Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorrow-K
Ok, I found this episode interesting, but it's pretty difficult to take seriously. You know what my biggest gripe about this series is? It seems convinced that characters constantly doing 180s is character development. Ok, technically it is, but it's not very good character development.
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This would be about the most trite and cliched ending they could come up, but it's unfortunately also looking like the most likely. You know what's funny, though. Shinichiro has had several epiphanies during the series. None of them have transpired into any substantial changes in him or lingered with him for more than two episodes. He literally says things, and then forgets them shortly after. If this is how the story will end, it'll be meaningless, because he's demonstrated that he has no capacity for following through. It'll be like, "so why is this time different from the last time you had a similar epiphany?"
<snip>It started so incredibly well, but it's degenerated into rather contrived melodrama.<snip>
By the way, if you can say "I am a [insert name here] shipper", don't bother. Shippers have completely drowned out what little intelligent commentary there has been in this thread, and that's been the case for the last two or so eps as well. I am a Tomoyo shipper. SHINICHIROXTOMOYO 4EVR RAWWR! Can everyone else see why this is stupid?
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My thoughts exactly, just the opposite of everything you said.
I have not seen 180 character development in this show (besides the mother), I do not think it is degenerating into a melodrama like the monstrosity of Myself;Yourself, these threads still contain very intelligent posts in my opinion (With no flaming which is quite remarkable), and as for the epiphany issue, I think it's already been drilled to death in this thread alone so I won't go into it.
I don't even feel like we're watching the same show, perhaps you can elaborate with examples of each of these things you're pointing out?
I mean lets take Shinchiro for example.
At the beginning he was not a very confident person who was flowing through life like everyone else, and he had a crush from his childhood on a girl who is living in his house. He meets a new girl who he starts to become friends with, she gives him confidence, and then he slowly starts to open up, defending Hiromi from his mother even! But then his hopes are shot down when she goes off with "I think you'd be the older brother." At this point he gives up and remembers the deal Jun made with him. He doesn't want to see Hiromi so sad so attempts to make her happy with making her date Jun. He gets into a relationship with Noe and starts to find a new found happiness. He even gets surprised by a peck on the cheek, he really starts gaining much more confidence and life and develops his picture book out of this new confidence. Then one day he sees Hiromi on a bike with Jun and gets worried, so he chases her and finds the crash. He obviously still cares about Hiromi so is caught up in the moment of relief and hugs her. Noe sees this and then starts to realize that Shinchiro may not like her.
So they go back and then (My one problem with the show, but only significant one) the mother does her 180 flip and takes care of Hiromi. Life seems to start getting better and Noe gets more depressed because she thought she found happiness, but apparently it was fake happiness. THEN hiromi decides to move out, Shinchiro is brooding over this so much and can't take the fact that she's moved out because of him. He chases her and then tells her that he is going to try and do everything right. Shinchiro next episode then starts to spend time with Hiromi and starts to feel strange in this new situation. He questions her if she has any problem with the #4 in a subtle way, he's still realizing his situation. Hiromi goes outside and starts to say things that Noe was saying to him earlier. He is caught up in emotion when suprise suprise, the kiss came. He wasn't prepared and felt guilty, didn't even go at it himself because he feels bad about his situation. Then the school game comes and he sees Hiromi getting tripped and Jun going on the court and doing the boy friend thing to do that Shinchiro himself didn't even do.
Shinchiro feels complacent with his situation, he can't even finish his picture book properly like he wanted to. Then he gets the call that Noe went missing. Noe gave him the power to write his picture book, a power that seems to have disappeared, so he wants to show Noe his book. Then the scene we get this episode at the beginning where he ends up stating "I superimposed Jibeta with myself." He realizes he's done nothing to make his situation in life any better, in fact he's made it worse. Things like the picture book, the dancing, Noe, and Hiromi. He only wants to do everything right, and he realizes that nothing he does is right. Now he's frustrated over what to do with himself and the next day finally decides where to start, and that is to talk to Noe. Then Hiromi stopped him, and told him how she told Noe to leave them alone. He doesn't know how to respond because he doesn't want to hurt her feelings, and he doesn't even know what exactly he's about to do and he chases Noe to the tree, and BAM.
This is the way I've seen it, he has not been a different character in my eyes.