Zetsuen no Tempest – 07
Heaven forbid the sunflowers see romantic development.
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I feel like I just wrote about episode 6 of Zetsuen no Tempest not too long ago… LOLWAIT that’s because I did. I’m amazed that I actually got this out before the weekend is over, but yesterday was an oddly productive day for me. …Probably because I’m procrastinating on a project due Monday. |
Why do they give us the cute romance episode AFTER pointing out the fact that Aika was a little too close with Mahiro? Sure, it turns out that Mahiro couldn’t figure out his feelings for Aika to save his life and she didn’t try to push him towards her when she totally could have, but still. This could have been a really heartwarming episode, if not for the unclear intentions and underlying dread of having Mahiro find out. …Though that might have been the point. I’d probably have been more upset with Aika if she had approached Mahiro like that after seeing her and Yoshino act like a happy (secret) couple.
After seeing Aika act cute and blushing around Yoshino, I’m a liiiiiiiittle less weary of her character. She obviously treated him differently than Mahiro and even looked like she got a little jealous when she heard about Yoshino being dragged by Mahiro to hang with college girls. On the other hand, I can’t go back to trusting her quite yet. She kind of pushed Mahiro away saying that his feelings were due to lack of sleep, but the fact that she suggested he wanted her in the first place is kind of disconcerting. Also, the kiss thing was bugging me. That might have been because she wanted Yoshino to take initiative for once and go out of character for her sake, but who knows what she was thinking. Mahiro even mentioned that she was hard to read, and I’m sure even Yoshino had a hard time since he seemed dumbfounded by her actions half the time. …At the moment, I’m just glad that the one scene that was in the preview last episode between Mahiro and Aika was some sort of delusion-dream thing.
…It is really a mystery how Mahiro never found out about Aika and Yoshino. She basically gave Mahiro an in depth character description of Yoshino, meaning that she had been at least watching him closely and he just kind of shrugged it off. Hell, I actually kind of felt sorry for the guy, he was just so oblivious of Aika and Yoshino. You have to admire Mahiro’s… stubbornness though when it came to his own feelings. He was (and still is) so in denial about his feelings for Aika, but at least he knew that dating his own sibling would be a bad idea. …That, and the guy is clueless when it comes to love. At least his quest for revenge makes a lot more sense now. The revenge thing makes no sense logically, but it probably makes Mahiro feel better to know that he’s doing something. Having all of those feelings for Aika and not knowing what they were or what to do with them for all of that time, this is most likely his way of making peace with them.
Yep, these guys are best friends. Couldn’t you tell by the gun?
…Which brings up the question, what will Mahiro do afterwards? What would he do if he found out about Yoshino and Aika dating? Even though Mahiro pointing the gun at Yoshino wasn’t due to him finding out, I think the answer is pretty clear. Mahiro is NOT going to be pleased if he ever finds out about Yoshino and Aika, even if she’s dead. Funny how Aika kind of seemed to be the thing keeping the two together. She told the both of them individually to stick with one another. I’m sure that if she didn’t, Yoshino would have figured that Mahiro was too big of a pain to stay around and maybe this is why he said he just couldn’t leave Mahiro by himself back in episode 1. As for Mahiro, Aika told him to take care of Yoshino, which may be why he felt the urge to drop what he was doing and rescue Yoshino last episode.
Now on to the Shakespeare quotes. “For ’tis a question left us yet to prove, whether love lead fortune, or else fortune love”. I imagine this quote’s relevance to the episode is something along the lines of “It’s up to me if good things/luck/whatever come because love or if love comes with luck”. Was it fortune that led Yoshino and Aika together, or was Yoshino fortunate because he had Aika? Was Mahiro unfortunate because of his feelings for Aika, or was he unfortunate from the beginning and thats why he can’t find love? In the end, it’s up to them really. Interesting that the quote comes from the play within Hamlet about one brother killing the other. A play that was preformed in order to draw out the deceit of Hamlet’s uncle. Maybe it’s not really the same situation as Mahiro and Yoshino, but the similarities are there.
As from the other line, which also comes from the play within the play: “But what we do determine oft we break. Purpose is but the slave to memory,”I assume this is just Yoshino changing the topic from his flashback dream to what Mahiro promised to do. (The best sense I could make from the quote was: “what we decide to do, we often don’t accomplish. It all depends on if we remember what we vowed to do in the first place.” …or something along those lines, referring partially to Aika’s promise of a kiss with Yoshino and partially to Mahiro seeming to abandon his goal yet again due to an emotional impulse). “But look the morn, in russet mantle clad, walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill” I’m just interpreting as Yoshino saying in fancy words “The sun is rising”, as in it’s the morning of their revenge day. Yeah.
There were no crazy plot twists this episode, only crazily ironic instances while Mahiro proved that he has the observing power of a blind person when it came to Aika. I’m not really a fan of watching secret relationships unfold (I don’t even like it otome games. Any game with a ‘no romance’ rule always means that the romance part is going to be unnecessarily complicated at some point coughUtaPricough), so I can’t really say that I enjoyed the subject matter of this episode. It was painful to watch, even with me supporting Yoshino and Aika. On the other hand though, I DID enjoy seeing Aika and Yoshino act like a couple, even if it was behind Mahiro’s back. …And even if Aika’s real feelings are still kind of questionable. Also, this gave us some insight into Yoshino’s character in depth from someone other than Mahiro’s perspective. Aika is just about as blunt as Mahiro, though she has a touch more tact. Well, with this out of the way, we now know more about why Mahiro is so obsessed with Aika and revenge/ how Aika and Yoshino functioned in daily life. Now if only we knew how Yoshino and Aika actually met/ started dating. …Though the plot seems to be moving forward now.
Next episode looks like the start of the final confontation between Samon, Yoshino and Mahiro. Hell if we know anything about Aika’s death or if Hakaze is alive or not, but here it is.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
This was basically the calm before the storm. Aika is a real piece of work. She seemed very comfortable playing a shameless temptress wearing two masks; one acting cold to Yoshino when Mahiro’s around and the other when she has Yoshino all to herself. Someone who takes that much pleasure in teasing people close to them is indeed difficult to read and trust.
To her praise, she’s mature for her age, has a sense of ambition and is very observant. Her description of Yoshino as someone with “high adaptability but no individuality and someone who can act normal under any circumstance, but will not take the initiative or change the status quo” hits the mark perfectly and just further highlights not only the contrast between Yoshino and Mahiro, but also how that contrast is also ironically the reason why they’re still together.
People who claim to be friends for a number of years are still able to keep secrets because there’s no way to know them completely. They work in the blind spots. Even family members who seem inseparable could still have something to hide. But then again, Mahiro is blunt and doesn’t bother going into the details like Yoshino does.
Right now, Mahiro’s revenge is his raison d’être, it’s his only focus so I think once it’s over, he’ll be left feeling hollow unless finding out about Aika and Yoshino’s relationship starts something up.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I liked this episode, although I’m not really sold on HanaKana’s voicework for Aika, and more exposure to it left me thinking it was a mismatch for the character.
Mahiro doesn’t see what he doesn’t want to see. It makes him a very non-perceptive person, but a very straightforward person. That the straightforward direction he goes is one most people don’t like is kind of a side issue. He just blasts on through the way he wants. Yoshino is the almost overly perceptive one, subsuming himself in what he sees around him. It’s a strength and a flaw at the same time, but it does allow him to deal with Mahiro.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
One thing you didn’t mention was what Mahiro said about winter stars: far away and cold. Exactly like Aika for him. He didn’t trust her, putting distance between the two, and she did the same by trying to say Yoshino needs someone like Mahiro. She’s very good at hiding the obvious when Mahiro’s there, and he really doesn’t know her, adding distance.
As for HanaKana, I think it’s okay, not too much of a mismatch. A little bit here and there, but HanaKana isn’t being too fluffy here, so… Yoshino’s and Mahiro’s seiyuus are doing well.
I’m hoping now they will chill out on the back story and push forward with the present plot and Mahiro’s quest for revenge. MORE HAKAZE!! Some people are going to be very happy with what comes next, since it’s got the explanations we’re waiting for… 🙂 Although it’s a little bit talky. More than usual.