Seiren – 12 [END]

Shouichi wants to be cool!

Well, like I said with Demi-chan, sometimes you don’t want to write the end post because it means that a great show is over. And then there are sometimes that you don’t want to write the end post because you really just weren’t that inspired by it. Unfortunately, this is one of those. But let’s see what happens when I start typing.

Kyouko’s Konklusion

Doofy fuukiin girl returns

The finish of Kyouko’s arc really didn’t hold much in the way of surprises (which may be symbolic of pretty much the whole series, but we’ll get to that later). Shouichi, in his quest to become more “manly” helps out a lot at the class’s venison skewer stall, because apparently touching raw meat is a manly thing to do (or Yukie just didn’t want to do it). And there’s actually a nice moment between Yukie and Shouichi where she teases him about Hikari, but compliments him on his relationship with Kyouko. Meanwhile, the Home Ec club’s stall is doing well, but that’s interrupted by Shouichi’s being too serious about wanting to talk to Kyouko alone. He even states he’ll wait until as late as it takes to see her. No pressure or anything there.

She should kick him some more

And Kyouko’s been wanting to be with him more, to the point where she is glad that he has praised her, but that isn’t enough any more. So she’s sent off to see him by the Home Ec senpais for them to talk it out. Unfortunately, she finds him not on the roof, but peeping on another couple in the classroom… well, all they were doing was hugging. And that just feeds into Kyouko’s worry that Shouichi is just a single-minded sex maniac. Like she says, if it had been Tomoe, they would have peeped and tittered about it, but Shouichi’s been “like that” too much recently, and she doesn’t really like it. But Shouichi’s worries about being seen “as a man” were pretty much unfounded, although it is certainly not for nothing that he comes out and actually confesses to Kyouko, and states that he doesn’t want their relationship to be the same that it has been.

A lot of time sitting there…

It’s kind of interesting that Kyouko pretty much takes all the initiative in their discussions, and that she is the one controlling the pace of their relationship. And she lets on that, like him, she was a little worried that he didn’t see her as girlfriend material, just a childhood friend. And both of them seem to have felt bad for looking at the other one like that, since they were long-time friends, so that’s why it’s been a bit of a hassle getting to this point. And they finally end up kissing by the light of the fireworks, putting the finish on this arc (well, besides the epilogue that they might have overdone a little this series).

She can’t really blame him for this reaction

Overall Series Thoughts

Not only did Hikari lose, she got stuck way out on the side

Well, by the fact that I said I haven’t really wanted to write this, you can probably figure out my thoughts on the series. Overall it was disappointing. Yeah, we ended up with couples out of 2 arcs, and the hope in the third one, but it really just didn’t feel like there was particular spark. Maybe some of it is that we didn’t really see Shouichi or the girls really thinking about being with each other, worrying about whether they could ask or get them to be together. And there wasn’t really any mystery in their getting together. I know that a show like this is about foregone conclusions, but the way this was written just felt like the ending was assumed too much, and that there was just a lot of marking time to get there. None of the arcs really had any sort of uncertainty at all, and missing that is missing the tension that makes love stories the best. Even Hikari’s arc didn’t have uncertainty. It just had a big “REJECTION” stamp on it that was meant to look like that.

Speaking of Rejection, Nao takes it hard

So the lesson is that it’s harder than just the formula to really bring this kind of relationship series together. It wasn’t a bad series. It didn’t fall apart, or look terrible, or make major errors. It just didn’t do much at all. And that’s what’s disappointing with it. I want a show like this to do something to give me a moment (or more) that I want to watch again. That brings a feeling that you want to relive, even if it’s almost certainly muted the second, third, or tenth time through. And Seiren just missed that. Individual arcs got some things right. Hikari’s arc had the high energy unreachable girl that you want the MC to aspire to. That worked out pretty well, except it flubbed the ending. Tooru’s arc had a relatable relationship, one born from a shared interest, and going through some trials with her past, but Tooru herself just didn’t have enough personality to carry the situation for my tastes. And Kyouko’s arc was a nice classic getting together with your childhood friend, and I liked Kyouko taking charge, but it kinda felt a little too much in charge, like Shouichi just didn’t have a choice or a voice.

This is for carrying, not for sitting

I’d certainly watch a follow-on series, especially if they tried to learn some lessons from this one. And even if it was about the same, I think I’d be happy enough watching it. But I’d definitely like just a little more spark, something to make me fall a bit more in love with the show.

Thanks for watching and reading!

About Highway

Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!