Seiren – 08
Having a bad day
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So who wasn’t thinking that there was going to be another “punt” ending right before the end here? |
Minor Savior
He didn’t even notice she was there. The girl he supposedly likes.
Coming into this episode, we thought there would be a comic market and a date. It turned out kinda mostly one and not much of the other one, with the comic market taking over the majority of the episode. And even though he was presented with plenty of opportunities to be the take charge guy and really set his relationship to Tooru apart, I gotta say that Shouichi really didn’t do any of that in this episode. We learned things like that he wet his pants at an amusement park when he was little, and that he at least has the discretion to not reach for a zipper where he shouldn’t be putting his hand in public.
And then paying attention to the wrong girl
But he didn’t really wow Tooru this episode, either, at least in my book. Yeah, he went after her when she ran off in costume, but when she was being pestered by cosplay photographers, he was pretty much instantly rebuffed and had to rely on Tomoe’s distraction to actually help Tooru. And he definitely drove off Miu and Touka when they made their appearance this arc with his creepy polyamory speech. Maybe it was his nerves, or maybe he’s just a pain in the butt when he’s trying to be helpful, but he certainly wasn’t the cool guy that we want to see, nor was he the cool guy that a girl wants to hang around with. And on top of that, he seemed to spend a lot more attention on Hikari when they were going out to dinner. At least he complimented her, rather than just getting an embarrassed look with Tooru in her cosplay outfit.
And for revenge she attacks him like a vampire
Fake Out Again?
Ok, not really. But that bandage isn’t fooling anyone. You gonna say you cut yourself shaving?
That last led to Tooru heading off in a bad mood, and Shouichi having to chase after her. And instead of actually complimenting Tooru about her outfit, Shouichi changes the subject to what she’s done wrong! Dude! So when that led into the big climax scene with Shouichi’s confession, combined with Tooru saying that she’s going to focus on her future from now on, I was totally thinking this was another fizzle ending, because another one of those Japanese beliefs is that you apparently can’t study if you have a boyfriend. But instead of it being a refusal, this time Tooru was really just not knowing what to say (plus, she’s probably still a bit annoyed that he didn’t compliment her on her outfit). But she actually responds by giving him a hickey on his adam’s apple.
Finally a real kiss
Bonus Images That You Probably Don’t Want To Show At Work
And later, a happy family
So this time we actually did get a couple from the show, not just a “maybe they’ll meet each other again.” They did have some nice couple moments at the end of their confession day, and the epilogue this time was a lot more conventional, with Shouichi driving the bus to Tooru’s preschool with their daughter on it. And even if their getting together wasn’t driven by crazy happenings and dramatic moments, it was still nice to see them be together. Tooru said she didn’t want the fact that he confessed to drastically change their relationship, but it obviously did a little bit. According to Shouichi it was staying platonic until she got through her exams, tho (because again, apparently you can’t fool around sometimes and study other times). But overall, this ending is going to be a lot more satisfying than Hikari’s ending, and I think it will put to rest worries about the writing being hamstrung by a desire to sell discs or even some tie-in game to be able to see the “real” ending.
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: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Seiren’s head writer, Takayama Kisai/Li Singhao, actually started out as a character illustrator for the Amagami VN and anime series – Seiren marks his debut in writing and composing an anime (he did help in structuring the Amagami anime story). This might explain some rough patches in the writing, and the VN-like structure of each separate arc.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, I like the VN structure, because I think that it’s a lot more interesting and authentic than the harem nature that most properties such as this turn into. Harems can be fun, but as they get larger, they get more ridiculous, as well as as they get longer. I think that a lot of the writing here is fine, and is authentic, especially how wishy-washy Shouichi has been especially through Tooru’s arc. It just hasn’t been especially inspiring or heart-touching so far.