Kuttsukiboshi

Finally, a yuri show on METANORN!… So who wants to hear a lesbian Makise Kurisu?

Hey there~ I’ve been spending my days studying, studying and studying some more since I’ve been taking gazillion college entrance exams. Why do entrance exams exist anyway? Well, I have another one next month, but since it’s next month, I will spend the thirty days of studying by researching anime. Pretty educational too, right?

Girl Friend to Girlfriend

That’s hot

The biggest aspect in Kuttsukiboshi would be the, of course, shift from friends to lovers. This is nothing new in yuri, even so in real life, so why make this a big deal? See, the shifting of positions is something common that also happens in real life, and us audience are the only judges who can decide whether anime depicted the shift in a realistic way or not. For me, Kuttsukiboshi is the first; it did a splendid job at showing the attraction between the two female characters. Some might ask me “how?” since their romantic attraction is nothing deep or meaningful. Throughout the whole two episodes, all this show shows (see what I did there) was their attraction to each other physically. But that’s what makes it so relatable! First, consider the fact that they’re just teenagers. Isn’t it common for teenagers to develop romantic attractions when they like the physical build of their partner? This is what happens between the two female protagonists in Kuttsukiboshi.

Why do their saliva look like sperm?

However, I was thoroughly disappointed with the romantic development between the two. Their attraction to each other has its rough moment, but it all ends well. It’s good then, right? No, it’s not. Although I do like happy endings, I don’t like the development between the two. Was there even any development? No, there was not. The high school romance turned into something more serious than that. Rape and momentary force were involved. I won’t mind all of that if the time to develop the relationship was there. But there wasn’t. The shift from an innocent high school love into extreme affection was too sudden. The relationship wasn’t even more than two weeks. What have they been doing during their free time? SEX! And sex! And sex! Nothing but sex! And it’s not even the kind of sex that would make a person feel emotional and mushy inside. How can I believe that such development will happen if they have been showing nothing to prove that their feelings to each other were real? All of their sex look meaningless. There was not even one serious talk about the future whatsoever. Even if there was one, it led into some random bench oral sex. WHUUTTT. The sexes are too much it overshadowed the “serious” moments in this anime. Was there any serious moments at all? Nope. Just sex.

Telekinesis Power

Kiko (Kicchan) is not amused

I mentioned some telekinesis power for a couple of times, and it’s not without purpose. Kicchan did have a telekinesis power. In fact, that’s how Aya and Kicchan became friends. The telekinesis power is both a good and bad thing. It’s bad because somehow the telekinesis power feels unnecessary at times. It’s good because when things go wrong, it’s very convenient to use. I see the telekinesis power more than that though. I see it as something that started the spark between Aya and Kicchan. Its existence is something I’m thankful for because without it, Aya and Kicchan won’t find a proper common ground. Heck, they won’t even talk to each other without it. This is a prove that a relationship can start with anything, even if abnormal supernatural power is involved.

Sibling Love

Damn it, why can’t Kouta be my brother?

Believe it or not, the conflict of this show was the fact that Aya cheated with her brother. Pretty dramatic right there, but it’s not without reason of course. The brother is having a severe tumor, and the possibility of a successful operation is slim. Realizing that he might be a dead meat anytime of the day, Aya’s brother asked her to sleep with him. Apparently, the brother is deeply in love with the sister. Such a sudden development makes me want to slap my screen because it feels forced, but oh well. Out of family attachment, the sister let’s the brother do her. Yeah…

BUSTEEDDDD

Aya’s female lover, Kicchan, believes that the brother manipulated Aya. A number of audience think like that too. But is it really manipulation? Yes, asking Aya to sleep with him during such critical time is pretty cheap, but he’s dying. Isn’t it pretty common for a dying person to want to spend his last days with the one he loves? Not only that, Aya’s brother was unable to have any romantic relationship with Aya or any other girls, he was barely home because of his work. He wasn’t even able to spend his days as a brother. So yeah, even though the brother was being a “manipulative” bastard, please cut him some slack. He was dying. He didn’t have any parents to give him love or to guide him as a proper sibling for Aya. And he’s dead anyway. Also, if this is manipulation, Aya had her chance to refuse her brother. He did back off, but Aya approached him, allowing him to have sex with her. Of course, Aya did that because of her sibling love for her brother. As the only family member she had, Aya’s brother was everything to her (until Kicchan came into the picture). So… Let’s think about the taboo intercourse Aya and her brother did… It was mutual since none of them forced each other. Although what Aya and her brother is considered as taboo in the society, that was the time where both of them loved each other to the fullest; Aya as a sister who wanted to make her brother happy, Aya’s brother as a dying man who wanted to love Aya as a lover. So really… Didn’t it work out for the best?

Force = Love. Not.

Brother is dead, girlfriend is mad. The only way for Aya to get sex is RAEP

This, man, this. I am sick of this trope. Every yaoi with RAEP gets a straight <5 from me. Man, if it weren’t for Kuttsukiboshi’s awesome ending, it would’ve gotten a 4 from me. But that’s another matter. So, Kicchan caught Aya grinding her hot brother, and they didn’t talk because of that. Ok, fine, luring Kicchan into the storage room is a good idea to explain everything to Kicchan. But, rape, Aya? Really? REALLY? Tie Kicchan and finger her forcefully for days (although in the latter days Kicchan developed Stockholm Syndrome) instead of talking to Kicchan properly? This is where I officially throw my laptop on the ground. Seeing these characters misunderstanding each other when they could have make up with proper conversation is SO FRUSTRATING. I’m not even going to defend this. I totally loathe this scene. Sure, sure, Aya might be an awkward person even though she’s well-known, and Kicchan is her first real friend (lover). But raping Kicchan? Fuck that. This so-called form of “love” is just the “easy” way out to make the other party to listen/notice the rapist. Not even going to delve further into this topic. I disapprove of this scene.

A Whole New World

Definitely the best scene of this show

Literally. Kuttsukiboshi takes a whole new level of “happily ever after” by transporting the couple into a faraway planet with Kicchan’s telekinesis power. This is awesome in so many levels. Let’s start with the animation of the teleportation. Fabulous. The scene where both of them are trying to reach each other is cheesy, but I salute them for being able to do that in the sky. No words can describe the beauty of that scene. Wind, gravity, sky, physics, basically, the world tried to separate them as they fall, but the couple overcome the trial given by Gaia and reached each other’s hands. It might not be animated sharply, considering the budget of this show, but the setting of the scene and the gestures the couple did were enough to show the unlimited amount of love Aya and Kicchan has to each other. It was just… Beautiful.

Naked and stranded in an unknown planet.That’s life right there

Why are they transported to another world then? Well, earth sucks for them. Aya lost the only family member she had, and her relationship with Kicchan was not so good at that time. Kicchan and her parents didn’t get along well because Kicchan had been “missing” for days (Aya kidnapped her). Rumors about Kicchan and Aya had been flying around. Yeah, life wasn’t so good for both of them. These things might look so petty and simple, but let’s not forget that they were just high schoolers (or middle schoolers?). It’s a fact that lots of teenagers are emotionally unstable. So what’s the solution? Transport them to another world! Where it’s just “the two of” them! This ending was pretty silly, but I adore it. I see the New World as a symbol of a new chance/new beginning. Fate is cruel, but it’s also kind enough to give Aya and Kicchan another chance to fix their relationship and their lives.

Kuttsukiboshi is both a hit and a miss. In some ways, it’s enjoyable, but the pace is just so slow to the point where it bored me to death most of the time. Especially episode one. Oh,boy, episode one. Watching it was suffering. Half-no, three fourth of it was full of sex sex and sex. Unbearable. Not that I hate lesbian sex, but I wanted to see more than physical relation between the two of them. Yes, sex is another way to express love, but really, who wouldn’t get bored of it when the same exact scene is being shown for more than three times nonstop? The so-so animation didn’t help me feel any better either. Yeah, the animation is not great, but it’s not without reason. For a one man show, the animation is pretty great. I salute you Naoya Ishikawa for handling everything in this show from directing the show, writing the script, and composing the song lyrics. This man deserves applause for being able to handle everything by himself. And for those who get bored of episode one, don’t worry, the pace is better in episode two. Also, that ending NGGGGHHH. Did I also mention the fabulous ending songs? They’re so catchy and memorable, not to mention the sweet lyrics. The BGMs are pretty enjoyable too. At least Naoya Ishikawa knows some sense and not use the same BGM over and over again, unlike some yaoi anime… *coughcoughTheTyrantFallsInlovecoughcough*

For those who have some time to spare, do check out Kuttsukiboshi. It’s not the best yuri anime out there, but it’s also not bad. Cheesy and dramatic is the negative way of seeing it. Sweet and touching is the positive way. It just depends on how the audience see it.

Watch this anime and they’ll have sex under the tree