Okay, so everyone aside from Hikari: I really like them. Dramatic, perhaps, but they work really well together, and this series has a knack of writing compelling drama for all of them, and this episode continued that trend. This was some really good character buiding here: no character here is completely onedimensional and even the typical high school bullies have a point and purpose, rather than just being the same streetpunks who are inserted for cheap drama, like what you usually see.
And yeah… Hikari. This guy is complicated. Last week he got completely on my nerves, but this time it changed. I still cringed when he zerged those classmates of his whenever he saw the first possible reason to do so, but the thing is that his sensible side is starting to shine through more. Whenever he didn’t go into “angry bear”-mode he too was an interesting member to the cast who plays off very well with the others. He can sympathize with others when he wants to. The whole apology scene was weird, but definitely a step in the right direciton.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)
I believe that mixed feelings on a character is to be looked upon as a diverse and good thing.
I find Hikari to be more of a dramatic plot device than a protagonist, but that’s not always a bad thing. Really it’s just the lack of variance and levity that bugs me, because I can’t digest one bit of drama before the next scene introduces a new one. I wish PA Works had someone who could reign in Okada Mari and supplement her dramatic chops, like Bones kinda managed on Zetsuen no Tempest.
Honestly, I think people over react about Hikari. He’s thirteen, in the throes of puberty and is dealing with several life changing events. No, that does not give him a free pass, but it at least makes him understandable and most importantly a real person, not a plot device.
Maybe. I don’t frankly care if he’s a plot device or not because he’s the kind of character where that’s not necessarily a flaw. It is noticeable that he drives the plot, but at least he has the excuses you mentioned and he isn’t just another Gary Stu.
Hikari makes things interesting, and you’ll probably like him a bit more in episode 5…To me the two other males make thing boring: Kaname who is the goody-good one who just watches, and Tsumugu who is as boring as he can get, and way too mature for his age. At least Hikari is more realistic.