Well the second season is here and because i loved the first series, i've decided to follow this one too. What different here is that they arent following the game anymore, the first season already covered everything in the games. The second important point is... they are already all couples (except for Rihoko) so its quite a challenge to keep the story going. How do they hold up? Lets find out.
Tsukasa Arc
Working backwards here they start with Tsukasa's arc. Very abridged summary, Tsukasa is running for school president and has selected Junichi to be her vice president. Whats in their way is a new girl with quite powerful connections due to her father and is catching up in the polls. to make things worse, she also selects Junichi as her VP to get under Tsukasa's skin, and even kisses him in front of her. Tsukasa gets a bit rattled, but does pull through and with encouragement from Junichi makes a emotional speech and wins the election.
Rihoko's arc
Continuing from last season, Junichi is now with the tea club and the older sempai's have left. Junichi's parents are away so he hasn't been eating properly. Rihoko decides to come over and cook for him, but along the way is hit on by a guy from their school with Junichi catching it all. Whats important here is that for the first time we hear her admit she has feelings for Junichi, but he was out of earshot and didnt hear, only getting the wrong idea due to the other guy being around rihoko. he comes over. After dinner and some fireworks (no they didnt bang, they were literally playing with fireworks) they admit they like each other and the implication is they are now together.
Impressions:
The Tsukasa arc was entertaining, but with only 2 episodes per girl, we dont really get much development. thats not necessarily a bad thing though as there really isn't much to develop. Like i said they already finished the story so its hard to come up with more stories for these characters. They went for the "jealousy angle" for the first arc. It works pretty well and its still unclear weather the new girl is actually interested in Junichi or if shes trying to get at Tsukasa. (She did seem more upset that Junichi is still with Tsukasa proclaiming she would make him hers so im guessing the former) the problem is if they try to use this for the other arcs as well. the story will get boring really fast.
The Rihoko arc is pretty average. It finished off the her story and officially made the two a couple. However, this should have happened last season. It didnt really feel like an extra set of episodes like the others and it did made it feel more connected to the main story, but it left Rihoko fans feeling like they are being shorted a set of extra episodes. The actually episode and writing are average at best. It left absolutely no impact on me and infact i had to rewatch the last couple of minutes to remember what even happened. I guess its because i knew they were going to wrap up the arc so there wasnt much surprise as to what direction the story was heading.
Read more!
Showing posts with label amagami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amagami. Show all posts
Friday, March 16, 2012
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Amagami SS Rihoko and Tsukasa arc
Labels:
amagami
Hey guys, no im not gone, and no i haven't forgotten about the surprise, its just taking a long time and its a lot more work than i though it would be, but it will get finished eventually. This review is going to be pretty big and long because it includes a quick summary and a review of two arcs, the two arcs that has the greatest controversy. I'm also going to be doing an overall series review in this post. I know that there are two more episodes left, and i do plan on covering them, but they are more like extra eps so i feel the overall summary is better here. Anyways, onto the review.
Rihoko Arc Summary:
Rihoko and Junichi are chilhood friends and right from the start, it is obvious that Rihoko likes Junichi as more than just a friend. Rihoko has another issue though and she feels shes overweight. She tried diets before, but can never stick to them. She vows to complete her diet this time around. Rihoko is also in the tea club whose only two other members are seniors who will be graduating. With that in mind, they look to get new members to join. The seniors noticed the attraction between Junichi and Rihoko so they try to push him them together and make him join the tea club as well. TBH a bit more happens, with the founders festival and new years as well, but nothing really happens. The rest of the story is her trying her diet and trying to get new memebers. At the end, Junichi does join the tea club and Rihoko hopes to be able to tell him her feelings one day.
Reactions:
Well there is a lot to talk about in this arc, so lets get right into it.
First of all, the character. When i first heard about Amagami, Rihoko was one of the most popular characters before the series started. I didn't really get it at the time, but then i learned that Rihoko is suppose to be heavier than the average characters, but she doesn't look like it. This is a case of hollywood pudgy, where a character is said to be overweight, but doesn't look any different. But we're constantly shown that she is eating snacks, more than usual and she couldn't fit into a hole Junichi was able to fit into easily. Well like i said, i didn't really get it, and never really felt sympathetic for the character. The worst part is, this story could have been much much better. Given how dramatic and serious Amagami can be at times, they should have shown her as average weight, and in fact becoming unhealthy because of dieting, but i would guess they want to stick to the original story.
The next point of complaint is the boringness of the character and the story. For the first time we have a character who is attracted to Junichi from the very beginning being childhood friends. This is an interesting chance to play on the story. However, instead the story doesnt really move along. Nothing really happens. Rihoko tries to diet and fails, Rihoko tries to confess to Junichi and fails, Rihoko tries to get members for the tea club and fails, Junichi runs away from the tea club. I honestly tried to think about what happened in the story, and besides minor plot scenes like new years and such, the overall plot doesn't really go anywhere. On that topic, Junichi seems to have no interest in Rihoko. He doesn't join the tea club for her sake, and he never showed any signs of wanting to be in a relationship. In other arcs this would be fine, but this is Rihoko's arc, yet he shows no interest in her.
Alright, i avoided it as long as i could. The biggest issue of this arc. Rihoko is the only girl to NOT win over the affections of Junichi. She doesnt start a relationship, she doesn't fully confess her feelings, anything. Theres not much needed to be said. This is simply stupid. It is insulting to the fans who have been waiting for this arc. There are rumors the directors of the show didn't want this arc to overtake Tsukasa's arc, but given Tsukasa's popularity i have to question that. Even if this was true, the entire point of the resetting arc format is that people can choose which arc they like best. You shouldn't be trying to push the popularity of one character over another, especially with this format. Overall i had no interest in Rihoko, i still have no interest in Rihoko, but the decision to destroy the character with such a weak arc is stupid. The only real fault i have had with this show.
Tsukasa Arc Summary:
Junichi due to his past avoids the founders festival. Knowing his attitude has to change, he votes not to run away next year. Next year when the class chooses a committee member for the founders festival the next year, Tsukasa volunteers again, but seeing as how she is also the class rep, the teacher decides she needs someone to help her. Junichi volunteers so he can force himself to go this year. They start working and Junichi is very impressed with Tsukasa's abilities. When they run into Tsukasa's sister, it seems like Tsukasa doesn't like her. However one day he finds a note book, and when Tsukasa founds out he found it, she threatens to beat him, showing a side of her much different from her public image. She said the note book contains something that would force her to leave the school should anyone find out. He find out she cares very much about her reputation and puts on this act to look good. She continues to work but she works herself into exhaustion and misses school one day and Junichi visits her. When she returns, he suggest they ask others in the class to help, worried about her health. Three of the other girls confront Tsukasa about her relationship with Junichi. Tsukasa breaks her act and gives the girls a tongue lashing. That night, Tsukasa burns the note book and asks Junichi to start a relationship. The next day the three girls try to pick on Tsukasa during PE, but the rest of the class still supports her. Junichi worried that Tsukasa will work herself into sickness again asks her to get the others to help again. Tsukasa slaps him and is obviously upset. The next day, Tsukasa does a 180 and goes back to her cheerful nice persona. when Junichi confronts her she says the mean Tsukasa is gone. The founders festival goes out without a hitch, but Junichi still wants the real Tsukasa back. He confronts her again and she breaks down showing the real Tsuaksa still exists. Tsukasa tells Junichi her motivation is that when she was a child she found out santa doesnt exists. She decided she wanted to be santa and bring happiness to everyone at christmas. However as time went on, she realized she did it more for herself rather than out of goodness. Junichi doesn't agree and they start a relationship. Ten years later the two celebrates Christmas at their school, with their daughter.
Reactions:
This is a much much better arc than Rihoko's. The story is much stronger with a huge sense of mystery. Throughout watching it i really wanted to find out what her secret was. I had read some spoilers and knew she was suppose to be a bitch underneath but other than that i didn't know anything. This was the first arc i skipped ahead to try and find out what her deal was. the saddest part is, we never really know. She mentions something about finding out santa isnt real, and that is what causes her to work so hard for the founders festival, but other than that nothing is really explained. Why does she hate her sister so much? What is in her notebook? Why did she say it was worse for her finding out Santa didn't exists? Through some digging i found the answer to the first two. Apparently she always resented her sister for being so outgoing and never needing to hide her true self. Her diary hid her real feelings and while i guessed that, it might have been nice to see the writing itself. The last one, why the santa thing hit her so hard, was never answered. In fact, if anyone has played the game and can fill me in that would be great. Overall a strong arc, not perfect, but definitely very solid.
Overall Amagami Review:
So lets take a look at amagami as a whole all together. In my opinion, when amagami is good, its really good. One of the top drama/romance stories i've ever seen. Keep in mind they have 4 episodes to write and tell a full story, often changing the character's attitudes so its not like they can simply do it once and repeat. The concept of each girl having only 4 episodes to establish their character was worrisome at first because i didn't think that was enough time to fully flesh out the characters. watching the very rushed first arc with Haruka certainly didn't help that. However when we got into the later arcs, especially the arcs i didn't care for, i feel that 4 episodes can work, and in fact is helpful in some situations. For instance, i was stuck on the Sae arc for well over a month because i couldn't stand her voice. Had i known i would need to hear it for 6 or 7 episodes i likely would have dropped it. That's not to say i would stop watching just because of one voice, but if it fails to hold my attention with my schedule i will end up dropping it like it or not. If so i would have missed the fantastic Ai and Tsukasa arcs. i was also stuck in the Rihoko arc after coming off such a strong Ai arc and hearing the train wreck it turned out to be. The biggest benefit of this format is that they can have vastly contrasting characters and have them all win. Sure i may not like Sae but others do and they can enjoy it as much as i enjoyed the arcs i liked. However this format is the ONE format you have no excuse to play favorites. This is designed so that everyone can win. Gimping one arc because its "too popular" is just stupid. This is the biggest misstep with Amagami and it really hurts the writing team for this. So would this format work again? I'd like to see it again. if they can master getting a good story down in a short time, and amagami shows it is possible, than this format has a lot going for it. It takes a really strong writing team to do that though so if might be a huge failure the next time its tried. They also need to avoid the mistakes amagami made and keep every arc as strong as the last. Its still a very good show and overall i enjoyed it.
Now lets go over my rankings for the arcs and the girls.
Ranking by Arcs:
Tsukasa:
This is probably the best written and best preformed arc. It was complicated, well paced, and was mysterious enough to get me hunting for spoilers. they left out some things so it could be better, but its still probably the best arc of the show.
Kaoru:
It was a well written arc and very emotional. This is probably the only arc to make Junichi look completely competent.
Ai:
Overall a good arc and well written. It doesn't really have anything spectacular, but its not bad.
Haruka:
At points this was a great arc. It did a really good job showcasing Haruka and her playful nature. The thing that hurts this arc a lot is its pacing. It really feels rushed, something that no other arc suffers from.
Sae:
the arc was generic. it didnt make any big mistakes, but nothing captured my attention in particular.
Rihoko:
I dont think anything more needs to be said. Just look above.
Ranking by girls:
Ai:
This is why i wanted to do separate rankings for the arcs and for the girls. Writing wise her story was average, but Ai herself i love. Shes the kind stoic one, the one who has problems eating them inside but doesn't want to bother others with it. You really felt that she and Junichi relied on each other and through that seem to have a strong relationship going forward.
Haruka:
She is fun-loving, playful, sexy, and kind. Shes basically what every teenager's dream girl would be, but it doesn't make her conceited. Its sad how her arc didn't give her enough time to develop, but she certainly stole the spotlight when she cameoed in the other routes, mostly with her playful teasing of Hibiki. She's also voiced by my goddess Ito Shizuka which always helps :D
Tsukasa:
Im not a super fan of the tsundere types, which is why Tsukasa is low on my list personally. Her arc is really good and brings out the best in a character i though i would have zero interest in. Also, before her arc i kept hearing how she was such a "bitch" underneath, but to be honest she wasnt a whole lot meaner, well aside from trying to kill Junichi, to everyone than normal. Ya shes not the perfect Yamato Nadesico, but shes far from a bitch.
Kaoru:
Like i said, she played to the tsundere crowd which isnt my main interest. Her character is interesting and her arc brought out a real weakness that we can all relate or sympathize with. Shes good, but IMO is outclassed. This is just to show how strong the cast is overall to have me say the 4th out of 6th in my ranking is still good.
Rihoko:
Nothing really wrong with the character, but i also never felt like i sympathized or like the character at all. Very bland and average for me. All the hype around her and the let down of her arc didnt help either.
Sae:
Sorry, i hate this character. And TBH, its only because of the voice. I cannot stand that voice. It might be a shallow way to judge, but it was a breaker for me.
All in all, an amazing series. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good romance story. Read more!
Rihoko Arc Summary:
Rihoko and Junichi are chilhood friends and right from the start, it is obvious that Rihoko likes Junichi as more than just a friend. Rihoko has another issue though and she feels shes overweight. She tried diets before, but can never stick to them. She vows to complete her diet this time around. Rihoko is also in the tea club whose only two other members are seniors who will be graduating. With that in mind, they look to get new members to join. The seniors noticed the attraction between Junichi and Rihoko so they try to push him them together and make him join the tea club as well. TBH a bit more happens, with the founders festival and new years as well, but nothing really happens. The rest of the story is her trying her diet and trying to get new memebers. At the end, Junichi does join the tea club and Rihoko hopes to be able to tell him her feelings one day.
Reactions:
Well there is a lot to talk about in this arc, so lets get right into it.
First of all, the character. When i first heard about Amagami, Rihoko was one of the most popular characters before the series started. I didn't really get it at the time, but then i learned that Rihoko is suppose to be heavier than the average characters, but she doesn't look like it. This is a case of hollywood pudgy, where a character is said to be overweight, but doesn't look any different. But we're constantly shown that she is eating snacks, more than usual and she couldn't fit into a hole Junichi was able to fit into easily. Well like i said, i didn't really get it, and never really felt sympathetic for the character. The worst part is, this story could have been much much better. Given how dramatic and serious Amagami can be at times, they should have shown her as average weight, and in fact becoming unhealthy because of dieting, but i would guess they want to stick to the original story.
The next point of complaint is the boringness of the character and the story. For the first time we have a character who is attracted to Junichi from the very beginning being childhood friends. This is an interesting chance to play on the story. However, instead the story doesnt really move along. Nothing really happens. Rihoko tries to diet and fails, Rihoko tries to confess to Junichi and fails, Rihoko tries to get members for the tea club and fails, Junichi runs away from the tea club. I honestly tried to think about what happened in the story, and besides minor plot scenes like new years and such, the overall plot doesn't really go anywhere. On that topic, Junichi seems to have no interest in Rihoko. He doesn't join the tea club for her sake, and he never showed any signs of wanting to be in a relationship. In other arcs this would be fine, but this is Rihoko's arc, yet he shows no interest in her.
Alright, i avoided it as long as i could. The biggest issue of this arc. Rihoko is the only girl to NOT win over the affections of Junichi. She doesnt start a relationship, she doesn't fully confess her feelings, anything. Theres not much needed to be said. This is simply stupid. It is insulting to the fans who have been waiting for this arc. There are rumors the directors of the show didn't want this arc to overtake Tsukasa's arc, but given Tsukasa's popularity i have to question that. Even if this was true, the entire point of the resetting arc format is that people can choose which arc they like best. You shouldn't be trying to push the popularity of one character over another, especially with this format. Overall i had no interest in Rihoko, i still have no interest in Rihoko, but the decision to destroy the character with such a weak arc is stupid. The only real fault i have had with this show.
Tsukasa Arc Summary:
Junichi due to his past avoids the founders festival. Knowing his attitude has to change, he votes not to run away next year. Next year when the class chooses a committee member for the founders festival the next year, Tsukasa volunteers again, but seeing as how she is also the class rep, the teacher decides she needs someone to help her. Junichi volunteers so he can force himself to go this year. They start working and Junichi is very impressed with Tsukasa's abilities. When they run into Tsukasa's sister, it seems like Tsukasa doesn't like her. However one day he finds a note book, and when Tsukasa founds out he found it, she threatens to beat him, showing a side of her much different from her public image. She said the note book contains something that would force her to leave the school should anyone find out. He find out she cares very much about her reputation and puts on this act to look good. She continues to work but she works herself into exhaustion and misses school one day and Junichi visits her. When she returns, he suggest they ask others in the class to help, worried about her health. Three of the other girls confront Tsukasa about her relationship with Junichi. Tsukasa breaks her act and gives the girls a tongue lashing. That night, Tsukasa burns the note book and asks Junichi to start a relationship. The next day the three girls try to pick on Tsukasa during PE, but the rest of the class still supports her. Junichi worried that Tsukasa will work herself into sickness again asks her to get the others to help again. Tsukasa slaps him and is obviously upset. The next day, Tsukasa does a 180 and goes back to her cheerful nice persona. when Junichi confronts her she says the mean Tsukasa is gone. The founders festival goes out without a hitch, but Junichi still wants the real Tsukasa back. He confronts her again and she breaks down showing the real Tsuaksa still exists. Tsukasa tells Junichi her motivation is that when she was a child she found out santa doesnt exists. She decided she wanted to be santa and bring happiness to everyone at christmas. However as time went on, she realized she did it more for herself rather than out of goodness. Junichi doesn't agree and they start a relationship. Ten years later the two celebrates Christmas at their school, with their daughter.
Reactions:
This is a much much better arc than Rihoko's. The story is much stronger with a huge sense of mystery. Throughout watching it i really wanted to find out what her secret was. I had read some spoilers and knew she was suppose to be a bitch underneath but other than that i didn't know anything. This was the first arc i skipped ahead to try and find out what her deal was. the saddest part is, we never really know. She mentions something about finding out santa isnt real, and that is what causes her to work so hard for the founders festival, but other than that nothing is really explained. Why does she hate her sister so much? What is in her notebook? Why did she say it was worse for her finding out Santa didn't exists? Through some digging i found the answer to the first two. Apparently she always resented her sister for being so outgoing and never needing to hide her true self. Her diary hid her real feelings and while i guessed that, it might have been nice to see the writing itself. The last one, why the santa thing hit her so hard, was never answered. In fact, if anyone has played the game and can fill me in that would be great. Overall a strong arc, not perfect, but definitely very solid.
Overall Amagami Review:
So lets take a look at amagami as a whole all together. In my opinion, when amagami is good, its really good. One of the top drama/romance stories i've ever seen. Keep in mind they have 4 episodes to write and tell a full story, often changing the character's attitudes so its not like they can simply do it once and repeat. The concept of each girl having only 4 episodes to establish their character was worrisome at first because i didn't think that was enough time to fully flesh out the characters. watching the very rushed first arc with Haruka certainly didn't help that. However when we got into the later arcs, especially the arcs i didn't care for, i feel that 4 episodes can work, and in fact is helpful in some situations. For instance, i was stuck on the Sae arc for well over a month because i couldn't stand her voice. Had i known i would need to hear it for 6 or 7 episodes i likely would have dropped it. That's not to say i would stop watching just because of one voice, but if it fails to hold my attention with my schedule i will end up dropping it like it or not. If so i would have missed the fantastic Ai and Tsukasa arcs. i was also stuck in the Rihoko arc after coming off such a strong Ai arc and hearing the train wreck it turned out to be. The biggest benefit of this format is that they can have vastly contrasting characters and have them all win. Sure i may not like Sae but others do and they can enjoy it as much as i enjoyed the arcs i liked. However this format is the ONE format you have no excuse to play favorites. This is designed so that everyone can win. Gimping one arc because its "too popular" is just stupid. This is the biggest misstep with Amagami and it really hurts the writing team for this. So would this format work again? I'd like to see it again. if they can master getting a good story down in a short time, and amagami shows it is possible, than this format has a lot going for it. It takes a really strong writing team to do that though so if might be a huge failure the next time its tried. They also need to avoid the mistakes amagami made and keep every arc as strong as the last. Its still a very good show and overall i enjoyed it.
Now lets go over my rankings for the arcs and the girls.
Ranking by Arcs:
Tsukasa:
This is probably the best written and best preformed arc. It was complicated, well paced, and was mysterious enough to get me hunting for spoilers. they left out some things so it could be better, but its still probably the best arc of the show.
Kaoru:
It was a well written arc and very emotional. This is probably the only arc to make Junichi look completely competent.
Ai:
Overall a good arc and well written. It doesn't really have anything spectacular, but its not bad.
Haruka:
At points this was a great arc. It did a really good job showcasing Haruka and her playful nature. The thing that hurts this arc a lot is its pacing. It really feels rushed, something that no other arc suffers from.
Sae:
the arc was generic. it didnt make any big mistakes, but nothing captured my attention in particular.
Rihoko:
I dont think anything more needs to be said. Just look above.
Ranking by girls:
Ai:
This is why i wanted to do separate rankings for the arcs and for the girls. Writing wise her story was average, but Ai herself i love. Shes the kind stoic one, the one who has problems eating them inside but doesn't want to bother others with it. You really felt that she and Junichi relied on each other and through that seem to have a strong relationship going forward.
Haruka:
She is fun-loving, playful, sexy, and kind. Shes basically what every teenager's dream girl would be, but it doesn't make her conceited. Its sad how her arc didn't give her enough time to develop, but she certainly stole the spotlight when she cameoed in the other routes, mostly with her playful teasing of Hibiki. She's also voiced by my goddess Ito Shizuka which always helps :D
Tsukasa:
Im not a super fan of the tsundere types, which is why Tsukasa is low on my list personally. Her arc is really good and brings out the best in a character i though i would have zero interest in. Also, before her arc i kept hearing how she was such a "bitch" underneath, but to be honest she wasnt a whole lot meaner, well aside from trying to kill Junichi, to everyone than normal. Ya shes not the perfect Yamato Nadesico, but shes far from a bitch.
Kaoru:
Like i said, she played to the tsundere crowd which isnt my main interest. Her character is interesting and her arc brought out a real weakness that we can all relate or sympathize with. Shes good, but IMO is outclassed. This is just to show how strong the cast is overall to have me say the 4th out of 6th in my ranking is still good.
Rihoko:
Nothing really wrong with the character, but i also never felt like i sympathized or like the character at all. Very bland and average for me. All the hype around her and the let down of her arc didnt help either.
Sae:
Sorry, i hate this character. And TBH, its only because of the voice. I cannot stand that voice. It might be a shallow way to judge, but it was a breaker for me.
All in all, an amazing series. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good romance story. Read more!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Amagami routes Sae and Ai Eps 9-16
Labels:
amagami
If you read my year in review, you'll know Amagami was a surprising favorite of mine last season. Even though the show has finished airing i only got through these two routes today. I dont know if i'll cover the last two routes together, separately or if i'll cover them at all. there is also a special one episode arc of a side character arc, and a special featuring his sister(!) as the heroine set to be released later with the DVD released. There are also suppose to be OVA episodes for each character. I don't know how or if i will cover these.
Sae arc:
We start with Sae running into Junichi after he lost his wallet which Sae found. Sae is an incredibly shy girl and wants to get a job at a nearby cafe, but lacks the confidence to do so. Junichi decides to train her to be less shy and gives her various "training exercises" which include changing clothes really fast, because lets face it Junichi is a perv. After the training Sae goes for an interview and gets the job. Sae wants to thank junichi for all his help and takes him to a amusement park. At the end of the day, Sae asks Junichi to take part in the best couple competition with her at the Founders Festival. They enter dressed as bride and groom and come out with second place to Haruka and Hibiki. Haruka notes that they only won as a novetly of two girls being couples and that Junichi and Sae should have been the real winners. None the less tey win a private VIP booth to a screening of a movie. While there Junichi needs to leave after he sees Sae in a rather sensual outfit and goes to wash off his face. He runs into an american man who gives him some words of encouragement. Sae notes that the director of the movie fell in love with the leading lady and was able to bring out her beauty in the movie because of that love. Its then Junichi notices that the man he ran into was actually the famous movie director. They confess their love for each other and live happily ever after. So what about the fetish of the arc, well its (spins fetish wheel) tentacles! Well not really. while training they go to a pool with a food bath which contains fish that clean their feet. apparently these fish tickle complete with erotic moaning. Also while at the amusement park a costumed baddie grabs Sae and squeezes her with his costumes tentacles.
Ai arc:
we start this arc with Junichi running into Ai at the park catching a glimpse of her panties. After a bit of teasing to call the police, Ai leaves the confused boy. They meet again and get to know each other, since Ai is Junichi's sister's classmate. Ai is also part of swimming team and reveals she was wearing her swimsuit the day at the park and that he never saw her panties. After a bit more bonding, with Junichi trying to help Ai with her problems with her brother. Junichi also helps Ai pass her retake of a math test which she passes second time through. However because of the retake, she wasn't able to train for the swim meet. Because of that, she doesn't make the team and tries to run away so that Hibiki and Junichi can't see her cry. Junichi manages to chase her into the pool fully clothed no less. While she wasn't able to make the team, she was given the responsibility to run a foot stand at the founders festival. Things go off with minimal problems and Ai wants to take Junichi somewhere special to thank him for all his help. She takes him to a private hot spring owned by her grandfather. They confess their love for each other and make out naked in the hot spring.... take that as you will. And the fetish of the arc is... (spins fetish wheel) eating the other. and no, i mean that literally. While bonding Ai and Junichi go to an amusement park and go inside a haunted house. While there Junichi imagines that Ai has been turned into a bowl of ramen and tries to eat her (with lots of innuendo). Ya, Junichi is kinda weird in this arc.
Reactions:
I did not like Sae's voice. It was the single thing holding me back from watching this arc. The story itself isn't bad, but Sae's high pitch squeak she calls talking is just way too annoying. The entire arc is taken with a much more comedic tone complete with a silly announcer. Its interestng, but again i just can't get over her voice. This will probably be my least favorite arc. As i said Junichi's personality changes with every arc. In this one he is very much the stronger of the pair, but still hold a silly tone like making Sae dress up and such.
Ai's arc by contrast is much much better and renewed the series for me. The arc for once, was enjoyable from beginning to end. While the first two arcs seem to start off slow, i was interested in Ai from the first episode. As well Ai's end song is the first one i actually stopped and listened to, and downloaded. I would say neither Ai or Junichi were the stronger of the pair, and both really seemed to need each other. while its been said a few times that this Junichi acts more childish, shown by him reading manga and such, i never really got the feeling watching it. This is my favorite arc of the series, just by virtue of having a stronger start beating out Haruka's, and will likely be my favorite of the entire series.
EDIT NOTE:
if i saw this before my year in review, i whoulda given Ai honorable mentions for favorite female. Read more!
Sae arc:
We start with Sae running into Junichi after he lost his wallet which Sae found. Sae is an incredibly shy girl and wants to get a job at a nearby cafe, but lacks the confidence to do so. Junichi decides to train her to be less shy and gives her various "training exercises" which include changing clothes really fast, because lets face it Junichi is a perv. After the training Sae goes for an interview and gets the job. Sae wants to thank junichi for all his help and takes him to a amusement park. At the end of the day, Sae asks Junichi to take part in the best couple competition with her at the Founders Festival. They enter dressed as bride and groom and come out with second place to Haruka and Hibiki. Haruka notes that they only won as a novetly of two girls being couples and that Junichi and Sae should have been the real winners. None the less tey win a private VIP booth to a screening of a movie. While there Junichi needs to leave after he sees Sae in a rather sensual outfit and goes to wash off his face. He runs into an american man who gives him some words of encouragement. Sae notes that the director of the movie fell in love with the leading lady and was able to bring out her beauty in the movie because of that love. Its then Junichi notices that the man he ran into was actually the famous movie director. They confess their love for each other and live happily ever after. So what about the fetish of the arc, well its (spins fetish wheel) tentacles! Well not really. while training they go to a pool with a food bath which contains fish that clean their feet. apparently these fish tickle complete with erotic moaning. Also while at the amusement park a costumed baddie grabs Sae and squeezes her with his costumes tentacles.
Ai arc:
we start this arc with Junichi running into Ai at the park catching a glimpse of her panties. After a bit of teasing to call the police, Ai leaves the confused boy. They meet again and get to know each other, since Ai is Junichi's sister's classmate. Ai is also part of swimming team and reveals she was wearing her swimsuit the day at the park and that he never saw her panties. After a bit more bonding, with Junichi trying to help Ai with her problems with her brother. Junichi also helps Ai pass her retake of a math test which she passes second time through. However because of the retake, she wasn't able to train for the swim meet. Because of that, she doesn't make the team and tries to run away so that Hibiki and Junichi can't see her cry. Junichi manages to chase her into the pool fully clothed no less. While she wasn't able to make the team, she was given the responsibility to run a foot stand at the founders festival. Things go off with minimal problems and Ai wants to take Junichi somewhere special to thank him for all his help. She takes him to a private hot spring owned by her grandfather. They confess their love for each other and make out naked in the hot spring.... take that as you will. And the fetish of the arc is... (spins fetish wheel) eating the other. and no, i mean that literally. While bonding Ai and Junichi go to an amusement park and go inside a haunted house. While there Junichi imagines that Ai has been turned into a bowl of ramen and tries to eat her (with lots of innuendo). Ya, Junichi is kinda weird in this arc.
Reactions:
I did not like Sae's voice. It was the single thing holding me back from watching this arc. The story itself isn't bad, but Sae's high pitch squeak she calls talking is just way too annoying. The entire arc is taken with a much more comedic tone complete with a silly announcer. Its interestng, but again i just can't get over her voice. This will probably be my least favorite arc. As i said Junichi's personality changes with every arc. In this one he is very much the stronger of the pair, but still hold a silly tone like making Sae dress up and such.
Ai's arc by contrast is much much better and renewed the series for me. The arc for once, was enjoyable from beginning to end. While the first two arcs seem to start off slow, i was interested in Ai from the first episode. As well Ai's end song is the first one i actually stopped and listened to, and downloaded. I would say neither Ai or Junichi were the stronger of the pair, and both really seemed to need each other. while its been said a few times that this Junichi acts more childish, shown by him reading manga and such, i never really got the feeling watching it. This is my favorite arc of the series, just by virtue of having a stronger start beating out Haruka's, and will likely be my favorite of the entire series.
EDIT NOTE:
if i saw this before my year in review, i whoulda given Ai honorable mentions for favorite female. Read more!
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