Super Lovers – 02 – 03
“Damn it nii-san, didn’t I say I’m too young for this kind of anime?”
Two weeks have passed by, and we were given the two latest episodes of Super Lovers. Let’s see whether they are following the manga or not.
Continuing the episode two weeks ago, episode 2 and 3 focus on the undisturbed but empty life of Kaidou Haru until the arrival of the brother he doesn’t remember, Kaidou Haru. The two haad a week of enjoyable life, but Haru still struggles with the guilt of his parents’ death since Ren is partially involved with it. When he come into terms with everything, Ren leaves Japan forever, and the two lead separate lives…. Not! Haru goes to Canada just to stay with Ren, and the two live together in Canada. Ah, yaoi. You never disappoint me.
For me, Super Lovers is considered as one of the hardest yaoi to digest due to its main conflicts and morals that are implicitly stated in the story. And the mangaka managed to hide it well between her panels. That or I could never understand Super Lovers since the manga is pretty messy (but beautiful). Anyway, the main issue of episode 2 – 3 is the issue of trust and the importance of promise, and I’ll discuss it in two separate parts since it’s easier for me to do that.
The issue of trust // When we see Haru’s character, from his job to the inner monologue he keeps having, it is obvious that he is not a man of his words. Meaning, everything he does is just a façade. It is hinted in his job as a host and the fact that be is the number one host in the club. This means he really knows how to please people to the point where it becomes his source of money. Though it was not given its proper moment (so far), it was briefly stated that “Haru tried to fit in” in his new family during his childhood. This is usually the effect of two separate families becoming one, as it is a common problem in my country as well. Realizing that things can change for the worse if the “ideal family” is not created, Haru creates a new personality within him where he keeps up with everything, pleasing everybody in order to create the ideal situation for the family. Such habit stays within Haru until he grows up.
Unfortunately, it gives a big dent for Haru. He never shows his loneliness, and he keeps his distance from his brothers. That is why he feels comfortable with Ren. A stranger with similar background, Ren is the person Haru feels he can lean his shoulder on. Sometimes a person who knows nothing is better, and that’s how Haru feels about Ren. Moreover, Ren still treats him the same despite of his knowledge obtained from Haru. Such treatment is what Haru seek from his brothers and relatives. However, he found it in Ren. Haru genuinely likes Ren.
The importance of promise // Another aspect that will be discussed is about Ren and his personality. Unlike Haru, Ren is a straightforward person. His actions and words are genuinely from his feelings. That is why he believes in Haru’s promise. He believes in that Haru and his promise are genuine because Haru is the one who taught him to be genuine when it comes about feelings. That’s why Ren wasn’t lonely when Haru left Canada. He believes in Haru.
… Until he sees how Haru is when he lived in Japan. The thing is, Ren cannot distinguish Haru’s special treatment of him because he sees Haru treating everybody the same. During his stay in Japan, he never sees Haru being serious except when it comes about the twins, hence Ren’s misunderstanding of the family relationship among four of them. Here is a clash between “chit-chat tradition” and “straightforward personality”, and the consequence is big.
Ren is a straightforward person, and somehow he is really good at knowing when someone is serious or not. So far, he only sees Haru being serious about his twins and when Haru got mad at him for no reason. Ren is a man of his words. He believes that people’s words are their genuine feelings. So when Haru tells Ren to leave him alone, of course he will. Nevertheless, Ren still wants to fulfill his promise to Haru. He wants to be there when Haru needs him the most. So he went to Japan and stayed despite of the treatment given to him at the beginning. And when he feels that everything is all good again, he leaves. If Haru treated him differently, will Ren stay? There is a possibility. What happened is a result of Haru’s fake personality he created a long time ago, and he faced its consequence it the worst possible way. He lost his parents, and then he lost the person where he feels he can show his true self. Aw so sad. But rejoice! He learned his lesson and flew to Canada for his shota lover. Banzai for yaoi!
Shotacon Love Wins
Episode 2 to 3 were actually pretty good. It was definitely neater than the manga, and they were able to show the little things that weren’t expressed in the manga properly. Animation is decent, though the background music is cheesy as hell. I was extremely bothered with the unnecessary effect such as sparkles and flower frames. Like, what the hell? Do they have to feminize things? Just leave the panel alone or use a fading frame if they want to put some ornament on that scene. There is also no need for sparkle SFX. Why, DEEN? Why do you need sparkle SFX when I’m trying to focus on the serious scene? It just ruins everything. Just insert a soft instrumental BGM and that’s it you’re done. But nooo of course you have to put sparkles and crap because yaoi needs to be full of sparkles. Ugh. Everything about the episodes was perfect, but then sparkles and sparkle SFX ruin everything. I hope they don’t have that kind of stuff next time.
Preview: More time skip and making out with underage kids.
