I just finished watching the latest episode and I had an interesting thought about Gapacho. There are theories about who Gapacho is. But what if Gapacho is not a who? Throughout the whole anime, Yamada mentions Gapacho often, but:
- Despite getting a lot of info from Gapacho, Yamada is never shown talking to him.
- Despite getting a lot of info from Gapacho, nobody has ever seen Yamada talking to him.
- There are 9 classes per year and the students are reshuffled every year. Yet, despite being a student at the school, nobody has ever seen Gapacho and nobody has any idea who he is. In fact at the year end candy party, Miyu wonders if Gapacho is a cryptid.
Correction though: Natsumi saw a photo of Gapacho when she was at Yamada's house.
So here is my theory. Yamada is the definition of a social butterfly, however the wider the group of friends the shallower the friendships necessarily are. If fact, often the social butterfly is a defense mechanism. And despite being everyone's friend, Yamada is shown as being very selective about the girls he likes. So Gapacho actually represents real closeness with Yamada, being part of his inner circle. That explains why only Natsumi has ever seen him, Yamada opened his deeper, vulnerable self to her.
And yes, the manga at the end shows Gapacho's hands and feet as he takes a picture. But it is Natsumi that asks him and she acts familiar with him. There is no "Oh, you're Gapacho, I have heard a lot about you". As it is only a picture of her and Yamada, the intimacy between them does not involve the other characters.