This episode was amazing. We have what for many shows would be an entire season’s worth of drama, all stuffed into one episode. No one can accuse this show of not making progress. But it wasn’t rushed either.
The Invitation
One of the parts I liked best was seeing Kaoru admit to his own motivation:
He has no illusions that he isn’t doing this for entirely selfish reasons. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, since what he wants and what his friend wants happen to overlap. But it’s refreshing to see someone that’s so honest with himself.
I also loved how despite being such a tough guy, asking a girl out is completely beyond Sentarou. But Kaoru is quite skilled with the ladies.
Poor Kaoru. Ri-chan, of course, completely misinterprets this. It wasn’t clear to me if the girl that Sentarou likes saw through it or not.
Misunderstandings
Generally confusions like the many in this episode annoy me because they’re used so frequently and cause endless drama for no apparent reason. But this episode I was ok with, since they were mostly resolved. Kaoru’s “asking” the girl out was resolved by his confession (talk about guts!). Kaoru peeking in on Sentarou half naked will probably be resolved next episode when he remembers that the girl’s hobby is painting.
The resolution I liked best, however, was how Kaoru and Sentarou ended their fight over the handkerchief. Anime characters tend to hold long grudges and require some reason for making up. Here we have none of that. They just sit down, starting playing, laugh, and they’re best friends again. This is truer to life, from my experience. Whenever I get in fights, no one apologizes or anything. We just both forget about it by the next day.
Marriage
Sentarou, do you ever think about what you’re saying?
Look, you made Ri-chan cry, you bastard! She can’t have either of you now!
No, but seriously, I love how Kaoru’s plan actually succeeded and then he hates himself because of it. He loves her enough to want her to be happy, even if it means letting Sentarou have her. Plus he has the courage to confess to her even though he knows she likes Sentarou. I keep liking this guy more and more.
Is Ri-chan actually in love with Sentarou, though? I’m not entirely convinced that she is. Her crying might just be a “he’s growing up and leaving me” kind of thing. In addition, she didn’t seem too happy to hear that Kaoru invited the other girl along with them. Well, we’ll find out in the next episode!
Agreed that this was pretty amazing! I was happy, as well, that the confusion was resolved to swiftly.
I also wonder if social class will play a role. Mariko (new girl) looks like some ojou-sama to me. Kaoru, as well, at least lives in a rich household. Sentarou’s family, on the other hand, does not seem to be that well-off. Maybe that’s also a reason why he was so shy towards approaching Mariko? At least I couldn’t imagine him marrying her. I feel somewhat sorry for him.
Btw, the abundant use of computer-generated shading and gradients starts to bother me a bit. The art is nice but in some shots it looks too artificial for my taste (e.g. skin, hair and shirts in the first two pictures).
That’s an excellent point: social class could very well play a role. Another interesting factor might be the fact that Sentarou and Ri are Christians.
I still like the shading and gradients. I guess it’s just a matter of taste.
Even their accents are different, kaoru and that other girl both have clear accents whereas sentarou and ri-chan speak with a more rustic accent.
Yeah, was the other girl also from out of town? I feel like she might have been, which would explain it.
I have no idea where this show is going to go.. will it be a drama/romance for 11 eps or will it focus on the jazz like beck ?
Seems like it’s going to be both, although the focus at the moment is on the romance.
This was an incredible episode. I kept pausing it because I do that when the drama gets high, but I got through and I am glad I did because unlike other shows that drag drama over at least 2 or 3 episodes, the drama in this case was mostly resolved by the end.
As for Kaoru, he is truly great. His feelings for Ritsu are of the most genuine kind and his quick wit and decisiveness make him an absolute delight to watch!
Yeah, this show didn’t suffer from dragging things at all. It had a perfect pacing. I love Kaoru as well, he’s definitely a character you can empathize with.