Golden Time – 22
They’re totally back together, right?
You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?
Preview Fakeout
Riding with your girlfriend’s dad after she broke up with you… awkward
We mentioned last week in the comments that it seemed that the preview was showing Banri and Kouko all happily back together. I mean, Banri was so stunned at what happened that he wouldn’t move from the spot where Kouko walked away. Not until Kouko’s dad came and picked him up. I’m not really sure how good Dad’s advice to Banri is, or his hassling Banri about being passive, waiting for Kouko to change her mind and come back to him. He’s right that Banri didn’t chase her, and was waiting for her to come back, but would chasing her have made a difference? Would it have forced some argument? Or would it just have crystallized more? The real key is the anti-anxiety medication that Dad mentions, and I think there’s more meaning to “insecure and in pain” than was let on.
Mitsuo even tries to intervene on Banri x Kouko’s behalf
And then everything seems fine when Kouko greets Banri at school the next day. That is, until she just drops the bomb that “Oh yeah, we broke up.” She’s definitely the only one who knew that. And then Kouko proceeds to tell everyone that she doesn’t really care, about them, about school, about her relationship with Banri. And as bad as my predicting has been on Nagi no Asukara, I got this one right, that Kouko did see Banri’s freakout the day before on the Oka-mera, and for whatever reason decided that she had to break up with him. It does still sound like she’s trying to convince herself, and trying to continue to be friendly with everyone is just the kind of wacky thing she’d do, because you know that usually when you break up, you both don’t get to keep all the friends.
JC Staff has had some great Kouko Faces in this series
It’s Harder on the Others
Yeah, Linda’s not happy about this
What’s worse than your girlfriend announcing you’ve broken up to all your friends? Having to face Linda, who’s still carrying what appears to be a ton of guilt about her past with Banri. Even if Banri’s ok with giving up Kouko, Linda’s not ok with him giving her up. And I think that a lot of that comes back to Linda liking Now Banri much better than Old Banri. And being with Kouko is part of Now Banri, so she doesn’t want to see that go away. But she also doesn’t want to see Banri give up. Especially because she’s done so much to support Now Banri, although a lot of that is probably because of that same guilt, which drives her to cry out that she wishes she could do that over again. I still don’t see that as Linda saying that she’d have accepted dating Banri, but at least he wouldn’t have been there alone to get run over (does it matter if the guy who ran him over is the guy whose affair Banri and Linda broke up?). I don’t like Give Up Banri much either, and his constant talk of ‘disappearing’ and not existing gets tiring.
And while I didn’t think the argument between Linda and Banri was as good as the arguments between Kouko and Banri have been, it was still another good part, where he finally confesses about holding back the truth from the club and from Mitsuo. And while he says that Kouko gave up on him, it’s him that’s still giving up on trying to get her back. That’s what Dad was trying to say, that’s what Linda was trying to say, that’s what Mitsuo was trying to say. Maybe with Banri going after Kouko at the end of the episode, he’s finally going to listen, but who knows.
So do we trust this preview? It didn’t seem to show much, tho, just Banri and Kouko talking. And a lot of 2D-kun. And how will Mitsuo end up reacting to Linda and Banri coming clean about their past? I don’t know if Oka knows about it yet either, but she seems to be a lot more tolerant of it, after she realized that her anger at Banri was more anger and regret at herself for losing Mitsuo and cutting her hair. And can Banri and Kouko really get back together after all this?
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 77 comments
The best troll would be a Linda x Banri ending. I wouldn’t be too against it, personally.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I wouldn’t be against it either, but it would have to happen naturally, and I don’t know if there’s enough time left for that. I’ve thought for a while that Linda likes Now Banri much more than Old Banri, and I’m still convinced she would have told him ‘No’ on the bridge had she gotten there. But she also knows that she kind of missed her chance with New Banri, who fell for Kouko fast and hard.
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
I get the sense that Kouko is deliberately trying to play up her bad qualities in an attempt to soften the blow of Banri getting his memories back and ultimately leaving her, which she sees as an eventuality that she can’t fight and that it’s overall better for Banri to face it. So to do that, she’ll gladly play up the image that she’s a selfish, uncaring, and horrible woman if it drives Banri away so he doesn’t have anything holding him back. That’s why she was so nonchalant about the breakup and played up how Banri didn’t come after her and being so callous about the fact that she’d just shoved him back into the friend zone.
Kouko believes that, in the end, this will leave her alone and without anyone, which she possibly sees as a better fate than seeing the man she loves disappear before her without anything she can do about it. That’s also likely why she’s leaving the club, despite all the good it’s done for her and how much she enjoys it, because she doesn’t want to keep seeing Banri. But the stress of having to do all this, cutting herself off from Banri, breaking his heart, and losing him drove her to act out.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I agree with you that Kouko is trying to cut herself off from Banri, even though she’s still in love with him. I also think that part of it is that she feels like it’s her fault that he’s in so much pain that he’d even resort to medication (something that I get the feeling has a much more significant social stigma in Japan than it does in the west).
But I think that some of it, like we discussed last week, is that she’s getting her own heart broken as well. When Banri runs away, when he has a psychotic break and wails “Don’t tell Kouko, Don’t tell Kouko!” when she’s wanted to help him and support him, that just *has* to rip into her.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I think Koko is doing the right thing. He’s given her reason to call it off (and it has really nothing to do with his amnesia…only how he cuts her out of it), and I think she also has some still hidden feelings of being inadequate.
Now, pushing everyone away? I would hold good argument that she has. But then, she wouldn’t be Koko, right?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
opps Edit: I would hold good argument that she gone to far.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
she has gone to far
Wow. 12 hour shift in an Irish Pub on St. Paddy’s Day. I am whiiiiiiiiped.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
No, she certainly wouldn’t be Kouko if she didn’t take things to extremes. Do you think she wants Banri to chase after her? Or do you think she wants him to just let her go, to get it over with?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Ah, you chase and you’re stalker that can’t take a hint. You leave it alone…you’re spineless. Love is an uncompromising battlefield. Rules of engagement? As fluid as master tactics..
So with that in mind, I think she wants him to chase her after he has gotten his Now Banri together.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
It’s tough even trying to read Kouko right now. Just what is she trying to do?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Get her groove back?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Well, seriously, at this point I’m looking at her relationship with Banri as one of a rebound.