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January 15, 2006

ToHeart 2 Episode 4 (review) - "Bicycle"

This episode is a bit difficult to explain because I lost some of the meaning of the sequences with Yuma's grandfather, but I'll do my best.

Summary:

We start out with Yuma (from last ep) on bike trying to get to school on time. She speed through the gate and runs smack into Taka and company, running down Taka. Later that day at Gym, she is talking to Komaki about which classes she will take. While thinking, they fail to notice a baseball coming at them. The ball hits the faucet that Yuma is using, breaking it and spraying her down. Apparently, the person who hit the ball was Taka, and Yuma suspects a conspiracy - that Taka is targeting her.

Later, Yuma sees Taka and accosts him, telling him that she doesn't know why he is challenging her, but he should stop it. He's confused, as he hasn't challenged her. She accuses him of being with the CIA in plotting to get her. Komaki tells him who Yuma is (her friend from back in middle school). As Yuma leaves, we find out her grandfather is actually a rich person, dictating a pile of financial classes that she will take, somethign she is not happy about.

The next day at lunch, Taka is playing a game with the lunch tray, tossing it down the conveyor belt, when Yuma walks up to "accept his challenge". She throws a similar throw, and he says he is impressed. When he isn't annoyed, she is confused, and then irritated, not understanding his laid back reaction.

While having tea with Komaki, Yuma says that Taka is challenging her. Later, we see her being tutored on financial matters by a private tutor. It seems her brain is being crammed with information to succeed her grandfather. While doing so, she wonders if she has wronged Taka.

The next day, she walks into Taka's class and invites him (in her own brusque manner) to a movie, saying its because she owes him from yesterday. The movie is a thriller, and she is annoyed that he isn't getting scared like she is. As she gets frightened in one part, she grabs onto him, but immediately accuses him of taking advantage of her, then begins to yell at him when he says he should be saying that. Later in a discussion, she admits she doesn't know why she's so irritated by him. Taka notices her grandfather's car come to pick her up. When he points it out, she yells that she is going to succeed her grandfater and storms off to the car.

A few days later, Komaki tells Taka that something is obviously bothering Yuma, but that when she talks to Taka, she seems to cheer up. She asks Taka for a favor. As Yuma leaves at the end of the day, she sees Taka. He challenges her to air hockey. The game is furious. At first, Taka is winning handily. As they play, she tells him what is making her so upset, namely the set plan of her grandfather's to make her take over. He points out that her grandfather wouldn't want her to suffer and that maybe she should talk to him, or at least enjoy herself more. Afterwards, she gets back in the car, and he encourages her to not get so down, but she says that he shouldn't have such confidence, because she'll beat him sometime. As her grandfather drives off, she puts the window down (something new!) and smiles.

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Surprise! A forceful girl! I will say this: Yuma exceeded my expectations as a character. She wasn't entirely predictable.

Now, while she wasn't predictable, her backstory seemed a bit ludicrous. I can't imagine a parent of a rich company putting that kind of pressure on a high school sophomore.

That said, Taka and Yuma had great flow. We didn't quite resolve all of Yuma's issues, so I suspect she has another focus episode sometime this season.

One interesting point - it seems like Yuma's conversation with Komaki was the same as the one in Komaki's episode, just from a different perspective. But the conversation was slightly different, so I'm not sure if it was suppossed to be the same conversation, badly phrased, or if I missed the point.

Next episode, new girl. I know you're all shocked. Shy girl?


Posted by Drylnn at 04:43 AM | Comments (0)

ToHeart 2 Episode 3 (review) - "The Small Tea Club"

I'm going to keep going with this series - it keeps improving even though it seems like a dating sim video game (which I think it is).

Summary:

Manaka Komaki, the class representative, is helping people out to find their classes for the entrance ceremony when Taka and Yuuji offer to help out, pointing out what a great class rep she is. We have a flashback where we see her elected (against her will). She shoos them off to class, but as they leave, seems unhappy. Later, we see her performing her duties in class. Yuuji and Taka end up helping her collect surveys from other classes. As they do so, they learn about the school's plan to set up a student library, including bar codes and such, a task which is Komaki's responsibility. They offer to help out, but Yuuji remembers he has to help his sister
with shopping, so he leaves Taka with Komaki.

The two spend time organizing and getting things in order. As they do so, Komaki seems to get nervous. Taka asks her if she has difficulty around guys. She says this is so, and asks how he could tell. He replies he has the same problem around girls. She says they should take a break and she can show him her special spot.

It turns out her special spot is a tea kitchen in the back. She makes tea for the two of them. As they drink, they share stories about why they're "bad" at talking to the opposite gender. At the end of the day, Komaki is locking up the archive. As she does so, one of the male librarians/archive club members tells her that the staff has a problem with her having people help her in the archive, and that they have a problem even with her having a key to the archive. He tells her to bring her key to the meeting next week. As he walks off, she is obviously upset by this.

At lunch, Komaki is talking to Yuma (a purple haired girl who is her friend... we saw her before we saw the episode opening credits). When Yuma mentions that she feels bad for not being able to help out, Komaki mentions that Taka has been helping out. This upsets Yuma for some reason. When she tells Yuma about the librarian's ominous message, Yuma tells Komaki that she needs to have more fun. Later she runs into Taka, who again volunteers to help her. While talking on the way to the archive, they meet male librarian again, who reminds her. As he leaves, Taka offers advice that she should have more fun (which is similar to some advice Yuma gave her).

At the meeting, the male librarian forces two freshmen to work on it rather than Komaki. It becomes clear this is the male librarian's agenda, and that the club is disgruntled. As the male librarian asks her how much work has been done, she thinks back on the advice she was given, and speaks up for herself, saying she knows the work best and she enjoys doing it. The club applauds her initiative, while the male librarian grouses. At that moment, Taka shows up, saying he is here to help. The club of course overrides the one
librarian because Komaki really does know the workload best.

Later, Taka gets the story on what happened as Komaki serves him tea and snacks. She wonders if she did right, and he says she did, that she's having fun and helping do what she wants to do. As she thinks on that, she spills her tea on her foot. Taka runs over to check on her injury, taking of her shoe and sock to keep her from being scalded. As he tends to her foot, she admits that she thinks she's gotten over her aversion to boys. He then asks her out on Sunday to go star gazing with him and his friends. She agrees with a smile.

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By now, it's apparent the episode format is going to be to introduce each girl for a while (until we run out of girls that is). This week is Manaka Komaki's episode. What's interesting so far is that it seems like we keep alternating shy and forceful personalities - the first week, we had Konomi, a shy girl, the next week it was Tama, a more forceful individual. I wonder if the girls can all be broken down that way. Komaki obviously fits into the shy girl category, one who only learns to speak up for herself near the end of the episode.

It's hard to envision these people being in high school, but apparently, I have to accept it. Komaki has some interesting hair... looks like mine when I sleep on one side the whole night and wake up with morning hair. Somehow, it looks better on her though.

I'd have to say I like Komaki's character, but she doesn't stand out from the first two girls. That isn't a good sign for a show that is ostensibly going to have each girl stand out in some way. We need different personality traits, and I'm not sure how different Komaki is from Konomi, other than in their personal histories.

I'm thinking Yuma will be introduced in the next episode. Hmmm... forceful girl? (hint - she is)

Posted by Drylnn at 04:31 AM | Comments (0)

Miscellaneous Anime Thoughts

Since I've been so behind and I'm moving into the new schedule, here's some leftover thoughts.

Posted by Drylnn at 02:54 AM | Comments (0)