with water earlier, but nothing is working. Yamada starts laughing and says that it's funny since it makes Tani look like he's kind of out of it. He apologizes for laughing but can't stop. Taira stares at Yamada with a critical eye and says that he's being rude, even for Tani. Tani repeats, "Even for Tani..." out loud as he thinks about what it means. He decides that Taira must mean that there's a certain level of respect that should be present even in friendly relationships¹ and that he doesn't mean it as an insult to Tani.

Yamada finally stops laughing and makes a thinking noise. He points out that it's really eye-grabbing even for bedhead. Tani agrees and says that he wants to do something before class if possible. Yamada suddenly thinks of something and says that this should fix it. Tani and Taira say "Huh?" at nearly the same time. Yamada has turned on the faucet to full force, and the water is spilling out of his cupped hands. He throws all of that at the back of Tani's head.

Tani is so shocked he's unable to say anything. He hears Taira yelling, "Hey! What are you doing?!" and "You splashed me too!" Tani looks over at Taira and sees that both his face and stomach are wet. Rather, Taira has taken the brunt of the water, and the front of his shirt is now somewhat transparent. Tani lets out a small laugh, to which Taira immediately glares at. Yamada, who's basically completely dry, flashes Taira a thumbs-up and says, "Oh well! We're also wet!" The two of them continue to banter.

Tani checks his hair in the mirror and notices that the water didn't work. He tries to smooth it down, which does nothing. Earlier in the morning he had also tried to spray it down multiple times to no avail, so perhaps it was a given that this wouldn't do anything either. Taira and Yamada notice the persisting bedhead, and Yamada thinks real hard. Yamada suggests that Tani use wax in his hair like Yamada and Taira do. Tani studies their hair and thinks about Suzuki's voice on Saturday (their last date). He says it might be a good idea.

Taira lends Tani his hair wax, saying Yamada's is too strong. Tani scoops out some wax and is confused on what to do. He tries to apply it directly to the part that's sticking up. Taira gets worried and immediately stops him. He and Yamada explain how to apply it; Tani is a bit embarrassed that he doesn't know anything about this. Yamada says that they'll apply it for him this time. Yamada asks if he wants his bangs up. Tani hesitantly agrees. Taira asks if Tani always leaves it up to the barber.

The two of them finish styling Tani's hair, though he answered all their questions vaguely. His bedhead has disappeared.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 8:25 — Sunny

"HUUUH?! Wh-what happened to you, Tani-kun?!"

Everyone turns to look at Tani. He feels the weight of stares on his back.

Suzuki is surprised and points out the different parts of his hair, saying he's like a "Super Tani" now. Tani doesn't really understand her description, and he's even more confused by Super Tani. He asks nervously if it looks weird, but Suzuki gives him a thumbs-up with sparkling eyes and says that she's really happy to get to see a different side of him. Tani internally compares her beaming smile with her fang poking out to a carefree cat's yawn. Every time he sees this smile, he feels like it has the power to hold him tight and blow away all of his worries.

Tani feels a gaze from behind him and turns around to find only Azuma staring at him with a mischievous grin. Tani feels uncomfortable and looks back at her with a questioning eye. He gets the sense that Azuma noticed his embarrassment.

Suzuki asks why Tani did his hair today. Tani starts to explain, but Yamada talks over him and says that he and Taira were fiddling with it in the bathroom. Tani glances at Taira, who only says, "Yeah." Suzuki tells Yamada not to mess around with Tani, to which Yamada says he wasn't really. Taira casts doubt on this statement, but Yamada says he's for real, even though it was pretty funny.

Tani figures he should explain the situation better to Suzuki, but as he's about to do so, the teacher comes into the classroom. During the morning greeting routine, the teacher stares wordlessly at Tani. Tani starts wondering if hair wax is against the school rules. He then realizes that can't be the case because there's many students with unique hairstyles in his class. The teacher says nothing and goes through the normal announcements.

There's still some time before 1st period, so Tani looks over to Suzuki, figuring he'll explain himself. But Suzuki is completely concentrated on a novel (which is an adaptation of a shoujo manga, how meta), so he just finds himself observing her hair and earrings. Tani thinks about how he's never thought of changing himself; he's never thought about what other people would think suits him or what he thinks would suit him, either.

Watanabe appears next to him with a weird smile, pointing out his hair. Suzuki jolts, asking if she warped. Watanabe flashes a peace sign and says "You bet!" in response. Satou walks up to them from behind Watanabe and asks if Tani is going for an image change. Suzuki says that apparently Taira and Yamada did this to him. Watanabe seems satisfied with this answer, which Satou points out in a quip. Tani says that it's because they (unspecified) got his hair wet, and Watanabe is surprised to hear that there's bullying going on in this class. Tani says that isn't it, and then explains the whole bedhead situation.

Satou says Yamada is an idiot. Watanabe says she'd do the same thing though, since it worked. Tani is about to say something, but Suzuki ends up cutting him off with commenting that Tani looks kind of like Sudaken today. Satou and Watanabe say, "What?" simultaneously. Tani also thinks this doesn't make any sense. Suzuki gets flustered and tries to describe that the top of his hair from the angle she's looking at is weirdly Sudaken-like. Satou and Watanabe tilt their heads and stare at Tani before agreeing.

The bell goes off, and the two go back to their seats. Tani feels that he wasn't able to interrupt the flow of their conversation at all and feels unsettled that Suzuki, Satou, and Watanabe still have the impression that Yamada and Taira were doing whatever they wanted to Tani rather than following his opinions when they styled his hair. Tani looks at Yamada and Tani. Yamada is putting away some book in his desk quietly, while Taira is leaning against the wall and staring into space at the class. Tani figures he should talk to people one-on-one later.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 8:45 (First Period) — Sunny

First period starts and Suzuki whispers to Tani that she's sorry for cutting him off and asks if he had something he wanted to say. Tani turns to whisper back, but they get called out by the teacher (Gotou-sensei, aka Gomapon). Gomapon says that, if they can't see the board, they can tilt their desks diagonally. Both of them saw the board fine, but they comply anyway. Suzuki makes a hand gesture that indicates they'll save the conversation for later.

As the class wears on, Tani can hear the voices of girls chattering, which Gomapon doesn't notice. Suzuki is completely focused on the lecture and is furiously scribbling notes away, so Tani concludes that he can't talk to her. This reminds Tani of a couple they saw on Saturday.

Memory: Saturday

Tani was invited to a comedy performance by Yamada that day, but he refused because he had a date with Suzuki. Yamada then apparently went with Gachapo (who Tani also doesn't know). Tani and Suzuki take the train into a city that's lined with fashion shops selling all sorts of clothes unavailable in the shops near home. The people in this location are extremely fashionable, so both Suzuki and Tani seem out of place (Suzuki is wearing a rather simple outfit).

The plan is to just walk around and buy anything they're interested in. Suzuki checks out a lot of shops while Tani follows and gives occasional comments of, "It looks like something you'd like," and "It suits you." Suzuki takes this very seriously and scrutinizes the clothing pieces. They go back and forth between shops. However, all the pieces are pricey, and Suzuki only manages to buy one even though she wanted a lot of different things.

Suzuki apologizes for making Tani walk in circles when most of it was pointless, but he says he had fun since this is a place he'd never come to alone. Suzuki is happy to hear that and says she had a lot of fun being with Tani. She's shining as she says that. Though they didn't do anything but walk around together, Tani feels that the day was special in its own way, which is a new feeling.

But on the way to the station, a more mature couple passes by them, and Tani feels them looking at him and Suzuki. He hears, "Hey, those two just now..." followed by some laughing. Tani couldn't hear exactly what they said, but when he looks back, his eyes meet with the girl's, who then looks away, flustered. Tani looks away but continues to wonder what the couple had been saying.

Suzuki says that it's apparently raining in their neighborhood even though it's sunny where they're currently. She got the news from a family text. Tani finds her oblivious voice grounding. Suzuki is worried and wonders if they have to buy an umbrella. Tani says they can think about it after getting to the station.

At the station convenience store, Tani finds himself thinking about the couple again. He's fine if they were just laughing at him, but the phrasing included Suzuki too. Which means that they were laughing at something about seeing him and Suzuki together.

Today, Tani remembered the couple again when he talked with Yamada and Taira in the bathroom and changed his hair. He feels that Yamada and Taira gave him needed encouragement, even if they weren't aware of doing so. He really wants to clear this up.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 9:40 (Break) — Sunny

As Suzuki is getting ready for second period, Tani tells her that he asked Yamada and Taira to change his hair. Suzuki is surprised and asks if he was trying to change his style. Tani clarifies and says that they did get his hair wet, but it wasn't like they forced him to style his hair; he thought that it might be a good idea and told them so. Suzuki replies, "Oh, so that's what happened!" and the conversation ends there. Tani falls silent for a moment, mulling over how easy that went. Suzuki apparently didn't think the situation was as weird as he thought she did. Tani feels that it's probably fine since he cleared up the misunderstanding. Suzuki goes back to preparing for English class.

Tani feels that he should at least convey his thoughts in detail, so he starts another conversation, intending to lead with what had happened on Saturday, but he notices that Suzuki is frozen, staring at her textbook. He concludes again that her attention is elsewhere. Tani asks Suzuki what's wrong. Suzuki says that it's a first-year book and then falls dramatically to her desk, looking like she's about to cry. She exclaims that she really messed up now, even though she took all that time to prepare her books yesterday. Tani translates this as Suzuki accidentally packed a textbook from their first year of high school rather than the one they're using in this upcoming period.

Tani looks at the clock and suggests that she borrow one from another class as there's still time. Suzuki immediately revives and dashes off to get one, apologizing to Tani and saying that they'll take their time talking later. Tani watches her slow-running figure leave the classroom, then stares at her empty seat.

Azuma says that he seems to be getting cut off all the time today. Tani jolts, noticing her at his side. There seems to be a trace of a smile on her face. Tani asks if she's been watching this whole time. She says yes. Azuma then says that at least no one will bother them when they talk again later. She seems to be teasing him a bit, but Tani recalls Suzuki's parting words that Azuma's referencing and feels a bit happy that Suzuki's intending to take time to talk with him later. But he doesn't want Azuma to give him that sly grin again, so he doesn't show it on his face.

B-side: Doesn't Suzuki's makeup look really good today?

This is back to Suzuki's POV.

Hallway: 9:42 (Break) — Sunny

Suzuki is fast-walking down the hallway because running is forbidden. She actually couldn't focus on the social studies class they just had since she was thinking about Tani's hair. Even now, she's super curious what he means by the fact that he asked Yamada and Taira to style it. Suzuki really likes his hair today, though she also likes his normal look. She thinks Yamada and Taira did an incredible job. She's been feeling nervous at their eyes meeting more with his bangs out of the way.

In the hallway, Suzuki passes by a class that is coming back from P.E. She hears some girls talking about how the sweat messed up their makeup and starts worrying about whether hers will hold. Suzuki wants to look cuter for Tani today if he's going to see her more clearly. She heads to the girls bathroom.

Girls Bathroom: 9:45 (Break) — Sunny

Suzuki picks a relatively quiet bathroom near the library to use the mirrors. She notices that her eyebrows are uneven and that she still has some flyaways. She quickly fixes them. Suzuki starts wondering if Tani is interested in fashion more now because of their Saturday date. She briefly thinks about how there was a couple they passed by on Saturday that looked model-esque. Suzuki thinks of Tani on the same level. After all, she heard someone from the back of the classroom comment that he looks suave today. Though, changing up his bangs isn't what makes him handsome in Suzuki's eyes; there's also his symmetrical facial features, his low voice, his height and body, etc.

Suzuki starts daydreaming about what Tani would look like if he became more fashionable: swapping glasses for contacts, growing out his hair and tying it up, dyeing his hair pink and wearing matching accessories for a pair look with her...

She suddenly feels that it's gross of her to randomly imagine stuff about him like this. She quickly composes herself and feels grateful that no one comes by this particular bathroom. Just as she's thinking that, though, she hears a voice to her left. It's Nishi, speaking up timidly to move past Suzuki. She's backing away like Suzuki is a bear. Suzuki calls after her that she wasn't trying to commune with the mirror world. Nishi looks up at her. Suzuki then remembers...

Year 2, Class 8, Classroom: 9:48 (Break) — Sunny

Suzuki successfully borrows an English textbook from Nishi. She recounts what happened with her textbook, making Nishi laugh. Nishi shyly asks about Tani's new hair since she saw him in the hallway earlier. Suzuki says that Tani said he wanted to change how he looks. Nishi is surprised to hear this.

Suzuki heads out and catches a whiff of a really good scent. It's the beauty of Class 8, Honda, returning to the classroom. Much in the way that Suzuki thinks Sudaken is cool, she has the urge to squeal when she sees really cute girls.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 9:52 (Second Period) — Sunny

Suzuki makes it back just in time for second period. Nishi's textbook somehow looks pristine even after a year, and Suzuki is gingerly flipping pages in slow-motion in order not to damage it. Even the highlight marks are neat. Suzuki thinks about how different this is to her own textbook, which is worn at the edges from being stuffed in a bag and has writing and stickers all over it.

Suzuki feels Tani looking at her before looking down at his desk. She sneaks looks at him in return and realizes that he seems kind of out of it, like something's bothering him. The teacher calls on Tani, but has to say his name again to get his attention.

Year 2, Class 7, Classroom: 10:45 (Break) — Sunny

After English class, Suzuki invites Tani to talk at a staircase outside of the classroom so that they won't be interrupted again. She asks him awkwardly if something happened on their date. Tani finally gets to explain everything.

Suzuki mulls over where to start with her response. She actually heard everything that college-aged couple said, but she realizes she should begin with the heart of the matter and leave that detail for later. So the first thing she says is that fashion isn't for others; it's something to lift your own mood. She says that there's no point in dressing in a way that loses yourself. Tani still seems confused, so Suzuki explains that while she does put in effort for her makeup for their dates, the way she dresses isn't for Tani. Tani repeats this, thinking about it, and Suzuki scrambles to say that she means that in a good way. Tani says he thinks he understands what she means. Suzuki clarifies that it's to build a mood that she brings with her when she meets him — gear to carry her feelings. So she doesn't think that dressing up is something that Tani should be worrying about. For her, the most important thing is that she likes what she's wearing and it makes her feel proud and upbeat in front of the person she likes.

Suzuki can't tell whether Tani's getting it or not, so she continues to ramble even though she feels like her words are a bit of a mess. She says that she's of course thankful that Tani was thinking of matching what she liked and being considerate to her, but if it's something that makes him nervous or stressed, then being fashionable probably doesn't have any importance to Tani himself. Dressing up is something you do because you want to and because it helps you become who you want to be.

Suzuki thinks about how she's gotten negative comments from other people for the stuff she chooses to wear, but she feels worse if she doesn't wear what she wants more than she does hearing those comments. Meanwhile, Tani thinks over what she said and then says he thinks he gets it. But... he asks Suzuki if he looked nervous today. She says yes. Then, to avoid letting him know that she's been observing him all day, she changes the topic to the couple they saw.

That couple had actually been calling them cute. Suzuki had been really happy to hear that they looked like a couple to other people, but she was distracted by her family's text update on rain. Tani is super embarrassed that he misinterpreted what had happened, and Suzuki teases him.

Suzuki takes a bunch of photos of Tani with his current hairstyle, and then they take a selfie together before going back to the classroom. Third period is P.E., so they need to change. Tani stops Suzuki and shyly says that if Suzuki likes his hair that much, he'll try to remember how to style it this way, though it'll only be every once in a while. Suzuki is super happy about this. Tani might've liked the hairstyle more than she thought.

Looking at the photo they just took, she sees that Tani is smiling faintly. Suzuki suggests they go buy some hair wax on the way home and wonders what brand Taira uses. Then she notices that it's almost time for P.E. and gets even more excited.

"The skies are all clear! I'll finish this with a twist serve—!"

Personal Commentary

Why did they decide to make every character attractive? This honestly bothers me. I liked thinking of Tani and Nishi as average people, with Tani not being interested in dressing up and Nishi only doing it occasionally when she feels like it but otherwise defaulting to comfort. Something that I really thought was unique about Polar Opposites is how the characters would mention facets about each other's personalities when talking about what they liked about each other rather than physical appearance. In fact, the avoidance of mentioning physical appearance as a key factor felt pretty deliberate to me as a seasoned romance comic fan. Generally, the formula for one character asking what the other likes about them is: 1. mention physical qualities like being cute, handsome, hot; 2. then specific quirks like the way they hold their fork when they eat something and how cute that is; 3. and only then, round it out with a personal quality such as being kind to other people. Often you don't even get all three of these and it's 1+2 or 1+3 — but step number 1, talking about how beautiful they are etc., is virtually never skipped, to the point that its absence in both Polar Opposites and Ramparts of Ice struck me as unique. The fact that it's included in this book just really underscores that Agasawa is not the writer to me.

Craftwise, this book is also absurdly easy to read. I struggled more with Kuromajo-san ga Tooru!! than I did with this. Not a great sign when the characters are supposed to be in high school but the writing style is written for like 5th graders. Some of the things here feel extremely basic and boring, such as Suzuki randomly getting enamored with imagining styling Tani in a way that definitely runs counter to his personality and interests. Suzuki really comes across as way too simple in this book, which feels like a disservice to her.

Otherwise, though, I am glad for the easy Japanese practice. Whenever you come across a book that is written way below the level it should be at, just remind yourself that some second-language learner might be benefiting from it.

Translation Footnotes