Glasslip – 02
And now it’s time for these important announcements!
This episode put a lot of cards out on the table. So was it a straight, gin, or did they get the old maid?
Sight and Sound
Bright and shiny
Touko has always glimpsed the future, apparently. Is this more than deja vu? She says it’s never been clear, it’s never been much, and it’s always been through glass. And she hasn’t really been able to tell it from a normal daydream, and didn’t think it’s from the future. But now Kakeru is confirming it, and that he is able to hear the future. And when the two of them are together, they both see and hear, in more clarity and completeness than before. Is this a sign of something? But even confirming it, it kind of leaves Touko in a weird place that she doesn’t know what to do about it.
An instant reaction from Sachi. What is she protecting Touko from and why?
Sachi has placed herself in an interesting position as well. Quick to rise to Touko’s aid and defense, even to put herself in possible harm’s way on Touko’s behalf. She’s also quite vehement when she says that she can’t imagine what she’d do to anyone who was to try hurt Touko. Is this another indication of a possible side of a love polygon? Sachi has been somewhat of an enigma, the one who brings up the group’s no-dating rule, the one who seems the most on the ball, but then doesn’t really seem to acknowledge Hiro’s obvious feelings for her.
Was this a threat?
Unstable Equilibrium
Hiro’s onee-san has the best part of the show so far
It was pointed out last week that the director of Glasslip, Junji Nishimura, is the same director who did True Tears. And maybe it was knowing that, or maybe it was just the way the episode played out, but it really felt similar to that show, in that there was a very uneasy steady state that existed prior to the series. People had wants, people had desires, but they didn’t do anything about them before because it would upset the apple cart. But now they’re getting to a point where those feelings, those wants, are becoming more powerful than their hesitance to rock the boat. In True Tears, those wants caused a lot of worries and false paths, and even preemptive strikes.
Yanagi sees exactly what she didn’t want to see, yet feared
And in Glasslip we’ve got a situation where there has been agreement that noone in their group will date, either within or without the group. But amongst a group of growing teenagers, this is something that is unsustainable (as pointed out by Kakeru). Members have grown close to each other, and have developed feelings for each other. Yuki towards Touko, Yanagi towards Yuki, Hiro towards Sachi (even though Hiro never really knew there was a ban). And Touko’s feeling intrigued a bit by Kakeru, even if she’s not really thinking about dating him. So her unilateral decision to rescind the dating ban, almost thoughtlessly thrown out there, is going to be the catalyst for a lot of reactions to come, with the first happening almost immediately.
The bike covers Touko’s reaction
Unfortunately, it’s the exact opposite thing that Touko, apparently completely oblivious to Yuki’s feelings (she even pushed him into it, not realizing how he felt), wanted to happen, and the very thing that Yanagi feared. It’s certain that Touko’s impetus for rescinding the ban was to help Yanagi out, and get Yuki to confess to Yanagi, but unfortunately what happened was the wrong way around. And now that there’s been one confession, what will happen to the rest? Hiro was definitely going to try to confess to Sachi, and Touko wanted Yanagi to confess to Yuki, but after seeing Yuki and Touko, I think it’ll be quite a while before she can. Will she play “the girl who’s always there for you when the others turned you down”? Or will Yanagi actually come out and make a move? And what kind of wedge will that drive between Touko and Yanagi? Will they stay as close? It’s not like Touko was actively moving in on Yanagi’s boy. And what was that look that Sachi had for Touko when she lifted the ban? Wondering what her motives were? Interested in Touko? We’ll just have to see what happens.
This whole episode had that feeling, not really of ‘dread’ but at least that something destabilizing was happening, that the boulder on top of the mountain was precariously sitting there, and you knew it would leave a changed landscape behind it wherever it went. It may have only started to fall, but the ramifications are not anything close to clear yet. This episode really kept that feeling going the whole time and it was a delicious ache. The other great thing this episode was the inclusion of Chopin’s Nocturne Op 9 No 2 in E-flat major, my second favorite after Op. 72 No 1 in E minor (maybe because I had so much trouble with the trills).
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: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’ve been looking around on the various intertubes about this show. “Nothing happened”…is how it boils down.
What? Holy crap. On like five possible felts, five possible cue balls were just struck…
And then you add the possibility of gestalt clairvoyance…
Glasslip…you just keep on going with your crazyawsomeself…
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Touko is a bit more than oblivious. She assumes things will go as she hopes they will. She pushes the situation along thinking she will help Yanagi, without ever once considering there could be another outcome.
That kind of person is a loose cannon, and has a propensity to do a lot of damage. I don’t know if seeing the future is a good or bad thing in this instance. I suppose knowing the future gives her a bit of a reality check instead of just being guided by her hopes. On the other hand, I suspect glimpses of the future can cause her to rush into all sorts of situations, throwing things into turmoil, just as she did for Yanagi and Yuki.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
“Is that Old Dog Tray…It sound like Old Dog Tray to me?”
POWUH: iLurker with 13 comments
I just had to laugh at the bike, even it knew how awkward the atmosphere got when Touko got confessed. XD
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, that felt oddly intense and dramatic, and yet…nothing really happened.
It’s unusual to actually get a confession so soon in the series, And you kind of feel bad for all these points in this polygon of unrequited feelings. The series feels oddly paced, but I’m sort of okay with it.
I liked the supernatural element of seeing into the future with blown glass. It’s like a new spin on the “gaze into the crystal ball” thing. However, I think they really are going to have to explain that more as to how all this future seeing works.
Also, “David”, so far doesn’t really seem to be a “character” yet for me. So far, he’s really just a cipher for which he can give exposition and can be a catalyst for the group. There’s no explanation as to how he knows what he knows or knew Touko would be the key.
So far the series is okay, but it’s not wowing me.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I have to disagree that ‘nothing really happened’. The entire foundation of the group has been rocked by Touko, and the reshifting required is only just beginning. These are significant happenings, especially for these kids.
There are a lot of times you get the wrong confession early in a series. It takes a while to get to the right confessions.
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 43 comments
Touko is the usual idiot, oblivious to the feelings of everyone around her. Sachi feels like she’s gay and in love with Touko. Her reactions are way too forced for a friend’s, really more like the gay dame that hates men, just like most gay dudes hate women (and I know quite a few and I have a friend in The Netherlands who knows a few more to prove that I’m not imagining it – nothing against gay people, it’s just that they seem to hate the competition) and wants to protect Touko like a hen over her eggs. It’s really very silly and unsympathetic to me, perhaps because I can’t relate to such unreasonable emotionalism. Just like I can’t relate to Japanese inability to talk about their personal feelings.