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December 14, 2005
ToHeart 2 Episode 2 (review) - "Old Friend"
I decided to give the second episode of this series a try, in spite of my misgivings from the first episode. I'm just not sure what audience this is intended for, but the writing quality seemed good in the first episode, so I couldn't help but think it deserved another chance.
Summary:
To Heart 2 - Old Friend
Taka (short of Takaaki, since I'm sure I'm butchering that) is over at a friend (Yuuji)'s because its raining; at least that's what Yuuji leads us to believe. At the sound of a seemingly innoculous bell, Yuuji seems to get nervous and says he has chores to do, but insists
that Taka not try to go home in the rain.
In the hallway, Yuuji passes a redhaired girl who had the bell. She comes in, looking at Taka oddly and offers him a hot drink. She seems oddly familiar to Takaaki, but he can't recall from where or even her name. She seems to be convinced he will remember, not filling in any details. Taka stammers his way through the conversation. After a bit, she asks him if he's hungry, but as he insists he is not, his stomach gives him away. She leaves, amused at his efforts to remember
As she is preparing food, we learn that her name is Tamaki (Aneki), and as she cooks, we get a little background on her. She's a student who finished her most recent 3 year course at the girls' school in 2 years. She's been at girls' school for 7-8 years in total, and is a member of the Kosaka family.
As she tastes the food, she hears a noise and goes to check on Taka. As she listens at the door, she hears Yuuji trying to get Taka to hide, and she cryptically smiles and says "As expected". Coming in, she discovers them hiding and Taka has apparently remembered who she is.
From there, we get a flashback - they apparently knew each other as children, and she obviously had some sort of attachment to him. As we return to the present, she tries to hug him and he tries to get away. Just then Konomi arrives. As Taka tries to convince her to help get Tama off him, she recognizes Tama and jumps on top of the dogpile, then they go to eat.
The next day, Taka is awoken in his bed by... Tama! She tells him he shouldn't leave the keys in the same place as when they were kids She seems to know all his little peccadillos, and she tells him they're going shopping. Taka protests, but he really has nothing better to do. At some point, they meet up with Konomi and Yuuji. Tama says she'll buy both Konomi and Taka whatever they want as a
gift, but Taka doesn't know. As they walk by a lingerie store, Tama suggests that since Konomi is a high school student, she'll have to wear some nice underwear. Konomi is embarrassed, but Tama insists. Tama asks Taka for his opinion on what Konomi should get. As Taka evades questioning, Tama shows Konomi some sheer clothing. When Konomi gets embarrassed again, Tama asks Taka if it looks good on her instead. Tama evades again, and as they leave the store, Yuuji observes "Taka is so confused right now."
Another day comes and goes, and one morning, Tama can't find Yuuji. While out, she runs into Konomi, and says that Yuuji is missing but its no big deal since they have Taka around. They ring his doorbell, but no one is answering. Just then, they hear a muffled shout. Around the side, Yuuji and Taka are sneaking out, but they are discovered. They run, but Tama says she enjoys the challenge of chasing them down. Konomi can't keep up, so Tama says to wait, she'll be back.
No matter where they go, Tama is faster. She knows all their old hiding spots, and when she arrives at an old temple, she has a flashback to a similar situation at the same place when they were kids. Of course, their hiding spot is the same as back then, and Tama catches Taka. As they leave, we find out Tama is a third year. She comments to him how girls always grow up faster than boys. Apparently, when they were children, she tried to make a pinky promise with him so that he'd wait for her in 8 years when she came back (I'm not entirely clear what type of school this is, but I'll go with it for now). Tama says the promise has been fulfilled, since they're both here.
Konomi has caught Yuuji in the meantime, and the four head out on the town. We flash to the first day of school, where three are waiting on Tama. That's where Yuuji seems nervous when they say she's at girl's school... apparently, she's actually transferring to THEIR school.
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Unlike the first, this second episode helped me to feel better about the series in general. It's fairly obvious that the plot for this must have been taken from some sort of dating sim or the like, but at least they're not glossing over the personalities of the characters so far.
I'm still somewhat disturbed by how young Konomi seems, but I guess its okay for a first year high school student. It just seems off when you consider that Tama is only suppossed to be two years older than Konomi, yet she seems much older.
In the end, I've decided to give this series more of a chance, and see if it can stay out of the dating sim trap. I'm still skeptical, but the characters are proving interesting enough in general to stick around for another episode. I really do need to move away from some of these dating animes and move to something else. A dramatic space feature or something would do the job nicely.
Other than that, there's not much else to say... again, nothing untoward happens, you pervs.
Posted by Drylnn at 03:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
Suzuka Episode 20 (review) - "Support"
A Miki-centered ep - has a good character ever been so underused of late?
Summary:
Yamato missed Honoka in all the small things that happen during the day. He tells Yasu about the breakup at lunch and also tells him that his (Yasu's) thoughts were exactly right. Yasu tries to tell him that these things are not all one person's fault, but Yamato insists that he is to blame. At this point, Miki comes over and tries to find out what's going on. As Yasu and Miki banter back and forth, Yamato leaves in sad silence. Not knowing what is going on, Miki goes to practice.
At practice, Honoka hasn't shown up to do her manager duties, and Yamato reveals that they broke up. Now everyone, including Miki, knows why Yamatois so miserable. Miki comments on this to Suzuka and gives comments of pity, but Suzuka is as cold as ice, telling her that Yamato has gotten just as he deserves. While this is going on, Honoka is meeting with Nana, who points out that Honoka is making a lot of assumptions - that Yamato never said he still liked Suzuka and in the end, it might have been Honoka's lack of self-confidence that contributed as much to the breakup. Surprisingly, Honoka does agree, but isn't sure what to do about it.
At practice the next day, Honoka shows up to everyone's surprise. Honoka seems to have decided she must gain her own self-confidence and maybe then she'll be able to date Yamato. As Yamato is picked to be on the relay team, she decides to cheer him on (Kobayakawa also has some amusing scenes where he wants to be cheered on too... he really does like Honoka). Miki tells Suzuka that Yamato got picked for the team and that she's happy for him, but Suzuka coldly responds that she doesn't care - she can't care about a guy who broke up with Honoka because he thought she wasn't worth the bother. Miki is stunned that Yamato could be so shallow.
After practice, Yamato gets ready to leave, only to be surprised by a waiting Miki. She wants the answer from him - did he breakup with Honoka because he thought she was a bother. Yamato knows immediately that she must have talked to Suzuka, and tries to repeat the same lie to Miki, but Miki doesn't buy it. She says that he wouldn't be so sad if that was the case, nor would Honoka have come to practice. Yamato then tells her the true story: he didn't want Suzuka to feel as though it was her fault. When Miki asks why he did that, he replies that he couldn't exactly tell her that she *was* in part the reason for the breakup. Miki seems to understand, and to help lift Yamato's spirits, she invites him out to eat. After a comical session with a local delicacy, they walk home. Yamato tries to say that maybe he should quit the track team because he's being such a bother to those who have been on the team a while, but Miki tells him that while that was probably annoying to the members at first, they also expect that he'll do something amazing each time he runs, and that's why he shouldn't quit. In the end, Yamato decides not to quit and they both walk off to get dessert.
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Another excellent episode, setting up the seeds for what is to follow. It's fairly easy to guess that Suzuka will start having feelings for Yamato at some point, but remember what a "jerk" he was, only to have Miki tell her that Yamato was trying to protect her feelings by putting on an act. The real question is the setup for this, because it has to happen pretty quickly.
I'm not sure why Honoka is still pining for Yamato and thinking about confessing in the future. They don't seem to have a lot of places to go with that one in this series anymore.
Yamato proves once again that he's not a shallow character. He openly acknowledges all his faults in this episode - he ignored good advice from people, he was a jerk in general, and he knows he has done wrong. Yamato is finally grown up as a character - he knows he is not a perfect person, he knows how to deal with people now, and he has really come far from where he was early on in the series. From now on, it's likely that the focus will center more on Suzuka, who needs to learn to do much of the same.
It's also interesting that Yamato never answered Miki's question about still being in love with Suzuka. It's obvious to everyone, including Miki, but you could almost get the impression that Miki might be interested in Yamato.... almost, but in the end, she seems to be the caring friend who wants to help both her friends out.
The music is set... now let's see if the characters can dance.
Posted by Drylnn at 03:11 AM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2005
Suzuka Episode 19 (review) - "Breakup"
Summary:
At lunch, Yamato tells Yasu what happened with the present. Yasu points out that Honoka must have been upset at him shopping with Suzuka, but kept quiet and tried to keep a smile on her face as long as possible, but in the end couldn't ignore him going out with his "ex". Yamato comments that Suzuka isn't his "ex", but Yasu says that to Honoka, it's essentially the same thing. He calls Yamato selfish and tells him that he should apologize. However, Yamato gets mad and yells back that none of Yasu's advice has worked so far and he'll fix his problems on his own. As he leaves, Yasu tells him that he'll end up apologizing anyways.
So of course, Yamato goes to practice and tries to apologize (way to do things on your own there, champ!). Honoka refuses to listen to him and says she doesn't want to talk to them. Suzuka notices Yamato's sad mood and begins to worry. After practice, Yamato arrives home to notice Suzuka waiting for him. She seems worried and asks Yamato if he and Honoka made up. When he says no, she says that she is sorry for causing the problem by shopping with him, but Yamato says it isn't her fault: he asked her to go, so the blame is on him. Suzuka urges him to keep trying to talk to Honoka, by phone or whatever, and things will work out, or at least "should".
Yamato tries to call Honoka several times, but her line is busy - as it turns out, she is talking to Nana. Nana is trying to calm her down, but Honoka comments that she knows that Yamato still likes Suzuka. In the end, Yamato decides to go to Honoka's house to talk to her. When she answers the door, he tries to give her the present again and she rejects it. Yamato starts to get upset and wants to know what's wrong - that he needs an answer because he doesn't understand. Finally Honoka yells at him that she can't accept a present that Suzuka and he picked out so happily and asks him why he couldn't have got ANYONE else to go with him. She also tells him that he asked Suzuka because he wanted to be out with her. Yamato responds angrily, but Honoka starts to run off. Yamato gives chase and catches up easily (I would hope so, he's a sprinter after all!) After Honoka cools off a bit, she says that this situation will happen again and again, and says they need to breakup. When Yamato easily goes along with this, Honoka angrily asks why he bothered to date her when he didn't love her. Yamato replies that he thought he did; that he liked when they did stuff together, from walking to school to eating. He also points out that he wasn't thinking of Suzuka all the time and he doesn't want Honoka to misunderstand. Honoka cools off a bit, thinks about this, and asks for the present back. She says she'll keep it as a rememberance that they did fall in love for a bit. Honoka then kisses him and leaves him.
When Yamato gets back, his cousin asks if Honoka liked his gift. Yamato says "yes" in a despondant way, then goes to his room without eating dinner. His cousin is worried, but his aunt says she should just let him be. In Yamato's room, Yuka and Megumi are drinking. They notice his bad mood and ask what went wrong. Yamato tells them that Honoka and he broke up. Yuka ridicules him for doing so, but later comments that it was probably a good idea. Suzuka also overhears the conversation. After Yuka and Megumi leave, she comes over to talk to Yamato. She starts to blame herself when Yamato has no answers, but Yamato, seeing Suzuka blaming herself, tries to alleviate her guilt by acting like he broke it off because Honoka was bothersome and saying he's relieved to be rid of her (he doesn't intend to be so nasty, he's just trying to make Suzuka not think it was her fault). Suzuka, thinking he's serious, calls him a jerk (more or less) and goes to her room, angry that she could care about such a guy. Meanwhile, Yamato ponders what happened in misery.
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We knew it was coming to move the plot along, and in the end, it didn't go exactly as expected.
I could discuss the breakup over and over, but it was the sum of many different pieces at play. Honoka could not resolve her self-confidence issues, Yamato could never truly love her. Between those two major flaws in the relationship, there was no chance for either of them.
I think the most important part of this episode stands at the end. Time and time again, the series has shown Yamato to be a little too carefree in expressing love and his feelings, and at times, we as the audience feel little sympathy for him. On occasion though, he shows what a glimmer of the person he truly is. We've seen it before - when Yamato took on Arima and made Arima's scorn focus solely on himself rather than Suzuka. We've seen it at other times. It's important to understand this feature of Yamato because it defines his character as much as his depth of feeling and shows how he is growing.
Near the end, Suzuka is all too willing to blame herself for what has happened between Yamato and Honoka. For Suzuka, who is trying (unconsciously) to learn to deal with people after the death of Tsuda and her unrealized feelings, a setback at this stage could be costly: it could knock her back into a shell, unable to cope with having caused someone she cares for such pain. Somehow, Yamato sees this and knows this, and because of that, he takes the onus of blame on his shoulders, by acting like a jerk. The problem is that he doesn't realize he's gone a little overboard, which costs him points in Suzuka's eyes. She really did see a better person, and his acting like a jerk clashes with the view she had of him.
The question will be how Yamato overcomes Suzuka's now broken view of him. He's truly not the jerk she thinks based on his act, but he can't exactly tell her that now. That's where much of the rest of the conflict in "Suzuka" will probably come from - can they get past their problems to realize a relationship, or is it too much for Suzuka to get through.
I look forward to the answer.
Posted by Drylnn at 02:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
Suzuka Episode 18 (review) - "Present"
Another long hiatus from classes and such means I can get up to date on my reviews. Suzuka has been keeping my interest, and it looks like we get to make some progress.
Summary:
Yamato is thinking about the comments that Nana made and his own revelations about how he has been acting towards Honoka. In the end, he intends to put the bit of information that Nana gave him to good use: he's going to get Honoka a present for her upcoming birthday.
On the way to school the next day, Honoka asks Yamato if they can go out on Saturday (tomorrow), but since he has to buy the present, he claims he already planned to go out with Yasu. Later on, he tries to get advice on a present from a variety of characters: Yasu recommends roses, Miho-chan says a teddy bear, Yuka suggests an expensive necklace, and Yamato's aunt suggests just getting what he thinks is right in his heart so long as he puts effort into it. Yamato can't decide, so he decides to read through a girl's fashion magazine to get ideas. Of course, Suzuka sees this and comments on his weird perversions. Yamato explains what he is doing and asks her for help picking a present. After a moment of silence from her, he goes to leave, when she agrees to meet him at Shinjuku to do so. Meanwhile, Honoka is upset, because she thinks Yamato will forget her birthday.
The next day, Honoka is out and runs into Yuka and Megumi, who accidently let the secret slip about Yamato looking for a gift for her. Trying to cover up, Yuka asks her to pretend to be surprised. Honoka is really happy and goes to buy food to make a nice meal for Yamato. Meanwhile, Suzuka and Yamato begin the arduous task of picking out something for Honoka, with Suzuka presenting many options and Yamato not knowing what to pick. As they continue, Suzuka is more and more uncomfortable with the situation, so she is about to go home as she reminds Yamato to think about who he is buying this for. Just then, Yamato notices the ticket lady (the Fantasy Land one) has a stand of necklaces for sale near them (actually, it's more that the ticket lady notices them). After a brief look, he finds something he likes and asks Suzuka to model it. He likes it and makes the purchase. As Suzuka and Yamato get ready to each head home, they don't see that Honoka is doing her shopping in the area - she notices the two smiling and having fun and is upset by this.
On the next day (the birthday), Yamato is going to give the necklace to Honoka. Suzuka mentions that he shouldn't mention them shopping for it together, and after Yamato expresses a lack of confidence, Suzuka urges him to keep in mind that he picked it out and thought it was good.
Yamato heads to Honoka's and goes to give her the present. Honoka is very happy that he has remembered her birthday, then reveals she knew about him looking for a present (via Yuka/Megumi), and says that she wants to be honest with him. Yamato remembers that he told her he'd be out with Yasu and is uneasy. He is about to confess when she says that she also knows he went shopping with Suzuka and that she doesn't mind. Yamato is so relieved, he starts talking about the trip and tells a happy story of the shopping. As he does so, Honoka grows upset at this, until she finally stops his banter and gifts him back the gift, saying she can't accept it = then she closes the door on him.
Dejected, Yamato eventually heads back to his home. When he arrives, Suzuka is waiting to hear how it went. Yamato tells her that Honoka rejected the gift, and when she asks why, he says it was because he talked about the trip. As she gets mad at him for doing so, he points out that Honoka already knew they were out shopping together. Suzuka still gets mad and stomps off to her room. Each of the three (Suzuka, Yamato, and Honoka) are shown wallowing in their own misery, contemplating their own thoughts alone.
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Well, this looks to be the beginning of the end of Honoka and Yamato. For once in a Suzuka episode, I can't even really blame Yamato. Sure, he could have been more honest on who he was out with, and sure, in his relief, he talked a bit too much. Honoka though has serious trust and self-confidence issues, and no matter how at fault Yamato is, its those issues of Honoka's that are the problem. The worst Yamato is guilty of is a divided heart - he wants to do the right thing for Honoka, but he didn't know how, and in the end, he turned to the one person that Honoka could not understand him needing help from.
Yet, for all that being said, I can't really blame Honoka either. She doesn't know what Yamato is thinking and feeling, and from her perspective, he could be in love with Suzuka.
In the end, Yamato would have been better off taking Yasu's advice and getting the roses. His attempt at goodwill in a gift has gone seriously awry, and I doubt that the relationship will ever recover. Still, one wonders how Honoka will ever learn to trust enough to have a serious relationship: far too many people in the world have a first love, or at least have had more than one "love" in their early life. Undoubtably, there's going to be some remnants of Yamato's feelings for Suzuka, but in the end, Honoka has to win this battle on her own merits, unless she is willing to settle for being second prize because Yamato couldn't win Suzuka's heart.
Next episode looks like the second half of the Honoka/Yamato fallout. Hopefully, if its not meant to be, they can each learn to understand why.
Posted by Drylnn at 02:06 AM | Comments (0)