With this, it’s clear that this series is going to go for a love polygon now that also Jun entered the picture. Normally this would make me worry, but with a series that is THIS good, I am getting really curious where this series plans to go to. Things right now are set up that everything can spiral completely out of control with the right amount of development, and there are a ton of different directions that this series can head into at this point
The second half of this episode was really meant to show how admirable Jun is and why Sentarou looks up to him. I especially loved him talking himself out of that failed concert when Sentarou walked out because of that one drunk. A drunk who by the way spoke very commendable English. Of course the voice actor for this guy put a lot of emphasis on his syllables, but that’s what all voice acting is like. Normal voice acting in anime also is also like that. Plus, he was drunk.
The first half of this episode meanwhile was about how fragile Kaoru is as a teenager. What really hit me was when he was playing in front of his family, desperately trying to get out of there in his head. The kiss unfortunately felt a bit too soap-operaish. On the other hand though, I really liked how he got to understand how Sentarou grew up as a half-American.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
While this is a generally solid coverage of this episode I am surprised you didn’t mention the singing scene in the part about voice acting quality.
The singing wasn’t done by the voice actor, though. Suwabe Junichi would’ve been more than capable of singing, of course, but his English is probably not as good as the character’s is supposed to be.
I liked the kissing. It’s something I’d do in real life. You know, he must have gathered all his strength just to remove his glasses… Yeah, call me a romantic đ
That was a great episode. I don’t have too much more to say than that. The racial views of the drunk guy were spot on for the time period, though I would imagine in real life one of the other sailors would have told him to can it.
Haha now if only Jun would fall in love with Kaoru then the pentagon would be complete!
Ugh, the heartbreak’s gonna happen in the next episode đ
JUNICHI <3
speaking of pentagon…
http://i.imgur.com/z0sct.jpg
lol
simply hilarious
It’s like there are points in this series that are just huge blasting gusts of refreshing air. I love that it’s set in – what is it, the sixties? I was like “Oh Right! Actual belligerent racism. Forgot that happened.” Not to say that racism = refreshing, but it just brought the context of the setting into such clear focus. = awesome.
NOITAMINA is Back, baby!
Itâs too simplistic to talk about racismâŠ
This is 1966, Sud Japan, near Nagasaki and Hiroshimaâs cities. The WWII ended in 1945, when Nagasaki was the target of the United States’ second atomic bomb attack.
Sentarouâs grandmother didnât hate her son-in-law because âwhiteâ, but because âAmericanâ (THE enemy).
The Five Person Love Chain is very reminiscent of the Ano Natsu situation….
It seems that one of the incoming themes of the series would be which member of the chain get’s cut loose.
I agree on the kiss. Is it wrong to have expected more closure on that event? It just didn’t feel right to see so much time go by (from the kiss till the day of the show) without any sort of interaction between them. The day of the show it was like it hadn’t happened, neither seemed to care anymore. A scene like the one at the beginning, with her turning away abruptly would have sufficed.
That aside I loved the episode, I always find it moving when a character is ashamed or ponders about his/her immaturity, like Kaoru after hearing Sentarou out. It’s one of the things I find most touching, a character truly growing up.
The concert was a treat too. It was great to see Kaoru letting himself go in order to “wake” Sentarou up, and the band reacting to him.
There’s something beautiful in the hopelessness which seems to characterize the moment in which each person falls in love. We only get a brief close up of Yurika’s captivated gaze, yet it feels like a peek into her soul, like we learn plenty about her just for being witness to the context in which it happens.
I share your anxious curiosity about the path the show will take onwards.