The following contains spoilers for Tomodachi Game Episode 3, "There's No Way I'd Believe That," now streaming on Crunchyroll, as well as discussion of sexual assault.
In any relationship, whether it be a friendship or romance, true connection can only be fostered by basing everything on trust. Episode 3 of Tomodachi Game shows exactly how that confidence can be weaponized in the hands of a toxic counterpart.
As Yuuichi and the group continue the competition with their futures, finances and friends on the line, a malicious agent is presented. Determined to assert control over one of the others, this renegade will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it means uncovering all of their so-called friends' most shocking secrets.
Picking up in the middle of the Bad Mouth Board Game, Kokorogi's faith in her companions is crushed when the most traumatizing time in her life is brought to light. It turns out that before she met the others, Kokorogi was the subject of intense bullying. In order to stave off her aggressors, she paid them off with bribes. However, once she was unable to adequately fund this strategy, she turned to going on dates with an older man in exchange for money.
It was during this time that Kokorogi became the victim of sexual assault, being molested by the man who was paying for her company. Though she was able to distance herself from that horrifying occurrence, she confided in Sawaragi years later after the latter saved her from some thugs who had been trying to accost her. As Sawaragi was the only one whom Kokorogi had told, she assumed that Sawaragi had betrayed her once it was revealed in the game.
As a fight breaks out between everyone, Yuuichi comforts Kokorogi while Tenji takes Sawaragi aside, leaving Shibe detached from the rest. However, as the hidden judges hypothesize who might be privy to the knowledge necessary to incriminate everybody thus far, the audience is given specific insight into the mind of Tenji. Without saying a word about it to the others, Tenji's internal monologue shows that he is not just the one who stole the class's money -- the inciting incident behind the entire setup -- but also that he is the belligerent entity disparaging the others with their secrets.
The reasoning behind his actions is based on his role as Sawaragi's ex-boyfriend, a fact Tomodachi Game revealed in Episode 2. Tenji had been feigning friendship with the others but was in fact biding his time for a chance to destroy their camaraderie, leaving Sawaragi vulnerable in the process. While it is unclear whether he was the one who started the Tomodachi Game or not, its structure provided him with the perfect opportunity to ostracize her from the others, utilizing information he gained by stalking her.
This latest development in Tenji's person firmly places him in the role of a yandere, a character defined by their deep fixation and possessiveness over another person and one of anime's most feared archetypes. Though the cliché yandere is usually a woman or girl driven to violence or murder by their jealousy, such depictions are based on harmful stereotypes that perpetuate sexist ideas surrounding intense emotion. On the other hand, Tomodachi Game's use of the trope in Tenji resembles real-world cases of abuse, shining a light on an actual problem among couples.
Tenji's goal to isolate Sawaragi from her friends is a tactic used by many real-life abusers to make their targets rely on them and build dependency. Because he had eavesdropped on their personal conversation, he was able to use the game to turn Kokorogi against Sawaragi. Likewise, he used Yuuichi's concern for his friends to distract Kokorogi, while villainizing Shibe for his nonchalant attitude toward the gravity of the situation.
All of this left Sawaragi with only Tenji to turn to in the middle of the Tomodachi Game, the most dire situation of her life thus far. Despite Sawaragi truly trusting him as someone she holds dear, he shows little regard for her privacy or personal relationships, treating her as his own property. These factors make Tenji a truly pernicious villain -- not because of any exaggerated insinuation that he might be a murderer, but because his obsession mirrors that of domestic manipulation.
Still, though any amount of disdain toward Tenji is fully warranted at this point, he has still not been confirmed as the initiator behind the Tomodachi Game. No matter what fallout may occur between the friends when his machinations are laid bare, the anime still seems to be holding back some of its biggest secrets. As horrible as Tenji's actions are, he may just be an opening act for another monster hiding among them.