This episode happened to confirm one of my biggest worries about this series from the very start. With the advent of the love triangle I was cautious that the melodrama would escalate into a shouting match. Thus here it is, rain, shouting match and a big fallout because no one likes the person who likes them back. The comedy? Whatever scraps of plot? Thrown to the sidelines to deal with excessive melodrama between the characters. It’s rather disappointing honestly as that’s not what wanted from this series. What I wished for was more a better executed Kokoro Connect but now it looks to be falling into the same pitfalls that did. Basically what this episode is the fall before the climax. Where our heroes are brought to their lowest point so as to rise past it. However while their are part of this episode presented sell, this development doesn’t feel earned. It doesn’t feel like previous episodes were building to this point but rather a revelation that they just spent the past 8 episodes messing about and now that the end is near they need a climax. An example of this is that in the previous arc we spent two episodes developing Maki to accept the Kiznaivers and at the end of this episode at the first sight of trouble she regresses right back to how she was. I get what this episode is aiming for and that’s the message that remaining so close to someone who can see and read you like an open book is difficult as no one can truly like having no privacy with their thoughts. But if this is the case then shouldn’t the past episodes been used to strengthen the bonds between the group. On conversation it felt like the plot was more focused on setting up couples than improving friendships. As Nico recalls that all they had accomplished together I find it’s surprisingly little. Considering the dramatic fallout we have here, this truly doesn’t feel deserved.
The question at the end of the episode remains the same as it was from the beginning. What now? I hope we won’t be spending the next episode with all our characters busy moping and angsting over love. I don’t want to spend an episode waiting for someone to step up to snap everyone out of their funk. I have long since gotten tired of seeing anime characters wallow in self pity when simply talking things out is far more productive. Sure you can argue it’s realistic but it’s not enjoyable and this series doesn’t have the episode count to indulge such fruitless time wasting.I never cared for Chidori’s little crush because I never saw it as being remotely achievable and Nico’s feelings even less so. If this is the story from now on then I would have preferred that the animation budget that went into this would have been transferred to Space Patrol Luluco as it at least presents something that I can’t find in a dozen other anime series. I am 27 years old and I have long lost the romance for these shy first loves with no progress so I say to those with achievable love, quit the beating around the bush, put yourself out there and get together. To those desiring a love damned from the start, cut your losses and settle for something within your reach. Sure it’s not a romantic notion but damn it, it’s practical. Besides you are a teenger and your first love is hardly going to be your only chance at it.
It looks as though the previous Kiznaiver experiment failed when some event caused all the kids to be crippled with emotional pain which looks to have been caused by Noriko. This very same thing looks to have happened to the gang here though the cause is more our chain of unfulfilled loves. The indirect cause might be the same though as this time was more or less orchestrated by the school teacher who is pushing for more results regardless of the cost. This certainly didn’t really help as I see it as the same results as before where negative emotions are being transferred easier than positive ones. In this case it wasn’t so much the voices of their hearts that was transferred but rather their deepest most selfish desire. Otherwise Nico’s desires to keep the group remaining as friends would have come across as well as her desire for Tenga. I do like the contrast as she spoke of her selfless desire while her true selfish desires interrupted her. I love the deep red and static effect as the characters inner voices are heard. I do think that this episode is for the most part presented well but as stated before, I don’t feel this fallout was built upon properly. It feels hasty and flimsy so while I can appreciate the direction of this episode, I cannot approve of the shoddy foreshadowing.
~AidanAK47~
Distasteful
This post, this episode or me?
The post. It’s just so negative which makes it hard to read. I think you’re spending too much time on why you hate “fill in the blank” so much. For example, the melodrama, I don’t understand why you hate it so much. Isn’t it more of a love pentagon? I don’t think it really think deviates from the plot. Wasn’t the goal of this mission to further manifest their love interests? It’s a love pentagon. Sooner or later something like this was bound to happen. The comedy shouldn’t matter too much since this show isn’t suppose to be a comedy. As for this, “I get what this episode is aiming for and that’s the message that remaining so close to someone who can see and read you like an open book is difficult as no one can truly like having no privacy with their thoughts,” I don’t think this is what was being conveyed. I believe it’s something like this. When you get closer to people and know how each other truly feel, things become awkward. Especially with love interests. It makes it hard to confront each other and remain friends because you’ll continually hurt each other. In my opinion, there’s no regression in Maki. She probably really wanted to become friends with them, but with how the circumstances are, she concluded that it would be too difficult.
“Wasn’t the goal of this mission to further manifest their love interests?”
It was more to stir up the hornets nest. Getting them to realize their love for each other and provoke a response. I hate this love pentagram because it’s taken over the plot. Characters aren’t developing, we aren’t really learning anything new about the plot or Kiznaivers and it’s really just shallow drama. It’s a series of hissy fits because that person likes that persona when I like that person. And I have long since lost all patience to enjoy fruitless love affairs.
“The comedy shouldn’t matter too much since this show isn’t suppose to be a comedy.”
What is it supposed to be?
That’s a genuine question as I truly don’t know. If the goal is to be a giant love pentagram this isn’t that just a waste of the premise? You aren’t exploring interesting ideas but rather just getting all caught up in a big soap opera.
“In my opinion, there’s no regression in Maki. She probably really wanted to become friends with them, but with how the circumstances are, she concluded that it would be too difficult.”
Thus returning to not wishing to get involved with anyone after all. Considering how well this went I doubt she would be willing to try again with a different group. She’s right back to square one.
Isn’t that what I just said? You literally just reworded it. Oh man, there is no room to argue with the almighty Aidan. 5/7. Aidan knows best. You have such a narrow mind. You claim this and this is bad, but you have yet to really give reason as to why it’s bad. There was plenty of character development in this episode. You’re too busy tunneling and emphasizing on your personal tastes. We learn more about Sonozaki’s and Katsuhira’s past, and we get a better idea of how their relationship might have been like which was about half the episode. As for Tenga, it shows far he’s willing to go to make Chidori happy or keep her from getting hurt etc. Nico’s resolve to press forward even though she knows that she’ll get hurt adds more depth to her character. This episode just showed how fragile their relationships really are.
You said that the comedy was thrown out the window as if it was an important aspect of the show. Considering how it isn’t tagged as a comedy on multiple sites, it shouldn’t even matter that much.
If what you claim is true about Maki, isn’t regression a form of development? It gives you a better idea of what kind of person she is or how fragile her character is.
You don’t need to vilify him just because see the episode the same. Like seriously, what was with the first part of your comment, that’s an obnoxious display if I’ve ever seen one.
Also, I do agree this episode had plenty of character development, AidanAk DID understate the burst of character tension as a “shouting match.”But you have to notice there is an abrupt and noticeable change in tone from earlier.
It’s not that comedy is important, it’s that it was something that was there from the beginning and was suddenly yanked out here. Tags are irrelevant when comedy is a part of the initial tone of the series.
Well, guess I’ll out my two cents on what I thought about characters development in Kiznaiver. I’m the type of reviewer who put extra attention to characters, be it there interaction with each other or their own development. As this is the show that focus squarely on characters, I’m not entirely happy with all of its progress. Here’s why:
1) I’m not really keen on how they pushing the romance aspect here. Yes romance is a natural progression when people get closer to each other, but it’s not the only thing. Romance and love is passionate but short-sighted. Keeping them in close friendship, however, can endure much longer. Pushing the romance edge also means that they tend to overwhelm other characters interaction. Maki and Nico form a mutual understanding of friendship is a step of a right direction and I love to see more of interactions like that, but then again I’m afraid they don’t have much time to focus on that.
2) The characters development sometimes feel forced and manipulated, which sadly is exactly how the plot calls for. It just feels like your best friend has set you up to meet up a girl, which made it feel a bit calculated. I always prefer to meet them naturally so I guess this is more like my preference.
3) The melodrama is indeed overplayed. It’s nice to see them being honest to each others and shouts out what they really think/care but it’s just in your face, boldly, without any subtle. I’m in a school of “less is more” approach and sometimes for me the best character’s moments is not from what they say, but from what they don’t (or can’t) say or even the look. One of my most favorite character’s moments, for example, is from Suruga Devil of Monogatari series, where in that scene she literally lying in the middle of the crossroad, reflecting (don’t know how to put pic in comment box, but I can upload the scene if you like). That again, is mainly my personal taste but those are the reasons why the show’s central relationship don’t really sold me here.
Being forced is the nature of this show which makes the show unique in itself. It is an experiment after all. Even though it is forced, it seems as if the characters themselves genuinely care for each other.
Wasn’t their inner voice from their hearts pretty much the same thing as the things they “couldn’t” say? The characters being able to hear it in a unique way and react to it in itself led to quite interesting development. Like Chidori’s inner voice telling katsuhira to hold her, but when he does it just backfires immediately. If the inner voices never happened, how would it have gone?
“Being forced is the nature of this show which makes the show unique in itself.”
I was going to drop this because I have been in enough internet arguments to know when arguing further is fruitless but I really want you to think over this sentence. The nature of this show is forced drama and that makes this show unique? This statement wrong because:
A: A show being forced is an negative thing. Drama should be natural and if it’s forced then it’s unnatural. Saying this show is supposed to be forced drama is like saying a comedy is supposed to be unfunny.
B: A show having forced drama is not unique. Case in point, any long running soap opera on TV right now.
And before you say I an cherry picking your statement. It’s not a matter of the in show characters forcing this development but rather the development itself being clearly forced by the writer. I like the characters too, hence why I dislike them being shoved into this shallow drama.
You like the show, I get it. But try to see that it has it’s flaws.
A: What if a show is cheesy or melodramatic? Isn’t it being sincere while greatly exaggerating drama. Like in a play? That 80s cheese despite feeling more theatrics now, has its charm (like in Jojo).
B: That’s a good statement to define the kind of experience you’re in for. Still at risk of sounding pedantic there’s a reason soap operas are still being made in pretty much the same way it always has. Like in that Futurama episode; “TV audiences don’t want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they’ve seen a thousand times before. Clever things make people feel stupid, and unexpected things make them feel scared.”
A: That more an exception if it’s done on purpose. With plays I believe the reason why things are exaggrated was because an audence needs to be able to see what’s happening even at the back of the theatre. In Jojo, its clearly not serious to begin with. Here however it’s clearly meant to be taken 100% seriously.
B: well my main point was to combat the claim that forced drama is unique. Yes things certainly are made the same way because that’s how people want it. As Henry Ford said regarding the car “If I asked people what they wanted they would have said faster horses.” Being derivative is not an admirable quality.
oh almighty Aidan. Do you have superiority complex? What are you? Some sort of Michelin agent for anime? YOU decide on what’s good or not? That you’re always right? Anime isn’t real life, and it does not need to replicate it. Your criteria on what is good and not good is not set in stone nor is it a universal tool to rate other animes. Get off your fucking throne. I know this show has flaws. I’m not dumb. This show cannot function at all if it wasn’t forced. You think that you can tell these kids what to do and expect them to comply with it? It’s an experiment. You have to force things if you want results. You think if you leave 2 reactive substances in a test tubes by themselves that they’ll magically do the experiment themselves? I’ve never said that forced drama is good. I’m not trying to argue that forced drama is good, but for some reason you think I’m trying to argue that it is. I’m arguing that it’s the show’s nature to be forced. This show is unique in the way that it is mandatory that it is forced or you won’t get anywhere. The drama is not force just to be forced. It is not forced without reason like most other animes. The people manipulating experiment are the driving it to be forced. oh and by the way nature and natural are 2 different words. I never said forced was natural nor was I arguing it was so why bring up a point like that?
I will give you one thing. I do have a superiority complex.
On the rest. Calm down, have a cup of tea and sleep it off.
Umm, relax, he’s not attacking your personal credibility so much as he is challenging your ideas, however staunch he may or may not be, so don’t make it personal. Not cool.
Also, writing a story with structure may not be an exact science, BUT there is a clear-cut objectivity to it, you can’t just pull the “subjectivity-trap-card” everytime someone criticizes a story that you think is good due to personal preference, which is the only part where the subjectivity comes in. Forced drama is a nono in any writing workshop by the way, it confuses a majority of readers and can be quite jarring as it was in this episode, but if you think it’s a good thing that’s simply your subjectivity based upon that fact I guess, as you’ve implied yourself.
But objectively being forced isn’t a good narrative device. There needs to be waves of compelling narrative to push the viewer with our characters if they ever expect us to care. Even in a story like Saw where characters are put into the most extreme situations against their will there are a chain of events that tie them together into a cohesive drama.
The only thing subjective about any part of what I just said is in YOUR interpretation of the facts. And you can’t get salty because you can’t force Aidan to accept your similar viewpoints. Just accept it, and deal with it friend, it’s not a matter of being on a high horse or not so much as opinions rooted in biases. You yourself admitted to it.
Are there experiments demanding results in soap operas? Of course there isn’t. Soap operas don’t have to be forced. There are no factors that would make it so. Kiznaiver is different.
Just my 2 cents here but you’re getting a tad too angry at an anime blog post. You’ve just said how Aidan has a superiority complex, yet then agreed with the fact it was forced, which was what he said in the beginning? Not only that but there is an off button fam, if you don’t wanna see his opinions then don’t be angry on the post, just move on.
Oh and on Kiznavier; I watched the first 5 episodes and indeed the drama did seem a tad forced and I understand that it is an experiment nd all, but forced drama (whether due to writing inability or purposely in-built experimentation circumstances) isn’t as fun to watch as drama that is bought onto the characters via natural events and is simply the characters reacting to said situation with their pre-established personalities. For me, at least.