Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuul
Another theory is that Okada and the writting staff didn't like what Kawamori wanted to go.
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I agree with you here. As I've argued at least a couple times before on this series subforum, Aquarion EVOL often strikes me as a show that can't decide if it wants to go with a simple straight-up romance, or if it wants to go with a serious love triangle/quadrangle (so both gets half-assed).
With a duo like Okada/Kawamori, it wouldn't surprise me if Okada wanted one thing, while Kawamori wanted the other, and they kind of settled on this messy compromise.
Here's the thing: Kagura and Zessica get the screen-time/attention that's usually afforded only to serious romance competitors. Granted that both have important "Action Star" roles, but both have a lot of scenes that go beyond that (especially Zessica).
But Amata/Mikono has been treated as a fait accompli for probably a dozen or more episodes now (arguably even before then), with neither showing much doubt over it (Mikono getting turned on by Kagura is about the only time Amata/Mikono seems even remotely threatened).
If they were going to go with an unresolved love quadrangle for
this long, then they should have shown more doubt and internal conflict on the parts of Amata and Mikono - Amata thinking things like "You know, Zessica isn't bad... she's pretty cool and attractive and she's great in combat... should I just accept fate, and find greener pastures in greener hair?", and Mikono thinking things like "Kagura... Kagura stirs me so. My heart flutters in his presence! Amata's a great guy, but Kagura truly excites me."
Granted, you can almost infer such thoughts from how Mikono reacts to Kagura, but it might be nice to have it be clear-cut so that even the most hardcore Amata/Mikono shippers would be left in suspense (with a smidgen of doubt) over whether or not their desired ship would successfully set sail.
As it is, they focus on an overly predictable romance conflict (if you can even call it that), and Amata/Mikono is artificially frozen in pre-Confession stage because of it (so that means that they don't get to actually say anything all that compelling to each other).
The net effect is that it makes Amata look weak compared to the much more assertive and passionate Kagura, and it makes Mikono's love look mild to the overflowing, highly expressive love Zessica is pouring forth towards Amata.
It's the romance equivalent of a plucky underdog sports team that gives it
everything that they have against a much more talented team that just goes effortlessly through the motions but wins by sheer luck/talent. It's a frankly horrible narrative if you want to emotionally appeal to your viewers (and let's face, nothing is more about emotional appeal than romance is).
As much as I preferred a certain pairing more than the final one in True Tears, at least I can say that the narrative did a great job of making the girl who won out in the end really have to pour out her heart and passion to the male lead in order to win him over. By comparison, Mikono is just coasting along, from one Damsel in Distress moment to the next to the next...
This is what - Three episodes now in which Mikono's lines and plot relevance could be summed up on the back of a paper napkin? And she's supposed to be the female half of the main pairing, for crying out loud!
