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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 January 15, 2006 04:43 AM