Anime has a way of taking anything in the universe and making it seem like the hypest shit of all time. Regular TV and movies do this too, just look at the vast majority of romance productions. That girl somehow ALWAYS falls for that country boy with a small wallet but a big heart. I think anime can skew the line a bit more between reality and fiction though, especially when a series is beautifully drawn and animated. I can’t count the amount of time I’ve seen characters having a blast in high school and thought “wow I wish I could go back, I wasted my high school career” when in reality high school just sucks dick in real life. But one thing I never thought I’d be questioning is third wheeling. 

Uzaki-chan Wants To Hang Out was an anime that aired this season about the most annoying (yet somehow charming at times) girl of all time trying to hang out with her college friend and get close to him. It’s clear that she likes him and he starts to like her back a bit over the course of the series, but they never formally get together or anything. However, the dude’s coworker and her dad are obsessed with keeping tabs on the relationship and seeing how it develops. The coworker wants to be an absolute observer where she gets to hang around them and watch the relationship blossom. Obviously this was done through a comedic lens, but dammit I still had the thought “man, I bet hanging out with my friends and their girlfriends and watching how they interact would be interesting”. And then I immediately checked myself.

Sounds good, doesn't work.

All of my friends happen to be complete virgins so I’ve never actually been the third wheel in person, however I have hung out with people who are closer even on a friendship level and that can turn out to be sucky fast. Even when it’s two best friends and you hanging out, there’s bound to be moments where it’s made apparent that you’re not on their level of closeness. Not intentionally mind you, at least most people won’t say shit like “damn, sucks to not be friends like us two huh?”. Instead it’s the small shit. The references they say that you don’t get. The interests they talk about that you just kinda fall silent for cause you don’t want to interrupt and plus you have nothing to add about sportsball anyway. The way they can bounce off of each other’s jokes while you’re still trying to analyze what they consider funny and what jokes you should make. I’ve only been in this situation a few times but rest assured I can report that it sucks dick. If third wheeling is anything like that, I don’t care how much anime romanticizes it. My ass is saying “sorry you two fuckbirds, I’m busy today” and staying home.

But I mean shit, if the mom is coming along too... maybe I could come.

Maybe one day if any of these bitches can get a girlfriend (I’d say “or boyfriend” too but I’m a doujin blog writer, I don’t have female friends) I can try out the legitimate third wheel experience and give a definitive answer once and for all. For now I can only relate to similar experiences, and they were not great. Have you been a third wheel before? Is it fun watching the couple? Is it a nightmare? Hop on your tricycle and leave a comment below!