(L) Kokoro Connect [anime]

[papermario13689]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Really? You never found Nagase moe from the very start of Kokoro Connect? I definitely think that Nagase was meant to be perceived by the audience as a very moe girl. And I think that what this narrative has aimed for is to (hopefully) show that there's an interesting contrast that lies beneath the upbeat and sweet exterior.

I would have said she's likable and cute, but not to the level of "moe" that is used as a standard in anime. Perhaps you just meant that, or maybe our levels of judgment on her differ slightly.

Well, whether she was aiming low or high, she achieved high - She achieved appealingly cute. This last arc made it clear how Iori was very popular with her classmates until this latest arc caused her outward personality to change.

That's true, she was quite popular. However, it seems she didn't reach the levels of trust that true friends have, since the class instantly turned on her after one incident. Close bonds don't break that quickly or mend fast on their own. At least, the first time around it does, until the trust is seriously broken.

I should be clear that in saying that Iori's four friends are clearly anime characters that I'm not saying that their bad characters. I myself found them reasonably likeable. But they do have certain quirks, and tendencies that just shout "anime character". Iori doesn't have that in quite the same way - She feels more like a real person to me.

I agree, and I think it's interesting that they give Nagase an entire arc to finish off, since Inaba seemed like the much more popular character. Either way, it added a layer of depth I hadn't seen before, so who can complain?

Agreed. It's interesting that these characters never really consider the fact that people sometimes do need time to themselves. In fairness to Taichi, though, I think he's grown a bit here. In previous arcs, he'd always be the guy leading the charge to try to fix other people's problems, but now he's become a bit more cautious, to the point that Yui actually chided him for not doing more.

To be fair, the initial spiral downward is so steep and quick that people fear leaving it alone, for it may never stop. However, when someone tells you to back off, pestering them every single day is a serious cause for trouble, and that's why Nagase took so long to recover.

I'm glad that the absurdity of the love triangle situation was made clear in this arc.

I'd call it a good absurd, if I could so boldly state. Inaba messed up, and she initially started off trying to help her friend, but ended up falling for the guy she was after. Ironically, it ended up destroying anything Nagase and Taichi had, and Inaba came out on top.

That final shot before the ED of the last episode was pretty suggestive to me. The one with the cheerful Iori in front of The Undertaker poster. It had a touch of "Don't worry, fans, your 'normal' Iori is back! Just like you and Iori's friends wanted!" to me. And maybe that's fine, but if so, I think it could have been executed a bit better.

Oh no, I definitely agree it could have been executed better. I just think she hasn't reverted completely back to her usual self. There was a moment when Balloon Vine showed up and Nagase confronted him, and upon his leave she seemed to ponder about what she would do next. It's that bit and the fact that all the rumours about her were dispersed that I can't fully take either side here. I have the nagging feeling Nagase will face problems again, and this time she won't push them away like she used to.

Well, it's just that Iori has one identity crisis after another in Kokoro Connect, and at some point the authenticity of them becomes questionable. I mean, it seems to me like the old Iori keeps reasserting herself after each identity crisis. Does there come a point when you've been wearing a certain mask for so long that this mask now is you? I think that's a a question that Iori's character implicitly raises, and I find it to be an interesting question.

It was definitely a jarring concept for me, as she'd hate her own self then return to acting as she did before. They'd also vary from being upset about her own self to being upset about others, but I've come to accept that under the amounts of stress she was under, you'd just push everything away and act cold. Ironically, the thing she fears most is playing out in reverse through her crises.

A madly in love Inaba is an extremely cute Inaba. The depth of her feelings for Taichi really is something to behold. Very few anime romances reach this level of explicit love and passion. I definitely do think Inaba/Taichi is one of the standout strengths of Kokoro Connect.

I definitely haven't seen these levels of confessionals before, so it was a strong point indeed.

[Qilin]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I don't think I can agree with that. Previous arcs addressed Iori's identity issues. Taichi himself directly addressed them.

In the first arc, I only remember Taichi (hypocritically) claiming that he would be able recognize Iori even if she was in a different body, which he couldn't. Shortly afterwards, he confesses to her, not to the "real" her but only to the image she was projecting.

The third arc, I'd say, was more focused on Iori's precarious family situation. While it was definitely related to her identity problems, it was nothing more than a peripheral element of the entire problem she was concealing. It was the original cause of the problem for sure, but I wouldn't say that the problem was resolved right then. It was just relieved temporarily.

As far as I remember, the problem was only directly addressed in this final arc.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

So were all of the Iori cheerful moments in previous arcs a facade? How about that moment she yelled out "Yahoo!" in class during the "unleashed emotions" arc? I would think that was sincere cheerfulness. I mean, seeing as how it was an "unleashed emotion" and all.

And there were many times that Iori opened up to Taichi in previous arcs. Was that all a facade?

And if all of her cheerful moments with the rest of the club was a facade then why is she remaining friends with them?


I think there were times that Iori said things she didn't really mean because she didn't want to cause trouble (this particularly being the case with the love triangle). But I think that bright and cheerful Iori is closer to her true personality than what Iori herself might want to admit.

Yes and no. I'm sure they weren't entirely fake, but the very fact that she perceived them to be fake makes all the difference here. As her actions were heavily influenced by social perception, it's clear here how different she was before and after the phenomenon.

So while the Iori from before and after the incident are ostensibly similar, I'm convinced that they're entirely different people. The main difference I'm seeing here is in how they justify their own behavior, and I believe that to be an integral part of evaluating them as characters. You have one character that is motivated by social perception and another that acts under her own will. The difference here is clear.

[Kaneisvan137]

So were all of the Iori cheerful moments in previous arcs a facade? How about that moment she yelled out "Yahoo!" in class during the "unleashed emotions" arc? I would think that was sincere cheerfulness. I mean, seeing as how it was an "unleashed emotion" and all.

And there were many times that Iori opened up to Taichi in previous arcs. Was that all a facade?

And if all of her cheerful moments with the rest of the club was a facade then why is she remaining friends with them?

I think Iori's facade is more about herself... not really how she thinks about others
I mean she don't hate anyone or something like that... it's just that she doesn't want others to know her true personality...

maybe some stuffs like she doesn't want to befriend Yui anymore is because she doesn't want to hurt her accidentally when the "emotion transfer" occured

well thats just my personal opinion actually... don't mind me

anyway... is there any possibility of season 2?? I mean they did show the faces of the people from the next volume

[Azuma Denton]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I don't think I can agree with that. Previous arcs addressed Iori's identity issues. Taichi himself directly addressed them.




So were all of the Iori cheerful moments in previous arcs a facade? How about that moment she yelled out "Yahoo!" in class during the "unleashed emotions" arc? I would think that was sincere cheerfulness. I mean, seeing as how it was an "unleashed emotion" and all.

And there were many times that Iori opened up to Taichi in previous arcs. Was that all a facade?

And if all of her cheerful moments with the rest of the club was a facade then why is she remaining friends with them?


I think there were times that Iori said things she didn't really mean because she didn't want to cause trouble (this particularly being the case with the love triangle). But I think that bright and cheerful Iori is closer to her true personality than what Iori herself might want to admit.

It seems to me that Iori is trying to be cheerful and smiling eventhough she isnt fond of some situation. Remember, she herself saying that she is accustomed adjusting to situation. So eventhough she herself doesnt like the situation, she never let it out. And when this "telephaty" thing going on, she basicly cannot hide her true feeling and broke down...

[skullheart]

The anime sorta shortened the scene between taichi, iori, and inaba and the reflection about what was said that day in the room. The major problem she had was that she had to be really polar. Either people like her or hate her, good or bad. It contradicts with what she said to Inaba in Kizu random. Basically after michi she was more balanced. It would have been better if they showed iori's new hairstyle after to show that she really did change

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Arya

I had the same idea. I tried. I swear. The first day I was able to watch only the first episode ... but the day after I got overwhelmed by Inaban cuteness and watched all the last three episodes in a row.

You're right I oneshotted the last three episodes Mostly because of how cliff-hangerish their endings were

Well worth it if only just for Dereban's wet dream confession and subsequently her reaction to Taichi asking to date her

[Lantern]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

You're right I oneshotted the last three episodes Mostly because of how cliff-hangerish their endings were

Ye know, this show had been pretty damn good about giving us cliffhangers and dem previews. Good thing this arc came out in a bundle don't you think? I could imagine people screaming in pain if we make them wait a week after the end of episode 16 (Well... I'm sure a ton of people already screamed in agony after that 'ending' of episode 13 )

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Lantern

Ye know, this show had been pretty damn good about giving us cliffhangers and dem previews. Good thing this arc came out in a bundle don't you think? I could imagine people screaming in pain if we make them wait a week after the end of episode 16 (Well... I'm sure a ton of people already screamed in agony after that 'ending' of episode 13 )

I don't know, 13 was fine- But I swear my head would explode had I not jump right into 16 after that cliff-hanger from 15

[Lantern]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

I don't know, 13 was fine- But I swear my head would explode had I not jump right into 16 after that cliff-hanger from 15

Oh? How so? Kinda getting me curious there. It didn't feel like a cliffhanger for me.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Lantern

Oh? How so? Kinda getting me curious there. It didn't feel like a cliffhanger for me.

Ah well looking back at it... The moment was so tense you could slice it with a knife I guess that's why it left me wanting more like a cliff hanger...

And a weird time to bring up, but for all the crap he has done Heartseed was a masterful troll letting Taichi's siscon thoughts get shared with everyone

[Lantern]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Ah well looking back at it... The moment was so tense you could slice it with a knife I guess that's why it left me wanting more like a cliff hanger...

And a weird time to bring up, but for all the crap he has done Heartseed was a masterful troll letting Taichi's siscon thoughts get shared with everyone

True enough.

Spoiler for novel comparison remark:

That reminds me though. One interesting thing I've noticed for the adaptation is that they've tone down much of the hostility and violence from the characters. Especially from this arc.

Iori's attitude didn't come out as cold as I thought she did in the novel, like that end of episode 15,

I'm sure you (@Chaos2Frozen) already know what was supposed to happened but taken out. Hell, they didn't even show her addressing Inaban as "Inaba" without the 'n' with total scorn. And without the mocking attitude during that 'chat' in the classroom.[

And they lowered the number of delinquents from 5 to 3 as well (plus less physical abuse.)

Thinking back, they kinda did the same thing with Inaban back in Kizu too, who came off really nasty in the novel (jerky attitude, theft...etc).

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by Lantern

Can I ask again, what is the source of that information about "one more side story volume" after Asu Random?

Because I keep seeing that claim when what I see in the Author's Note of Volume 7 says "one more side story volume and one final main story arc", and the side story volume already came out as Volume 8.

Edit:

Actually, if you're talking about the one from the English Wiki:


Then I can confirm that it's very likely a mistype because Anda's claim about a side story volume is in Volume 7 and not 8. In fact, I even double checked BOTH Volume 7 and 8's Author's Note to confirm my doubts.

Is that so? I read only translated once so dunno about it. So 10th(Asu Random part 2) would be the last?

[blakstealth]

Just outta curiosity, does anyone know how well/poorly the series sold in general, especially after the whole prank fiasco? Did that really affect the sales?

[Azuma Denton]

^

This is the BD Sales of Hito Random from thread Anime DVD/BD Sales in Japan
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=109699

Kokoro Connect *2,321 (2+) (SILVER LINK./Sentai Filmworks)
2012/10/24 *2,588 Hito Random Part One (Two episodes)
2012/11/21 *2,053 Hito Random Part Two (Three episodes)

It is pretty bad...

[Nachtwandler]

It's not the bomb but less than average. But the all the prank thing didn't really affect the sales. Pre-orders weren't high most of the time.

[Lantern]

Originally Posted by Nachtwandler

Is that so? I read only translated once so dunno about it. So 10th(Asu Random part 2) would be the last?

I believe so.

That being said, there's always the chance that the author or the publisher might change their mind and make some last minute announcement when V10 goes on sale. It's not uncommon for a completed series to release extra side stories (Bungaku Shoujo comes to mind.)

[skullheart]

There is the extra side story that comes with asu random part 1 about taichi's sister so not unlikely to add more side story later.

[evil|plushie]

All this talk about Iori and her identity issues makes me think she should be thrown into the midnight channel to fight her persona -_-

[Ridwan]

Originally Posted by evil|plushie

All this talk about Iori and her identity issues makes me think she should be thrown into the midnight channel to fight her persona -_-

And she too, has starred the wrong show.

[s07195]

Really glad I watched episodes 14-17. This arc was animated very well.

DEREDEREDERE-BAN FTW!