Sukitte Ii na yo – 12-13 [END]

 After 13 episodes, you’d just have to wonder whether if she’d just say it already

As winter arrives, it’s time to wrap up the last fall series I’m blogging this season with the final two episodes! My first year of junior college’s starting in another 3 weeks or so, and I’m feeling the impending doom already…

“I blacked out during last night’s party and wake up to THIS?!”

Episode 12 was a really good episode that ended off Megumi’s arc well and showed how far our characters have grown since the series started. Megumi’s been through a lot – she’s been bullied and mocked like Kai, pretended to be nice and creating many superficial relationships with others like Yamato. And in this episode, she’s lost faith in humanity and is unable to trust people as friends any longer, much like Mei had. The saddest thing is that, while each of these characters was able to learn from these experiences and move on, Megumi, who has been through all of it, has not. Perhaps more ironic is that even as the broken person she is, she’s the major reason that’s allowed Mei and Yamato to progress.

I like how it was Yamato and mostly Momoko that saved Megumi instead of Mei this time, because the latter was getting kind of repetitive. While Yamato acted as a catalyst, Momoko was the one who truly brought Megumi to her senses. Although Momoko’s always been the one supporting Megumi even when she was unpopular and “ugly”, Megumi’s never realized it because she still doesn’t understand what it means to be loved. She took Momoko’s encouragement and companionship for granted, perhaps because as she gained more friends, she started to become unable to tell the difference between those who truly loved her for who she was, and those who only stood by her to gain benefits. It took a direct “confession” from Momoko and also some encouragement from Yamato to make her realize that she does have someone who loves her, someone who truly cares for her.

And with Momoko by her side, she realized that there was no need to put up a false front any longer. Although back at school she’s getting some pretty bad things done to her, and perhaps rightfully so considering that she’s treated them badly too, it’s something that she can handle because she has friends beside her now – Momoko, and also Asami, who still loves her nonetheless. Although Megumi might not be the nicest person there, with a distrusting attitude built up after many years, she still has a soft side to her only reserved for people like Momoko whom she now knows really appreciates her as a friend, and just that, is good enough.

The second half of the episode was adorable, allowing us to see the entire clique (..of sorts) gathering together and having fun at the Natsu Matsuri. It’s sweet how all the girls are attached now, and all to distinctly different boys who fit just about perfect for them – I like how Sukitte gives us a variety of personalities and allows them to give rise to interesting relationship dynamics this way, it’s a joy to watch, and it also makes things more believable. Of course, that final scene with Mei becoming so lovely in that Yukata and Yamato making all those impossible facial expression because she was so darn cute was really enjoyable to watch, and even without the fireworks in the background or the murmur of a crowd behind them, that last kiss was as perfect as it could be.

Moving on, I have a lot of issues with episode 13. While episode 12 felt like a close-to-perfect ending, episode 13 ruined everything that the previous episode had built up. What was with all the stupid misunderstandings (that were frankly, incredibly annoying and completely unnecessary) and the poorly-executed use of a clichéd scenario where the boyfriend gets sick and the girlfriend has to visit him? Seriously now?

Wait, who are these people again?

The sudden inclusion of Kakeru and Chiharu puzzles me to no end because the anime had decided to skip over their arc in the manga. With no light shed on how Kakeru went from being such an asshole to being all head-over-heels and gentle and kind to a girl that we don’t even know anything about, their appearance just felt forced and again, unnecessary.

Stop trying to buy your way out of this shitty ending with a contemplative sunset scene, ZEXCS

I’m not too sure as to what ZEXCS was trying to achieve with this last episode, but what I got from it was this:

1. Whereas I liked her before this, especially during the Land episode because she was adorable and also sensitive and thoughtful to Mei and Yamato, Nagi proved herself to be an annoying brat that has a brother complex.
2. Mei and Yamato are still let misunderstandings come between them. Talk about backwards character development, yay!
3. Although Mei claims to know and understand Yamato, she only half-believes that he wouldn’t say that kind of thing to her. She still has no courage to face him head-on when a problem crops up, even after all the obstacles they have been through.
4. Yamato is one really unlucky guy.

I don’t think I have anything nice to say about episode 13 at all, so I’m just going to pretend that it doesn’t exist and that Sukitte ended of beautifully with episode 12.

In the end what I think makes Sukitte stand out is how realistic it can be in terms of human experiences and relationships. It was sad and yet happy and moving at the correct times, and their characters are really lovable as a group. The cast as a whole (especially in the second half of episode 12) was fun to watch, and also interesting to blog about. The romance aspect, I would say, was not particularly well done. I can’t say that I loved Mei or Yamato, neither did I thoroughly enjoy them as a couple, because they just never felt like a real couple that really had an unconditional love even after all that they’ve been through. On the other hand, the side characters and their relationships were a lot more convincing, and I enjoyed their interactions. Rather than romance, I think Sukitte was better at conveying the ~beauty of friendship~, and I was really moved at how Mei/Asami/Aiko, as well as Megumi/Momoko encouraged and loved each other in their own little ways, and I think those moments were my favorite parts of the show.

Is it bad that I like this drawing style more than the actual art normally?

All in all, did I enjoy watching and blogging Sukitte? Sure. Would I blog a second season if it were to be aired? Probably not. What I didn’t really enjoy, perhaps, is the pacing. While the first few episodes seemed to move too quickly, it just slowed down after that into a rather unbearably slow pace (this is actually one of the reasons why I dropped Kimi ni Todoke also), and in the last episode they actually went backwards in terms of the progression of their relationship. Maybe I’m just more suited to the more light-hearted, comedic premises much like that of Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (which is officially my favorite shoujo of the season) that actually managed to make me fall completely in love with the main characters (which is what, unfortunately, Sukitte failed to do for me).

Anyway, even despite the fact that Sukitte didn’t really tug on my heartstrings, blogging it was an interesting experience and I hope some of you who’ve followed the entire series and perhaps read and commented on my posts through this journey did, and have things to share about what you took away from it. c: Thanks for sticking with me through this journey, and see you soon in Winter!

Is it just me or are Yamato’s eyes actually OPEN?