Sukitte Ii na yo – 12-13 [END]
After 13 episodes, you’d just have to wonder whether if she’d just say it already
As winter arrives, it’s time to wrap up the last fall series I’m blogging this season with the final two episodes! My first year of junior college’s starting in another 3 weeks or so, and I’m feeling the impending doom already… |
“I blacked out during last night’s party and wake up to THIS?!”
Episode 12 was a really good episode that ended off Megumi’s arc well and showed how far our characters have grown since the series started. Megumi’s been through a lot – she’s been bullied and mocked like Kai, pretended to be nice and creating many superficial relationships with others like Yamato. And in this episode, she’s lost faith in humanity and is unable to trust people as friends any longer, much like Mei had. The saddest thing is that, while each of these characters was able to learn from these experiences and move on, Megumi, who has been through all of it, has not. Perhaps more ironic is that even as the broken person she is, she’s the major reason that’s allowed Mei and Yamato to progress.
I like how it was Yamato and mostly Momoko that saved Megumi instead of Mei this time, because the latter was getting kind of repetitive. While Yamato acted as a catalyst, Momoko was the one who truly brought Megumi to her senses. Although Momoko’s always been the one supporting Megumi even when she was unpopular and “ugly”, Megumi’s never realized it because she still doesn’t understand what it means to be loved. She took Momoko’s encouragement and companionship for granted, perhaps because as she gained more friends, she started to become unable to tell the difference between those who truly loved her for who she was, and those who only stood by her to gain benefits. It took a direct “confession” from Momoko and also some encouragement from Yamato to make her realize that she does have someone who loves her, someone who truly cares for her.
And with Momoko by her side, she realized that there was no need to put up a false front any longer. Although back at school she’s getting some pretty bad things done to her, and perhaps rightfully so considering that she’s treated them badly too, it’s something that she can handle because she has friends beside her now – Momoko, and also Asami, who still loves her nonetheless. Although Megumi might not be the nicest person there, with a distrusting attitude built up after many years, she still has a soft side to her only reserved for people like Momoko whom she now knows really appreciates her as a friend, and just that, is good enough.
The second half of the episode was adorable, allowing us to see the entire clique (..of sorts) gathering together and having fun at the Natsu Matsuri. It’s sweet how all the girls are attached now, and all to distinctly different boys who fit just about perfect for them – I like how Sukitte gives us a variety of personalities and allows them to give rise to interesting relationship dynamics this way, it’s a joy to watch, and it also makes things more believable. Of course, that final scene with Mei becoming so lovely in that Yukata and Yamato making all those impossible facial expression because she was so darn cute was really enjoyable to watch, and even without the fireworks in the background or the murmur of a crowd behind them, that last kiss was as perfect as it could be.
Moving on, I have a lot of issues with episode 13. While episode 12 felt like a close-to-perfect ending, episode 13 ruined everything that the previous episode had built up. What was with all the stupid misunderstandings (that were frankly, incredibly annoying and completely unnecessary) and the poorly-executed use of a clichéd scenario where the boyfriend gets sick and the girlfriend has to visit him? Seriously now?
Wait, who are these people again?
The sudden inclusion of Kakeru and Chiharu puzzles me to no end because the anime had decided to skip over their arc in the manga. With no light shed on how Kakeru went from being such an asshole to being all head-over-heels and gentle and kind to a girl that we don’t even know anything about, their appearance just felt forced and again, unnecessary.
Stop trying to buy your way out of this shitty ending with a contemplative sunset scene, ZEXCS
I’m not too sure as to what ZEXCS was trying to achieve with this last episode, but what I got from it was this:
- Whereas I liked her before this, especially during the Land episode because she was adorable and also sensitive and thoughtful to Mei and Yamato, Nagi proved herself to be an annoying brat that has a brother complex.
- Mei and Yamato are still let misunderstandings come between them. Talk about backwards character development, yay!
- Although Mei claims to know and understand Yamato, she only half-believes that he wouldn’t say that kind of thing to her. She still has no courage to face him head-on when a problem crops up, even after all the obstacles they have been through.
- Yamato is one really unlucky guy.
I don’t think I have anything nice to say about episode 13 at all, so I’m just going to pretend that it doesn’t exist and that Sukitte ended of beautifully with episode 12.
In the end what I think makes Sukitte stand out is how realistic it can be in terms of human experiences and relationships. It was sad and yet happy and moving at the correct times, and their characters are really lovable as a group. The cast as a whole (especially in the second half of episode 12) was fun to watch, and also interesting to blog about. The romance aspect, I would say, was not particularly well done. I can’t say that I loved Mei or Yamato, neither did I thoroughly enjoy them as a couple, because they just never felt like a real couple that really had an unconditional love even after all that they’ve been through. On the other hand, the side characters and their relationships were a lot more convincing, and I enjoyed their interactions. Rather than romance, I think Sukitte was better at conveying the ~beauty of friendship~, and I was really moved at how Mei/Asami/Aiko, as well as Megumi/Momoko encouraged and loved each other in their own little ways, and I think those moments were my favorite parts of the show.
Is it bad that I like this drawing style more than the actual art normally?
All in all, did I enjoy watching and blogging Sukitte? Sure. Would I blog a second season if it were to be aired? Probably not. What I didn’t really enjoy, perhaps, is the pacing. While the first few episodes seemed to move too quickly, it just slowed down after that into a rather unbearably slow pace (this is actually one of the reasons why I dropped Kimi ni Todoke also), and in the last episode they actually went backwards in terms of the progression of their relationship. Maybe I’m just more suited to the more light-hearted, comedic premises much like that of Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (which is officially my favorite shoujo of the season) that actually managed to make me fall completely in love with the main characters (which is what, unfortunately, Sukitte failed to do for me).
Anyway, even despite the fact that Sukitte didn’t really tug on my heartstrings, blogging it was an interesting experience and I hope some of you who’ve followed the entire series and perhaps read and commented on my posts through this journey did, and have things to share about what you took away from it. c: Thanks for sticking with me through this journey, and see you soon in Winter!
Is it just me or are Yamato’s eyes actually OPEN?
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Fully agree about episode 13. I remember kind of enjoying some of the comedic scenes back in episode 1, but that episode was just laughably bad. As I mentioned on Twitter, this would’ve been slightly more acceptable had they included this in the last Blu-ray release as a bonus ep, because 12 had that nice sendoff to the series and then 13 comes along feeling more middle-ish than anything else.
Overall, I enjoyed Sukitte mainly because it was nice to see a series show people being in a relationship, and for the better part of the series, I liked the execution.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 304 comments
I thought episode thirteen would have been cuter if it wasn’t the last episode. I felt like everything went backwards. Especially Nagi. Like… wtf happened? You were so cute in the previous episodes! Episode 12 definitely should have been the last episode. That would have been a perfect ending.
Overall, I thought Sukitte was pretty good. I didn’t think it compared with the other shoujo this season though. It does get points for being the most realistic. I just wish I cared a little more about the characters.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I kind of took episode 13 as a post-finale OVA. If that had been shown 3 months later, instead of a week later, I would guess that most people’s objections to it would evaporate.
And as for Mei and Yamato still having doubts about their relationship, that’s pretty much par for the course in a real relationship. Even after *years* together, you still worry that the things you did made the other person mad, or that they’re unfaithful, or that something bad has happened otherwise. That doesn’t go away just because something good happened before. I thought that Mei perfectly justified her feelings, in thinking that her own actions in literally pushing Yamato away had figuratively pushed him away. That we knew this wasn’t the case was irrelevant: we’re neither as scared about it as Mei, or as used to failure as she. The coincidences that kept them from getting to each other throughout the episode were pretty much anime cliches, and it’s not like the show hasn’t used a bunch of them throughout.
Plus, this seemed entirely in character for Nagi. Even though she likes Mei, I don’t see how her actions during the Land episode were anything but bro-con cockblocking. Certainly not sensitive and thoughtful.
Really, I just took episode 13 for what it was: another story about these characters. It was humorous, and pretty cliched shoujo. And given how much people like other shoujos that use those same tropes, I think marooning it all in one episode was fine, because generally I don’t like them much. One episode was fine, especially since they were already a couple. But a whole series built on that, like Kimi ni Todoke was, is pretty unbearable.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Episode 13 was awkward. I didn’t even realize there was a 13, since 12 ended it so well. 13 should have been put earlier in the show, but not too early. Also Nagi was too annoying. But the goofy “pushing Yamato away” cartoon scenes were funny. They were refreshing.
Overall, I think this did an alright job with the story, although it hurt the manga in quite a few ways. The manga is overall better for the story than this short anime.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 322 comments
I agree that episode 13 was a bit awkward. I was all choked up at the end of episode 12 and reminiscing about all the good moments. Then episode 13 came out and I thought….ok. It felt a lot like a filler episode which they just stuck to the end.
I think it’s turned out to be one of my favourite shoujo animes. The pace was good and all the problems were quite realistic which I liked.
Overall, I immensely enjoyed this anime 🙂
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I haven’t watched episode 13 lol, but from the reviews, it should have been a DVD bonus instead.
I actually see lots of developments in Mei. Now, she’s way talkative, and she has more friends. She also have the guts to speak her opinions way more than before. Too bad I don’t see any development in Yamato. He’s still… The same? I don’t see anything different from him, except now that he’s way more insecure about Mei
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think that most of Yamato’s development came earlier in the series. When the show started, and before in flashbacks, we see that he was a very unsure person, someone who basically went along with the wind in order to make the others who wanted something from him happy, to not rock the boat. His go-along with the bullies who picked on Kai, his cave-in to Aiko’s demands that he sleep with her. Throughout the series, he became much more of himself, and more likely to do what he thought was right. For instance, in Episode 13, I think beginning-of-the-show Yamato would just have gone along with what Nagi wanted, even though it’s just his little sister, to keep from making her upset.
The other development I think he had was to become more dedicated to a single person, to Mei. That’s one I can’t really explain, because it’s something that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then love doesn’t sometimes.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
It’s too bad this not much development happened in the second half of the series. Yamato kind of went backward in the second half. Even though he’s dedicated, yes, the insecurity he had was a big minus point, with the whole believing-gossip thing. It was disappointing for Yamato’s character.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I do think that Sukitte ii na yo was my favorite shoujo series this season, and my favorite that I’ve seen. I can’t say enough how much I appreciated that it was all framed as “Yamato and Mei are a couple, and this is how they’re dealing with things”, even if many of the things they were dealing with were the same things that other shows present. The different perspective of working out things as a couple, with a commitment there, not an open ended “I want to get with him / her but X/Y/Z is in the way” made a huge difference.