Sukitte Ii na yo – 02
On this episode, stalkers and a shower of kisses in shady places
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After last week’s fateful kiss what could be in store this time around? I’m excited by this series because of the great acting by the seiyuu and a cast that seems like a lot of fun. I know this will be a ton of fun to watch. |
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Hello my fellow shoujo lovers! Looks like Sushi baa-chan and I are going to form the shoujo-blogging duo of the season so let’s look forward to more rabu rabu adventures 8) Moving on, lots of happening in this episode of Sukitte! |
Growing Friendships
*miyu// If Mei and Asami were to have a label placed on them, they’d probably be the Misunderstood Outcasts. Both of them have vastly different personalities, and it’s actually their own weaknesses and insecurities that are bringing them together – Asami’s helping to boost Mei’s self-confidence, while Mei is helping Asami to better face her fears/insecurities. Having matching handphone straps is kind of like announcing to the world that their friendship has leveled up hehe. As teenage girlfriends, having matching THINGS is cool in general and it’s proof that they’re officially friends now, which is really adorable. 8D How Mei’s gave excellent advice to Nakanishi even though she doesn’t really have any experience in friendship herself shows that she’s growing too, and that she’s slowly beginning to trust others. She stood up for Asami even despite the childhood memories of betrayal and accusation, and that’s really something to be admired.
*sushi// Asami’s and Mei’s friendship was an excellent conduit for the formation of the two couples. They don’t directly push one another in a specific direction, but the subtle ramifications of their friendship helps move the plot forward. Regardless of how brilliant a device this is, it was surprising to see how closely their friendship captured many of the themes of adolescence so well. Being picked on, recognizing hidden commonalities, unspoken appreciation, and brutal honesty are universally understood and are the motifs of our teenage years. Sukitte Ii Na Yo doesn’t just focus on young love, but tells a story about all the things that hitchhike for a ride. It’s this quality that makes me love this show, and I hope it continues down the line.
Doki Doki Action
*miyu// As for Mei and Yamato’s relationship… well that escalated quickly. I really wasn’t expecting them to confess and kiss 129308 times in the second episode so I was kind of shocked by the sudden change in pace – I was actually ready for lots of slow-paced character growth from Mei learning about love and a near-end confession scene, but I was trolled :c okay. Mei was really adorable this episode, actually getting insecure and jealous over Yamato and blushing at his kindness, ahhh, the joys of love :’) I do understand the sudden infatuation and jealousy that Mei experienced since that guy just took her first kiss and she’d never even gone out with anyone before, but from Yamato’s side things aren’t really clear. All we’ve heard from is that he thinks Mei is “interesting” and THAT’S IT – that’s supposed to explain the love he has for her and the sudden smother of kisses?! How he helped Asami is one thing, but how he kissed her (and apparently all the other girls in the entire school) for no reason is just :\ It makes me think he’s just going around saving and kissing girls because he feels like it. I guess there is going to be some reasonable explanation for his behavior (maybe some unfortunate experiences with romance with the wrong girl during childhood) but for now he appears to be a complete jackass. Is that the intended effect, or are they just handling it badly? The last scene with the kisses was admittedly squeal-inducing for a shoujo-lover like me and also highly enjoyable but um, it sort of came out of nowhere. How are they going to progress from here onwards? I would think that from here it’s going to be them going out and for Mei to get to know the ~ways of a couple~ etc. Lots of awkward moments are sure to ensue. Anyhow, I’d really like to learn more about Yamato and his reasons and I hope there’s more to him rather than just being a popular jock.
*sushi// Did a shoujo just start off with a relationship right out of the gates? It’s pretty impressive how quickly Mei and Yamato get together considering the genre. I can understand why this series moved so quickly to the top of the manga charts. This looks like it will be a show about how a couple stays together rather than how a couple gets together. It’s refreshing to say the least and it has me excited about the prospects of this series. I might even check out the manga.
I love how everything isn’t picture perfect. Yamato is definitely a sketchy guy behind the scenes. There are rumors that he’s kissed almost every girl at school, and he doesn’t even bat an eyelash when confronted with the fact. He’s a man that doesn’t try to hide his action, which is admirable, but his motives are still questionable. Considering how often it’s brought up in this outing, I think it will be a problem as the series continues, which is an interesting wrinkle in the plot.
*miyu// It’s kind of strange, but the relationship between Asami and Nakanishi feels a lot more natural and realistic to me, over Mei and Yamato’s. Behind his fervent love for boobies, he really does love Asami for her personality and thinks about her all the time. Some DAWWW moments ensue, and you know what they say, people change when they’re in love. 8) We got to see Nakanishi behind his pervyness, and turns out he actually can be honest and sweet when he wants to be – only for Asami though, I suspect pervy Nakanishi is not completely gone yet. Although we haven’t head Asami’s reply yet, from her happy smile, I think it’s safe to conclude that we have a new couple! *throws confetti everywhere* The parallel progression of Asami/Nakanishi and Mei/Yamato’s relationships is going to be interesting to watch and they’re going to change in very different ways, I would think.
*sushi// I’m glad that there was some focus on Asami and Nakanishi as a couple. I was afraid that Nakanishi would end up being ‘that’ guy. You know the pervert that all the fans love but never gets any attention from the rest of the cast and crew. Asami fills the role of a similar trope, the cheerleader behind the lead that always ends up on the short end of the love triangle. The series takes this archetypes and quite deviously plays them up until the final moments of this episode, where it smashes them to smithereens. I wonder how their relationship will develop and how it will play into the greater plot at hand.
I wasn’t to crazy for the debut of the opener, “Friendship ~ for Sukitte Iinayo.” by Ritsuko Okazaki. It’s a slow number that seems better suited for a closing theme. Okazaki’s airy vocals are pleasant enough to the ear, but don’t have much depth to them. At times it feels like she’s being smothered even by the light instrumentation in the background. This is only a small gripe for a rather exceptional series. The characters and narrative are coming together so well and it’s only the second episode! Tell me what you guys think about this series in the comments below!
This episode did well in developing all the main characters other than Yamato. I like how the episode is balanced between nurturing friendship and love, which gives you both the warm and fuzzy feelings and also the squee-worthy moments of romance! That’s how a shoujo series should be 8) Meanwhile, I’m curious as to how Mei and Yamato are going to further their relationship from here and I’d prefer it if the pace slow down a little to how it was like in episode 1, because at this rate for all I know they’re going to decide to get married in a few episodes (LOL reminds me of SAO). Also, why do I get a bad feeling that a love triangle is going to come into the picture soon? :c
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Maybe it’s just me, but the pace feels so fast that it’s just unnatural. Mei’s personality shifts for no reason. Where’s the cold-hearted Mei who has the tendency to push people away? For a cold person, she accepted Asami’s friendship easily.
And Yamato is just too suspicious. Next thing you know, he’ll be kissing MEEEEEEEEE next week
POWUH: iLurker with 4 comments
Mei was able to connect with Asami so quickly was because that Asami also received her share of bullying, of which Mei could find common ground on.
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
I like that we not only got a main couple kind of established, but also a bonus (and more established) couple in Asami/Nakanishi. They said something about Spring in that scene, right? It’ll be interesting to see how the Asami/Nakanishi relationship compares to what Mei & Yamato will go through.
I also like Sushi’s point that Nakanishi is more than ‘that guy’ for right now. Thinking back other series where best friend characters are stuck in Forever-Alone status, it’s nice to see “Say I Love You” give the best friend character a relationship and an opportunity to delve deeper into his character and also Asami.
Their cellphone strap is really big, right? Put the phone in your pocket and you got this big furball hanging out that makes it easy for a robber to grab and steal a phone.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I get the feeling their pockets are bigger than we’re used to. Especially Mei’s, since she wears the long skirt and not the short one. Not like jeans.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 304 comments
Yeah, Asami~ I love Asami, mostly because I can relate to her. And because friendship and I enjoy friendship!
They did start going out pretty fast in the manga, but for some reason it feels faster in the anime to me. Of course, that might just be me.
Still not my favorite shoujo this season (by a long shot), but it’s still enjoyable to me.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Yamato seems like a creeper.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I second this.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I liked the episode, and I kind of like seeing a guy that is ACTUALLY a player in this kind of show. Usually it’s a guy who mistakenly has that reputation but is really a good guy. This time it’s pretty well deserved.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I’m very pleased with how they’re handling the manga so far. And yeah, the quick confession really did help it hit the top of the charts- but there’s more coming later that might be even better.
This really did happen in the 2nd or 3rd chapter of the manga, and in a very similar manner. So I was not surprised, and other readers wouldn’t be either. I was happy to see the matching phone straps make it in, and the color coordination with the phones is a nice touch that obviously wasn’t in the black and white manga.
Things are going a little fast, but if they stick with the manga, it should go fine. I’m a little worried for what they’ll do with one particular arc, especially the one character.
(Miyu, don’t worry, the love triangle isn’t so fast- the mangaka gave Mei and Yamato some time to adjust to each other. More cute moments come first. 🙂 Asami and Nakanishi get some time too, if I remember correctly.)
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
So, we don’t have to wait for them to actually share their feelings?! Is this even shoujo?! xD
I like the progress, let’s see what they do next.