Masamune-kun no Revenge – 10
The YoshiGoRound
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…is a spot-on visual for the best laid plans of these two, but I wonder if it will only make Yoshino sick of the whole literal ordeal. But that’s because we have a new character on stage and he brings with him a whole list of surprises. |
The New School Term Filled With Doubts
Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m the scion of wealth and taste
The show wastes little time picking up from last week’s sudden last minute introduction; a good use of a cold open. When the show proper picks up we soon find out that New Masamune is here for a very specific purpose, and that is to acknowledge and formalize his betrothal to Aki…yadda yadda yadda new head of old family will marry daughter of old family yadda yadda yadda, this is how the wealthy roll, get out of the way.So now we have Gasou Kanetsugu AKA Who The Heck Does This Guy Thinks He Is? Which is pretty much how most of the regular manga readers were treating him from the get go, and as we watch the episode progress he pretty much is a tubby Marty Stu; and I’ve always read that as a huge joke in an of itself while reading the manga. Of course he’s perfect, so perfect that our Masamune, the first one, has to face the music and maybe even course correct.
…if’n ya rosin up a bow, make sure it plays second fiddle now, son!
Part of what makes Kanetsugu such a big character is the impact and wake that he does end up leaving the whole bon-bon assortment of the box he finds himself in. Because as the fiancé he has full lean into Aki’s world, and there really is very little anyone can do – other than voice disapproval and offer up condolences to themselves, as they are stuck having to compartmentalize and accept this new situation. This is the immovable object, no matter how tubby it may be, and therefor how dismissable he is on the face. It’s part of what I like about the character in that he has to do very little in and of himself to make pre-existing characters reveal stuff they would have probably held in.
Because these three have been here since episode one…
For our backup players, this put’s their whole yuri world into a tumble, and is probably indicative of what this sort of high class world has to deal with, at least on this sort of comedic and melodramatic level. These three now have character traits equal to the mains they support, and that has a nice ring of verisimilitude. People don’t often put themselves out there unless the feel they have to. It really was a risk for Kanetsugu to turn them to his side, and for the ongoing story that works if he’s manipulating them to gain favor or to spare their feelings. In other words, it works if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, putting his motives into question thus expanding all the characters. Relationships can start of with benefit of the doubt working in their favor.
A fun ride that is also a cage! Good work, Yoshi!
But for Makabe and Yoshino this is a disaster. All their carefully laid plans are going to go into the discard pile before they could play any more of their cards. But for this episode’s exchange between the two connivers the most important part is that Yoshino may have much much more to lose should Aki not fall for Makabe and that Makabe is just starting to see this level in her. This calls more of his motivations into question putting all the relationships into a huge tumble. So much compounding going on around here, the only thing we can do is hang out and eat bad fast food…
Speaking of which…WMao? What?! Anyway, this place will serve up some extras!
So now we have a great stage set for the Snow White arc. (Yeah they had a debate going on, the only important thing that has to say is that it divided points of view into camps, the play isn’t even that important! It did that by bringing Futaba into the shenanigans) I love the thematic question this episode puts out there. For all of them championing Aki, and for all we know of Makabe’s stupidbag plan, at least that idiot is taking a risk, putting himself out there, willing to look at least a little bad with egg on his face. The rest? For all their good intentions, they want to maintain a rather drab and mediocre status quo, and one that might not even be working out for them. Second Makabe has revealed he really isn’t interested in the marriage for the most part, but has to show the right face for the sake of his family. The Yuri Squad just want things to be the same and they don’t want to venture outside that bubble. But in all this we know very little about how one principal character feels, and the introduction to the school play is a great way to bring Aki back in to reassert herself.
But more on that next week, Aki and Futaba aren’t even remotely over this yet.
Spoiler tags in comments about the manga, please!
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I can see what’s meant by some saying that the introduction of Gasou leads to the other characters carrying the idiot ball. Why hasn’t Makabe made the Masamune connection? Of course, why didn’t Aki make the Masamune connection with Makabe before? It’s not like she’s an idiot, and Yoshino certainly got there quickly. I guess I can think of reasons, but this seems like a lot of going around in circles.
Of course, a lot of shows go around in circles.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hence my lead image, because of how they wrote the story.
As for the whys? That track ain’t got a train on it…yet…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
And the yuri trio is pretty terrible. They don’t want to get together with Aki, at least not really. They just don’t want Aki to ever be happy. They want her to stay pure… and lonely and untouchable. Jerks.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
OMG, yes. These lackluster characters with lackluster ideas. So Yoshino has a secret plan to keep Aki in a specific place. Makabe is terrible wanting to do nothing more than ruin her, and you got her closest friends, whom she didn’t even invite on vacation with her, and this episode kinda tells you why. All of that just makes the escape to Gasou that much more likable, and yet…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think that it was pretty clear that they were nobody’s “closest friends” and that Aki’s not really interested in them much. Heck, she ditches them to go eat lunch.
I’ve always thought of Yoshino’s goal as petty revenge, the same as Makabe. And that’s the kind of thing that stupid kids come up with. I give Makabe the slightest amount of credit as the show is going on, because he seems to be growing up and realizing that his stupid plan is just that: a kid’s stupid plan, and that it’s not worth doing either to Aki or to himself. He’s not quite there yet, but I think he’ll get there.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m almost of the rails how these characters will end up; the reveals happens later on after what shold be the end of the cour. But Yoshino does have a reason beyond what you credit her form
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You know, the thought just occurred to me that I’d kinda love it if Aki had some plan or goal that she was going for as well, and isn’t just the poor maiden being taken for a ride through this whole show. Something that is outsmarting both Yoshino and Makabe, and even Gasou. Cause I’m really feeling a bit sorry for her getting jerked around and being, for the most part, honest with everyone (when examined through the obvious tsuntsun filter).
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I love that she and her tsuntsun filter are the unplanning center of the show. While everyone else is on a mad dash, she remains herself.