Ep 18. Saruyama's Gift

Saruyama's Gift is the eighteenth episode of the first season of To Love-Ru, a romantic comedy anime. In this episode, Saruyama, a male classmate of the protagonist Rito, decides to give Haruna, Rito's crush and classmate, a birthday present. Saruyama has a crush on Haruna but knows that Rito is also interested in her. He hopes that the gift will make Haruna happy and make her notice him instead of Rito.

Saruyama spends a lot of time selecting the perfect gift for Haruna. He finally settles on a heart-shaped locket that he thinks will look great on her. Saruyama then asks the other members of their group, including Rito, to help him plan a surprise party for Haruna's birthday. They all agree to help him, but Rito is still unsure if he should confess his feelings to Haruna or not.

On the day of Haruna's birthday, everyone gathers at the park to surprise her. Saruyama presents his gift to Haruna, who is delighted with it. However, Rito also has a present for Haruna which surprises everyone. He gives her a book that he thinks she will enjoy reading. Haruna thanks Rito and looks at him fondly, but it's not clear whether she reciprocates his feelings or not.

The group then proceeds to have a fun day at the park, playing games and eating cake. However, Saruyama's jealousy starts to show when he sees Rito and Haruna talking and having fun together. He feels like Haruna is still more interested in Rito than him, despite his efforts to make her notice him.

As the day comes to a close, everyone starts to leave the park. Rito stays behind to pick up the trash and accidentally finds a stray dog. He tries to catch the dog and ends up getting lost in the park. Haruna, worried about Rito, goes back to look for him. She finds him with the dog and they both start to walk back to the group. However, they get lost again and end up spending the night in the park.

Meanwhile, Saruyama is still envious of Rito and thinks that he has stolen Haruna from him. He goes to Haruna's house to confront her about it, but she is not home. He then sees Rito's present to Haruna and discovers that it's a romance novel. Saruyama gets even more jealous and decides to confront Rito about it.

The next morning, Haruna and Rito finally make it back to the group. Saruyama confronts Rito about the book and the two end up getting into a fight. However, Haruna intervenes and stops the fight. She tells both of them that she is grateful for their friendship and that she values both of them as important people in her life.

The episode ends with Haruna walking home, holding the heart-shaped locket that Saruyama gave her. She thinks about Rito and wonders if he has feelings for her. The scene then transitions to Rito, who is also thinking about Haruna and wondering if he should confess his feelings to her.

Overall, Saruyama's Gift is a heartwarming episode that explores the theme of jealousy in a lighthearted way. The episode does a good job of developing the characters and their relationships with each other. It also sets up the potential for future romantic developments between Rito and Haruna. Fans of the series will enjoy this episode for its fun and romantic moments.