White Album 2 – 03
Caught you, snoopers!
Through the first two episodes, White Album 2 was my favorite show of the season so far. I’ve been enjoying the unusual characters in Setsuna and Haruki, but will the introduction of the third main character change the show too much?
Kazusa Touma
I find it hard to play guitar on my lap, and this is why
Yes, the piano player is Haruki’s desk neighbor in Class E, Kazusa Touma. A prodigy piano player, kinda secret daughter of world-famous pianist Youko Touma, she was in Class H (for Music curriculum students) until last year, when they made a deal for her to move to Class E in order to stop disrupting Class H. Haruki can’t believe she was that disruptive, because she’s been coming to school a lot lately, and being quiet (sleeping at her desk, tho). He’s even got some history with her, as she’s the one who taught him how to play guitar, and he thinks she’s an amazing, caring person. So he thinks she’ll definitely join the band.
Kazusa and Setsuna strike a deal
But it doesn’t really go to plan, mostly because Haruki can’t control his impulse to lecture her even if he says he’s not going to. He’s not going to give up, and neither is Setsuna, because she really wants to have this opportunity to sing. So Setsuna is going to put the full-court press on Kazusa, who at the same time seems to realize that the main reason Haruki wants to be in the school fair performance is for Setsuna.
Setsuna really does like Haruki
Setting Up the Triangle
Setsuna even makes dinner
It’s interesting the lengths that Setsuna will go to to try to get this group together, even inviting Kazusa and Haruki over to her house for food and talking. And both Haruki and Kazusa are wondering if she’s really the school’s idol, since she’s just kind of a normal girl when you get to know her. And she’s actually been kind of lonely, not having any friends come over for over 3 years. But she really wants this band to work. And what comes out most during their dinner is Setsuna’s realization that Kazusa actually likes Haruki, since she knows much more about him than you’d expect.
Interesting that the takeaway that Kazusa has from this is “She has a family that cares for her”
For all Setsuna’s work, tho, her father gives her a hard time because of some ‘promise’ she made to her parents. It’s got to be something about commitments to school or something, because she has to send everyone home while her family discusses it. Its something that Kazusa can’t really understand, but for some reason she’s going to give her a chance. “I can’t be friends with her. She’ll either end up being my mortal enemy, or the best friend I ever have.” Maybe she is hoping for some kind of connection with people, as someone who seemingly never has had one with anyone. Or maybe it’s because she thinks it’ll get her closer to Haruki.
Comparing herself to Kazusa is a losing proposition
This episode was completely engrossing to me. It’s a cliché, but when the credits rolled at the end, I realized I was sitting forward in my chair, watching what was happening intently. It’s not that it’s amazing action, it’s not that these characters are ‘special’ in the show. The thing this show has going for it is authenticity. Setsuna’s family was perfect played, from her mother giving her a hard time about not cooking, to listening at the door, to the family meeting. And for her part, Setsuna herself is still showing as a great character, not overplaying her hand, focusing on singing along with Haruki and Kazusa again. She’s definitely got a bit of a thing for Haruki, but she also realizes that Kazusa does, and is more interested in singing than in winning Haruki at the moment.
For her part, Kazusa has a good blend of self-assured genius and ‘normal person’. Her personality isn’t overplayed, like some trope-laden ojou-sama, or tsundere. She’s a loner by temperament, but she finds Setsuna to be extremely genuine, completely unlike that ‘idol of the whole school’ reputation. Is this a situation where two girls realize that they can help each other deal with the bothersome aspects of a reputation that has been foisted on them by people who don’t really know them? Or is it just that there’s something about the other, and something about Haruki, that makes both of them more agreeable?
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!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
It’s a little late to ask, but can I watch this show without having seen the first?
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Yes you can. This isn’t a sequel to the first series with the same name. The only connection from what I hear is the song itself, “White Album” and you can even dismiss that.
So watch it. Now.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
To add on to that, this is quickly becoming the best romance triangle show that I’ve seen, with three good characters holding up the show, and great background music and insert songs. I’ll really recommend it to this point.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Good to know because when I see some series titled with a number, I wonder why it’s like that when there’s obviously no previous installment. Like Persona 4 or Devil Survivor 2
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 39 comments
This show for now had been the most entertening to me because it realy keeped up the quality from the first episode, i finded myself in love whit setsuna shy way of act but that burns out on stage, she (her seyuu) is really a good singer, i want to be a singer myself so i get all exited when they start playng anything lol.
i don´t realy understand her parents tho, what is the problem whit her singin again i mean she already did it twice didn’t she? i’m thinking for now that she might have some heart condition or something that might be danger to her in presure situations.
i mean what else coud be that inportant at the point that her father tels her to send haruki and kazusa away? i alredy past out before a presentation on a talent show on my school but my parents didin’t where against me tring again, it made me a litle angry actualy the whole storm in a cup of wather her father is doing.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It’s not really a medical problem or anything with Setsuna performing. I’m going to say that it’s more that because of something in the past, she promised her parents that she would either stay away from getting in groups of friends, or she would stay away from commitments to non-academic extra-curricular activities.
My early guess is that the friends she had those pictures with on the board in her room either had some sort of falling out, or something otherwise went wrong with it. It’s easy to assume that anime dad is being a big ogre, making Setsuna send her friends home and hassling her about it, but I think it’s more that there was some other deal made, and they need to discuss it as a family. Note that Kazusa interprets it the same way, although tinged with both contempt and jealousy for her having a family that cares enough about her to have a meeting about her well-being.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Favorite of the entire season or have you set the other series up by categories? In the case of romances, there’s still Golden Time as a formidable competitor.
Kazusa has joined though out of reluctance but I can already feel the uneasy tension in the air. It’s interesting watching a possible love triagle when each of the party’s completely different from the other.
I’ll give Haruki points for ambition for the band’s sake but it gets irritating when he starts coming off as condescending when putting out his reasons for Kazusa to join. I can’t stand things like that. It was more like bullying than concern for a fellow classmate. He may also be a little too optimistic. As Kazusa was probably trying to make him understand, not everything goes according to plan.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Singular favorite show of the season, above all others. And actually, nothing else is even close at the moment, not even Golden Time, which I’m enjoying a lot.
I think it’s interesting to note as I said how much Setsuna wants to sing with these two, in that she’s willing to bring Kazusa and Haruki together – two people she is sure like each other – even though she’s really interested in Haruki herself. If her main goal was Haruki, she’d have done something else and kept them apart, but singing takes precedence right now.
As someone who far too easily slips into lecture mode, I feel quite the affinity for Haruki, and also realize how much it turns other people off. It comes from a place where one is confident about how other people should do things and what would be better for them, but it can be pretty offputting. I have tried to curb the impulse as I’ve grown, choosing instead to try to let people make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. But it’s hard when you know that something else will work better.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
This anime right now is just too good; i mean it is so straight-forward about what its doing, but with a sense of casualness and subtlety that we usually dont get in anime so thank goodness for that. I am really hoping this momentum last. Right now, i can say that white album 2 is turning out to be a well-directed high school drama; and not one of those cheesy highschool drama’s.