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Hell yeah! Three Mari Okada series in one season again! And not only that, they’re all in their second halves. This will be awesome! Even though two of them are adaptations, she really is able to get the best out of the source material.
And this episode reminded me why I originally liked Sakurasou so much: the chemistry just amazing. This episode again made me laugh so much at the banter between the different cast members, but in particular Sorata and Shiina were wonderful in this episode. Sorata is also picking up on Shiina’s sharpness here. And I love how the creators tried to make up for the sister debacle: completely ignoring her and turning it into a hilarious joke for this episode. It’s a good start.
But something other happened: not just the chemistry was really sharp, the drama as well. Rita and Ryuunosuke keep developing, even though Rita is gone now. Shiina is now in love, and you can really notice it: she really wants to be with Sorata as much as possible, and keeps hanging around him. Sorata meanwhile said something really interesting here: he prefers the old Shiina more. I actually really like that way in which that subplot is going: Sorata wondering whether or not Shiina is heading into the right direction. Shiina’s development is really great, and yet it’s one of the characters who is fighting it. Aoyama meanwhile still has a dodgy part in this: I had hoped that she would move on, but instead we seem to be heading for a love triangle. Not sure whether I like that.
And then there is Misaki. Forceful is a word to use for her here, but unfortunately I do have to say that I can learn a thing or two from how she was acting in this episode. Here is one girl who really made up her mind on something.
One word on the new OP and ED by the way: they’re both pretty good. I just have one criticism for the ED: it doesn’t really work when the characters aren’t really synched to the music.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)
I really like Shiinas sense of humor. This might sound childish but this show has really kind of helped me see how I should really behave when it comes to the difficulties of life and feelings of inadequacy. What I like about this show is the interesting message it shows about handwork, talent, and people in general.
I feel like the people really developed well in this show. Shiina is changing and you can really tell, and characters that used to feel much more cliche or bland have grown pretty well.
Sorata keeps pissing me off though. That is my only complaint. I mean I get it’s a necessary part of the story and all, but he shouldn’t take it out on Shiina. It’s his character though, and it’s well portrayed.
Shiina’s development into a “normal” person is quite intriguing. The way the characters interact is perhaps one of my favorite elements.
I really like Shiina’s reaction to Sorata’s sudden outburst.
I like this series: the character interactions are good, the inspirational plot is good and the romance is fine, but what I don’t like THAT much is how everything must be turned into a drama fest. Normally I would blame Okada and her over-melodramatic bio-type but I actually like half of what she does and this series DOES have an original author so I will not jump the gun. Anyway, in general I liked the episode a lot and the next one should be really decisive in a lot of ways.
Not every child prodigy turns into adult Mozart when grown up. And for the other people, hard work often isn’t enough.
I wonder what this series has to say about all these kinds of issues by the end. There’s a lot at stake for the cast other than Mashiro and Sorata too.
“Three Mari Okada series in one season again!”
Mari Okada shows are the worst cancer to have ever plagued the anime industry. Yes, angst is worse than incest.